Author: CuisineWriter
The Michelin Guide: Stars
The Michelin Guide awards restaurants between one and three stars, and they are coveted. Getting one, or one more, can create a legend; losing one can result in significant heartbreak. The Guide itself says that “certain establishments deserve to be brought to your attention” because of the quality of the cuisine served. Since the Michelin […]
Claude Troisgros
It never occurred to a young Claude Troisgros to question what he would be when he grew up. Cooking was in his blood. For three generations, the Troisgros family has provided France with some of its most innovative, most daring, and most renown chefs. Claude Troisgros’ grandfather Jean-Baptiste created an uproar in culinary circles when […]
A Short List of Menu Terms
A list of the most commonly used terms that you will most-often see in a menu. These terms are usually exact words or derivations from their originating country’s cuisine, so the country of origin is listed along with the term. Ahi Ahi is the Hawaiian name for yellowfin and bigeye tuna. Aioli (France) Aioli is […]
Chef Hierarchy
One upon a time, a customer simply had to eat what the Chef was cooking that day in any given restaurant. That all changed with the introduction of the Brigade System by Georges Auguste Escoffier. His experience as a French Army Chef led him to develop the Brigade system of chef hierarchy. This way he was […]
Italian Cuisine
Italian Cooking Long before Italy became the nation we now see, she was divided into constantly warring city-states which shared few cultural traditions and no spoken language. The Italy we know today was formed in 1861. The Italian we hear was not commonly spoken by a majority of the population until after World War II, […]
On Tasting Olives and Oil
“….From the moment I first tasted it, olive oil won over my appetite. I can drink it from the bottle. But for the longest time I hated all but the blandest, the most buttery of olives. If I’ve persevered toward liking them, it was because my tongue knew that somewhere buried in that bitter flesh […]
Cinnamon
Cinnamon, the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, was used by wealthy Romans as perfume and others as an aphrodisiac. During the rainy season, when the bark is pliable, it is harvested for cinnamon production. As the bark dries, it forms long quills that are either cut into sticks or ground into powder. Two […]
Growing a Lemon
A lemon tree is a subtropical plant, and in its natural habitat, its fruit is green and only slightly acidic. For lemons to develop their tart flavor and yellow color, the temperature must dip below 50 degrees F/10 degrees C but remain above freezing. (If temperatures drop below freezing mature lemons on a tree will […]
A Very Brief History of Hot Chocolate
Before the British firm of Fry & Sons figured out how to make it into a candy bar in 1847, chocolate had been drunk as a beverage for thousands of years. Chocolate was first brought to Europe by Cortes, who toasted Montezuma with a golden goblet full of the Aztecs’ favorite libation before betraying and […]
Worcestershire Sauce
Photo by Edsel L “Despite its name, Worcester sauce was originally an Indian recipe, brought back to Britain by Lord Marcus Sandys, ex-Governor of Bengal. One day in 1835 he appeared in the prospering chemist’s emporium of John Lea and William Perrins in Broad Street, Worcester, and asked them to make up a batch of […]