The importance of distraction by Andoni Luis Adoriz: I’ve always been easily distracted. When something doesn’t motivate me, or bores me, I drift away; my mind escapes and ends up somewhere else. At school, I was one of those students who barely passed. I did poorly even in subjects that are impossible to fail, such as gymnastics, and in religion, which even atheists manage to effectively negotiate. My mother thought that I was a kid without a passion. She perceived that I might be doomed to failure and felt the obligation to do something so that I would not die of hunger. And what better place to eat every day than a kitchen? That’s how I ended up in this profession, triggering an internal struggle within myself, between my desire to please my parents and my eagerness to find my place in the world.
The secret code of unleashing the world’s most amazing flavours by David Chang: My first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, had an open kitchen. This wasn’t by choice—I didn’t have enough money or space to put it farther away from the diners. But cooking in front of my customers changed the way I look at food. In the early years, around 2004, we were improvising new recipes every day, and I could instantly tell what was working and what wasn’t by watching people eat. A great dish hits you like a Whip-It: There’s momentary elation, a brief ripple of pure pleasure in the spacetime continuum. That’s what I was chasing, that split second when someone tastes something so delicious that their conversation suddenly derails and they blurt out something guttural like they stubbed their toe.
The Best Fast Food, Picked by the World’s Top Chefs: At the airport. En route to another critical meeting. Fast food is everywhere, and unavoidable. Even celebrity chefs producing the world’s most-praised meals have an occasional hankering. So where do they get their fix? We asked them, and alongside the predictable Shake Shack and KFC were some surprising results. More were notable by their absence. We’re looking at you, McDonald’s.
Clean eating and dirty burgers: how food became a matter of morals: The British have long associated delicious food with depraved indulgence, and now we have virtuous meals that are good for the soul. Is either attitude really healthy?
The 11 things you need to know about wine from Alsace: I was originally going to call this article – ‘Alsace wine region needs to get on Tinder!’ Crazy title, but after visiting Alsace in June, I observed a lack confidence. The winemakers knew their wines were world class, but wondered if the rest of the world realised that too? As I tell all my hot friends who are going through a dry spell; ‘get on Tinder, and flaunt yourself to the world!’
Sulphur in wine: friend or foe: Since the beginning of this century, virtually all wine labels have advertised the fact that the wine “contains sulphites”. What does this mean? Sulphite is a term that covers every form of sulphur, which is a natural byproduct of fermentation: all wines contain a small amount of sulphites, even if none has been added. The adjective sulphurous may have unappetising connotations, but sulphur is not irredeemably evil. As sulphur dioxide, it has been used since classical times as an antioxidant (a virtuous word nowadays), a preservative and a disinfectant. Mentioned by Pliny and Cato, it is still widely and liberally used in the production of dried fruits, often described on packaging as E220 (known as 220 in the US).
Road to ruin: a gin tour of Northern Ireland: Glenn Patterson heads from Belfast to the shores of Strangford Lough to sip and soak up the work of a new generation of distillers who are resurrecting the craft.
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