Friday Faves No. 162

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

Watch as 10 Swedish children ages 3-9 taste test oysters to find out what they really think.

Swedish kids are no strangers to seafood. They even have fish paste in tubes! But how do you get kids to embrace the oyster? Brasserie Lipp thinks they have it figured out; you give it to them for free! (Seafood Source)

OK....now what? What will the Brexit mean for UK food? (Eater)

Questions over the sustainability of wild harvested seaweeds lead to cancellation of the Maine Seaweed Festival. Some of the organizers say a 'Gold Rush mentality' as the product gains popularity threatens the industry's future, but harvesters disagree. Thoughts? (Portland Press Herald)

Chewing Over Our New Idea Of 'Better' Food At The Fancy Food Show This past week we were at the Fancy Food Show in NYC and so was the iconic Clark Wolf. Here is a small taste of his take on the state of specialty foods: "It's a history lesson, a geopolitical reflection and a mouthwatering decent into a foo coma of bounty."  (Forbes) 

Normally eggshells can be disposed of in the garden, crushed up and scattered on flower beds or just thrown into the compost bin, but what do you do when you are a Scotch egg manufacturer facing the problem of how to get rid of 1.5m eggshells a week? You partner with your local university to create a sustainable and cost-effective way to use the shells. (Guardian)

At the first Refugee Food Festival in Paris, chefs in exile show off their skills: From Refugee Chefs, a Taste of Home “Immigrants here are seen in a negative light, as pulling the country down, as having nothing to offer, but in fact they offer a chance to exchange cultures, to bring something positive: The cuisine of a place gives pleasure.” (New York Times)

From noodles to poodles The tastes of China’s consumers are rapidly changing "Brands that promise healthy lifestyles are also thriving. In a recent survey, the top complaint by Chinese consumers was poor food safety and the next biggest grouse was shoddy health care. These attitudes have helped restaurants and supermarkets with names like 'Element Fresh' and 'Pure and Whole' spread like organic mushrooms across the land." (Economist)

As Chinese, Iranian and Indonesian As Apple Pie A great look at the diverse origins of our favorite foods, but this quote is too fun to not call out: "By the turn of the 20th century, pie had become 'the American synonym for prosperity,' as The New York Times proclaimed in a 1902 editorial. 'Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished.'" (NPR, The Salt)

Even Vogue is talking about shrimp: Should We Really Be Eating Shrimp? A simple dinner-party question—should one eat shrimp?—sets off on an ethical and gastronomic journey. (Vogue)

Kellogg’s Is Opening Its First-Ever Permanent Café Dedicated Entirely to Cereal in Times Square Get in line for "cereal innovation and delicious experimentation," otherwise known as cereal from the box with fancified toppings like thyme, white chocolate and matcha (not all in the same bowl). (Laughing Squid)

Friday Faves No. 154

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

The art of the perfect bit goes super-artsy with teeny, tiny food installations, like the one above. (Eater)

Refugees solve farm worker shortage: From Bhutan to New York’s Dairy Heartland "The men were once farmers, and then spent 20 years in refugee camps in Nepal, unable to hold legal jobs. Now they worked wordlessly alongside two other milkers, both Mexican immigrants, in practiced repetition. The raw product would soon supply a cross-cultural dairy case: Siggi’s, an Icelandic-style yogurt; Norman’s kosher Greek yogurt; and eggnog for Pittsford Farms Dairy." (New York Times)

Activists Demand a Bill of Rights for California Farmworkers "Many of the bill’s items – which are grouped into wage theft, safety and health, and overwork – simply demand that existing laws be enforced, like respecting required rest breaks and penalizing employers who steal wages. It also calls for educating farmworkers on their rights and establishing a complaint hotline." (KQED)

A New York food institution that was accessible to all of us fades into the history of a quirkier, more fabulous, and less chain-store dominated Manhattan as Broadway Panhandler prepares to close. “'My first question is, ‘What do you like to cook?’...We can help tailor a purchase to suit a customer’s needs instead of just selling sets. We’re more traditional, with just one store. As independent stores disappear, people are going to remember them fondly.'” (New York Times)

The surprising truth about the ‘food movement’ (which probably isn't that surprising): people like to give the right answers more than they like to do the right thing. (Washington Post)

Shrimp oasis: Sahara desert opens biofloc shrimp farm  "The shrimp farm uses underground salty water beneath the oases of the world’s largest desert. Algeria's portion of the Sahara Desert has an extensive underground water source beneath its sand layers, with a salt concentration of 4~5 percent, suitable for the shrimp farm, ministry officials said." (Yon Hap News via Undercurrent)

FIACUI 2015: Aquaculture Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico

from Polly Legendre

I had the pleasure of attending the 10th annual Foro Internaciaonal de Acuicultura (FIACUI) earlier this month in Guadalajara, Mexico. This conference is organized every year by Panaorama Aquicuicola Magazine and provides a lively forum for discussion around issues related to aquaculture across Latin America, and more specifically Mexico.

This year the topic was principally focused on issues of sustainability — in production, practices and the marketplace.

The event kicked off with a live band at the opening reception, so right off the bat I knew that this conference would be special. Throughout the event, I was incredibly impressed with how the organizers could keep so many people engaged from early morning meetings through evening activities. They did this by alternating the important conference topics with dedicated “expo” sessions with the vendors. There was even a sponsored Mexican seafood lunch in the vendor area so that attendees could browse equipment, feeds, etc. without having to forage for food outside the conference. I mean, who would really be interested in leaving the expo area while grilled shrimp brochettes were on hand! To my amazement, on Thursday evening, when the panel discussion went over a full hour with sanding-room-only attendance, everyone stayed to the very end. After the long anticipated last question, the audience was finally rewarded with a full live mariachi band, dancers, margaritas and a seafood buffet, all in celebration of the 10th year anniversary of the FIACUI.

After the two full days of discussions, presentations and vendor expo, FAICUI goers had several options for field trips into the surrounding areas. Of course I chose the aquaculture tour. So, early Saturday morning a group of around 30 of us piled into a private charter bus, then headed southeast about two hours out of Guadalajara towards the small town of Tototlan. Throughout the day we visited catfish and tilapia farms, but what I didn’t expect was a visit to a frog farm!  

We stopped for lunch at a cool little roadside spot at La Barca called “Restaurant El Cortijo.” Here we feasted on whole fried fish, rice and beans and since it is the heart of Jalisco, a lunch time tequila. The family running the restaurant also operated the tilapia and frog farm. They were so proud of their product that they sent me back to the city with a couple of “ranas a la plancha”…yes grill frogs for dinner. This is REAL Mexican farm to table dining!

It was a wonderful trip and an informative conference — from the dynamic guys at SAGAPRA who found time to introduce me to a quick meal at Karne Garibaldi (self-proclaimed the fastest restaurant in the world), to innovative young farmers who want to learn more about branded seafood in Mexico and beyond. I look forward to keeping in touch with new friends and colleagues. There is a lot of potential here and I, for one, look forward to seeing the Mexican aquaculture community come into its own.

Sing Along Snacks: Shrimp Boats

In our love of all things food, we have a special love for songs about food. We wet our whistles with Fatback Louisiana, USA back in our Chefs Collaborative Summit round up.

Now, we're kicking off a new occasional blog feature: Sing Along Snacks

It's never too early or too late in the day for a snack, so crank up that volume on your computer.

Shrimp Boats, by Jo Stafford, sung by Dorothy Collins in 1952 in a style as fluffy as a biscuit.

And then a Ska version by Jerry Jackson that you can really dance to.