A Restaurant of Naturality

 NATURALITÉ : When a  haute cuisine restaurant, ethically resources the ingredients of each plate delicately and naturally.

NATURALITÉ from Simon Pénochet on Vimeo.

Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Plaza Athénée has just re-opened. The Chef tells a more personal and radical story, following a path he initiated twenty-five years ago. He introduces a cuisine of naturality, that revolves around three key elements: fish, vegetables and cereals. A healthier,  organic, more sustainable and environmentally-conscious approach.

Watch this soothing video of how the plates were created and the people behind them!

While in Lebanon, people are arguing which restaurant is safe or not.
In the other part of the world, some great minds are going back to the basics of cooking, the natural, the organic, and the fair trade...
Natural is what we need these days. Not the extreme of cleanliness, and not the extreme of contamination.
Hoping we can learn and get inspired from Chef Alain Ducasse and people like him.

Should we Give Processed Food Another Chance?

This is one of the posts I wrote last year and I forgot to press the " Submit" button :(

The content is still valid and  irrelevant of time though.

“Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.” Michael Pollan.

As extreme as this notion might be, it does hold some truth. The debate about processed and wholesome (natural) food has always been raised. Some scientists claim that processed food offers convenience, saves time money, transportation costs and makes food available all year around over all the globe. While others argue that processed food has been the major cause of diseases due to their low nutrient content, high artificial ingredients, and high caloric value. World health organization states that the increase in obesity levels and chronic diseases (diabetes, heart diseases) are attributed to processed foods. Increased risk of cancer is also due to the amount of chemicals in these types of food. Also hyperactivity and attention deficiency disorder in kids were caused by consuming food loaded with artificial colorants and flavors such as candies and soda drinks.

Baking in Jars

Baking in the Jars has become the latest trend, especially among home made products.
I found several places later after this trial selling such items.
The recipes that I followed are all attached here for you to download. Surely, several trials should be made if this was done for a commercial purpose especially before we settle on the end product in order to perfect the sensory experience from all its sides: flavor, odor, color, and texture.

The Sweet Paradox: Natural or Artificial Sweetners?

Sugar in Drinks!

A girl in a restaurant orders a burger with fries, and then orders a diet coke. “Do the calories really matter when you are eating all this food?” her friends around her claim. Yes it does. One can of regular coke contain, more or less, 38 grams of sugar.

 Scientists have all agreed about the malicious effect of consuming lots of sugar. Unfortunately, sugar is embeded in almost all of all food . Sugar plays a major role in the production of thousands of food products from cured meats through preserves and frozen fruits to confections.

The Paleo diet: Would you eat like your ancestors?

Have you ever wondered what our ancestors used to eat? How male bodies were fit and masculine and females were of medium weight yet healthy?
They never counted the calories, and they ate whatever they liked without any dietician dictating those annoying “No carb”, “No fat”, sometimes “No eating” diets! The notion of " nutrition" , "diet", " nutrients"  just emerged in the last century.

So how would the next human be like?

Processed Vs Natural Foods as seen in our Stomach

Processed food definitely differs to natural food , whether in their caloric value, preservative content, nutritional benefits and other health differences.
This is constantly proved by  bright food  scientists, nutritionists, medical doctors  researching on this subject. But what how can a filmmaker prove these differences? And  To  what extend does this food differ when we swallow, till we digest , up till we absorb the distinct ingredients in it?

This is what Stefani Bardin  is  trying to find out through a project called: "M2A™: The Fantastic Voyage"
Stefani Bardin*  is currently producing a body of work that explores the influences of corporate culture and industrial food production on our food system. These investigations take the form of single and multi-channel videos, immersive and interactive installations and video games.

Here is about M2A™:

The Red Velvet Cake Dilemma

The Red velvet cake has lately been prominent. Everytime I am around my friends , the Red velvet cake should be either mentioned or devoured in their mouths.One can’t deny that its feathery texture, the striking red color, and the overwhelming vanilla taste, that contribute to its fame. It is indeed a magical cake, and just looking at it reminds me of cartoon, and all the Disney movies we all grew up watching.

Picture from the web

However, beauty is not pure. And as everything in life have their pros and cons. The red velvet cake is not an exception to this rule, sadly.

Normally nutritionists scare you off from these high caloric cakes, but as I am a food scientist I’d rather take another angle.  So, this post  is not to scare you away from the calories; rather, it’s the “red” you should worry about.

Let’s take Martha Stewart’s online recipe of the cake. Martha uses around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a red food coloring to make one cake. She clearly states to put 2 one-ounce bottles liquid red food coloring to achieve the desired shade!Consider a normal diet; you are having one piece of the red velvet cake every month, along with other colorants in food from the halloween candies, to the Eid Mlabbas, to the Christmas colored cookies, to potato chips, fruit loop cereals, the guacamole dip, to the hotdog and the  frozen vegetables…etc The list goes one because everyone is increasingly relying on  processed foods.
 The question is whether all these colorants will cause any health implications.

Let us start why is there color in my food? 
Remarkably, sensory scientists found that color is always associated with flavor. Consumers may refuse to have a green chocolate drink or a brown strawberry juice. Therefore, industries rush in adding colorants to make their product look fresh, nutritious, and thus appealing to consumers. That’s because consumers love everything that resembles nature. ( more on how color affects the sense of tastes of food & drinks by Washington University)