Comments on: Incorrect (Le Fooding)

By: Barbra Austin - Hong Kong: BO Innovation, part I

Barbra Austin - Hong Kong: BO Innovation, part I — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:25:29 +0000

[...] Next, the Molecular course, subtitled “xiao long bao”, also known as soup dumplings. The single shiny blob resembled a pale egg yolk and trembled as I brought it to my mouth, instructed to eat it in one bite. Sure enough, I was briefly transported to Pell Street as the flavor of ginger and vinegar burst through the thin skin.¹ Cubes of rosy Toro came next, dusted with foie gras and raspberry powders. The tuna was impeccable, of course, tender and sweet. The foie gras powder seemed to play the part that shrimp or fish powder often plays in Chinese cooking, a sort of role reversal, giving the fish savory depth. (The raspberry powder, on the other hand, made me think of Haribo Tagada candies, and therefore this.) [...]

By: Barbra

Barbra — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:13:49 +0000

Danielle: The horse meat was reminiscent of beef, though much leaner, with a particular sweetness. I actually preferred the carpaccio to the grilled pieces. That said, I probably won’t seek it out any time soon.

I agree that it’s interesting to consider why some animals are acceptable to eat and others aren’t. The fact that there were furry rabbits strewn on the table where the lievre à la Royale was being served didn’t seem to bother anyone, but I feel sure that the sight of a dead horse would have caused an outrage!

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:15:19 +0000

What an intriguing event – how did you feel throughout the dinner, and about eating raw horse meat? I love it when food challenges my preconceived notions about what it should taste/smell like and which animals are more acceptable for the table (like cows and pigs) over others (like rabbits, horses and dogs).

All the same, I can’t quite bring myself to ‘eat more and talk less’ about the food I’m about to eat. No matter how much it has travelled to my plate, there is a cost involved, and the least I could do, as a consumer, is to acknowledge that cost.

By: Barbra

Barbra — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:39:34 +0000

David, you're right: Fooding co-founder Alexandre Cammas admits that most horse meat comes from Canada. That, plus the fact that the chef preparing the meat tells us not to think about the actual horse, seems to encourage not thoughtful eating, but an "I-don't-care-where-my-food-come-from-if-it's-delicious" attitude, and that's precisely the kind of cheap decadence that has gotten us into this mess.

By: David

David — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:29:14 +0000

I am skeptical of horse meat ever since I wrote about trying horse milk, wondering how the meat was, and a reader who said she raised horses in the US and since they’re not intended for consumption in the US, they have many toxic substances in them.

I find it odd that these chefs who are supposed to be promoting French cuisine are using items that are shipped from thousands of miles away when they have a trove of excellent ingredients here in France that they could be sourcing from.

Imagine what they could do if they decided to tackle the problem of the seafood disappearance in the Mediterranean, and raised awareness about that, instead of trying to shock people and show how “incorrect” they can be.