Digesting timely topics
Juliet Glass reports.
| More 'Front Burner' articles in this issue |
| Fill it up |
| Fair trade fish |
| Please eat the pansies |
| Sweet chariot |
Chicago—The 2007 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference held in April in Chicago is a good indicator of what's eating the culinary profession. The diverse interests of the 1,557 attendees fit comfortably within the roomy confines of the conference's official theme—"Culinary Fundamentals: Cultivating Our Professional Roots"—which encompassed sessions ranging from the future of organics to gin's long awaited renaissance. To accommodate gaggles of cooking instructors and food writers, there was a plethora of ingredient-focused sessions ("Better Butter, Rethinking an Everyday Ingredient"), at times giving the gathering the air of the world's largest recipe swap. A fetishistic devotion to culinary authenticity battled it out for airtime with trendier topics like sous-vide cookery and the post-modern blurring of sweet and savory. Meanwhile, newsy, politically charged themes such as eating locally, sustainability, and the legislation of what we eat set a timely mood.
While cookbook authors were clearly the stars of the show (at the cookbook expo 72 authors signed their tomes for adoring fans), other industry luminaries did make appearances. Chef Charlie Trotter showed off his favorite toys (the Winston Industries CVap®, among others) at a cookery demo entitled "Technology in Gastronomy," inspiring befuddled attendees to ask repeatedly, "You say, after cooking, the meat may look raw but is completely and thoroughly cooked. What do you mean?" Armed with whisks of different sizes and a dozen eggs, Hervé This (who puts the science in molecular gastronomy at France's Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) amused the crowd as he made mayonnaise and then zapped it in a microwave for reasons unclear. New York University nutrition guru Marion Nestle gave a gloom-and-doom lecture innocently entitled "What to Eat," which left this attendee looking at her seemingly innocuous breakfast of Cheerios in a whole new, not entirely welcomed, light.
The most compelling of all discussions took place at the opening general session, "The Business of Food: Organics Gone Mainstream," where a farmer (Michael Ableman of The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens), two marketers (Jim Adams of Chipotle Mexican Grill and Howard Brandeisky of Kraft Foods North America), and a journalist (Samuel Fromartz, author of Organic, Inc.) tried to untangle the uncertain future of the $15 billion organic food industry. While he acknowledged the importance of both farmers and consumers, Fromartz gave the restaurant industry due credit for creating a mass appetite for organics, reminding those chefs in the audience that "your influence lies beyond the plate of food you are serving." Fromartz went on to suggest that chefs can do much to prevent organics from becoming a watered down label devoid of real meaning.
Such an affirming assessment of the far-reaching influence of chefs should inspire more to attend the IACP conference next spring. It doesn't hurt that it will be held in one of America's greatest eating cities, New Orleans.
