"Bill Buford" news and stories

Choosing the best of anything is a subjective game, but newspaper and magazine editors love to make lists and then let their readers duke it out. The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, recently gathered a mix of Americans and Brits -- including Top Chef Master Chef judge Jay Rayner, "Heat" author Bill Buford, and chef Fergus Henderson -- to judge the 50 best cookbooks of all time.

Coming in at number one is Richard Olney's "The French Menu Cookbook." It's a pretty safe choice, considering Olney's revered status in the food world, but some of their other selections have people scratching their heads. Julia Child isn't in the top 10 (she pops up at 21). Much-loved food writer MFK Fisher is almost at the bottom of the list at 47. And Thomas Keller doesn't appear at all.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course, but to overlook Keller's "French Laundry Cookbook" completely seems odd – it's a huge seller in the states, and has been praised by critics and home cooks alike. Is it a deliberate snub?

Sheer wanton excess is the name of the game for some restaurants, as New York Times food critic Frank Bruni found upon his visit to Le Cirque.

In the article, Bruni outlines some of the decadent, near-sinful entrees that lined the table, including fois gras-stuffed ravioli, white truffles, and immense cuts of beef and lamb. Bruni expertly sums up the scene, noting that while the food is enjoyable and the staff, inviting, "[they are] probably...contributing to what is a yeti-sized carbon footprint."

Excessive eating and drinking at restaurants is nothing new. In most cases, it's encouraged. In fact, some might say, what's the point of going out to eat if you don't self-indulge?

We saw this lifestyle secondhand in Bill Buford's "Heat," which depicted the author's experience as a chef alongside chef and Food Network star Mario Batali. Buford unabashedly detailed Batali's oft-hedonistic outings, nights filled with lavish food and drink, and plenty of it.

But then, who are we to judge? If we were privy to such a lifestyle, would we not imbibe in what is probably considered more than our fair share? Perhaps. But Bruni makes a good point in that these lifestyles are being - (and should be) - looked at under an increasingly sharp microscope. In a world that has, in the past few years, become less self-absorbed and more self-aware, is it possible that excessive eating and imbibing will become not only passé, but looked down upon?

Source

Interesting piece over at Slate from Paul Levy, about the state of food writing. He says that food writing today is too "macho," and filled with too many "foodie shock jocks" who swear and write too casually (he singles out Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and Bill Buford).

The food writing that's in vogue today consists chiefly of a bellow of bravado. It's a guy thing, sure, but (with a few honorably hungry exceptions) these scribblers mostly ignore what's on the plate. They view themselves as boy hunters and despise sissy gatherers, thrive on the undertow of violence they detect in the professional kitchen, and like to linger on the unappetizing aspects of food preparation. The gross-out factor trumps tasting good as well as good taste.

Hmmm...really? I think one of the good thing about this increased interest in food and all the food blogs is that you hear a lot of different voices. There's plenty of the stuff Levy likes still be written. Even here at Slashfood we try to mix up the voices a bit.

What do you think? Does Levy have a point?

[via The Grinder]