Chanced upon an old-ish article in the artsy-section of a well known daily this morning, written by an apparently regular columnist and ex-Masterchef contestant. I had to chuckle when the subject of bloggers was broached. Specifically, this particular commentator on all things gastronomic objects to everyday slobs like bloggers and Tripadvisor reviewers having any kind of voice or opinion about food, and thinks everyone except a trained chef or food industry insider is unqualified to comment on what’s been “plated up” and plonked in front of them. Yet this particular person only has an outlet to vent these thoughts by virtue of having been a reality-TV show contestant. Come now, you can’t have it both ways! Or maybe someone with a hyphenated name can!
While we’re on the subject of foodie celebs, how is this for funny. Read the other day that a school district in LA had rejected poor old Jamie Oliver’s attempt to “healthy up” their lunch-room menu. Why? Because the new menu is just too much of a departure from what they’re used to – drastic measures in a nutshell. Yet the subject of much mirth at my place comes from Jamie’s very own “Jamies’s Dinners” publication of several years ago. Included among the recipes for hamburgers and roast lamb dripping with cheese is an absolute classic – Jamie’s Pickled Onion and Crisp Sandwich. I am so grateful to Jamie for the fact that $44 unlocked the mysteries of this masterpiece, how I would have made a chip sandwich without Jamie’s step-by-step guidance, we’ll I’m not sure I want to even think about it. It just gives me the shivers. Probably similar to the feeling the Los Angeles Unified school District had when they saw his suggested menu. Deep fried varmint anyone?