"Discussion" news and stories

One of the things I love most about food and cooking is the world that it opens up. It's the perfect hobby or interest for someone who thrives on diversity and a balance of many different interests. With that in mind, I was quite surprised to read the New York Times' piece: What's Your Cooking Personality?

The post asks five questions with an array of answers, and then labels your personality as either Giving, Methodical, Healthy, Competitive or Innovative. They note that there could be overlap to your answers, but what if you cannot pick a single answer for any of the questions?

As I've always seen it, none of these aspects and habits are mutually exclusive enough to pick just one. I have always merged innovation with classic dishes, step-by-step recipes and more. Vegetables are just as prevalent on my plate as bread, meats and interesting spices. I organize as much as I visit friends, am creative or active. I balance baking with freshness, grilling and ethnic foods. Only the last, which asks how other people describe you, could get a bit closer to personality traits.

So now I turn the idea over to you, Slashfood readers. Are you just one kind of cook? Or, like me, do you find yourself passionate for many flavors and techniques in the kitchen?

[Via New York Times]

The concept of a restaurant guidebook is becoming increasingly outdated. The books are rarely up to date and, although they can be carried around by travelers easily, just can't offer the user the same kind of immediate response - and an interactive one, at that - as online, user-driven restaurant guides. Chowhound, Yelp and Citysearch are some of the leaders of this genre, along with similar user-review driven online forums. Zagat, which was unique in the restaurant guide book field in that it based its "reviews" on user commentary, recently decided that it needed to move to a similar online format, where users could offer real-time opinions, in order to remain competitive.

Or, at least, to attempt to remain competitive.

Is there any more room left in the restaurant discussion board field for a newcomer? Given that people have expressed dissatisfaction with the way that Chowhound is run (and they way that the site looks), there just might be.

[via eater la ]

Source

We posted about Pho Fever around this time last year, and appears that since then the pho site has added a forum where fans can discuss that ambrosial mixture of beef, broth, noodles and herbs. The forum isn't exactly booming, but there are about 50 users, and a healthy banter about pho recipes. With any luck, more people will check it out and share their thoughts. The site also has a sparsely updated pho blog, but for my pho blogging needs, I think I'll stick with the slightly more current Pho King.

Today's Telegraph features a transcript of a great discussion about the current state of farming and food in the U.K. The panel is moderated by the BBC's John Humphrys and includes several farmers, businesspeople and environmental experts as well as the U.K.'s Slow Food ambassador Wendy Fogarty, Fergus Henderson of St. John restaurant and Efreda Pownall, the Sunday Telegraph food editor. The discussion covers the rising popularity of organic produce, food safety, childhood obesity and the demand for good looking produce, among other things. There appears to have been a podcast at some point, but the link doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

[Photo: Drew Gardner/Telegraph]