When I was little, the days before Thanksgiving were spent on errands, dropping off food to the elderly, driving along west to east along 8 Mile Road. We weren’t original, we were following family tradition of my grandmother who was one of the first members in the Detroit chapter of Meals on Wheels. We volunteered other times of year, but the notion that one in eight Americans go hungry always seems particularly poignant in the season in which gluttony and charity converge.
It’s infuriating to think of people not having enough to eat, but the reality is that nearly 36.2 million Americans go hungry every day, according to the US.Department of Agriculture, and 49 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure.
Several organizations are coming to the aid of this option, which are important with the increased need. The organization World Hunger Year approaches the problem by working with the music community to raise funding and awareness. This week, was WHY’s annual Hungerthon in which a wide range of New York radio stations raises funds by auctioning off items donated by musicians. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, James Taylor, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, Randy Travis and Sting donated to this year’s auction. The auction included a signed photograph from Henry Diltz, courtesy of the Morrison Hotel Gallery, A signed guitar from Sarah McLachlan, courtesy of Nettwerk Management. signed guitar from The Counting Crows, courtesy of The Artists Organization, an autographed photo and signed copy of the new album ‘Battle Studies’ from John Mayer, courtesy of Mick Management.
Also, benefiting WHY is the 29th Annual John Lennon Tribute on Friday, Dec. 4 at Symphony Space in New York City. Confirmed performers including Detroit native Bettye LaVette, to Across The Universe’s, Dana Fuchs, plus acclaimed artists, Joan Osborne, David Bromberg, Dan Bern, Lucy Kaplansky, Sonya Kitchell, Rich Pagano of the Fab Faux, The Kennedys, web sensation Chris Bliss, Wendy Osserman Dance and MAD Magazine’s Joe Raiola. Donate to Hungerthon directly, and receive an Imagine There’s No Hunger gift, at http://www.hungerthon.org
Feeding America helps explain how this problem occurs domestically with a hunger quiz. The James Beard Foundation gave the organization the Humanitarian of the Year Award for its impact in curbing hunger, serving 25 million Americans over 2.5 billion pounds of food annually in 63,000 local charitable agencies and 70,000 programs. Formerly known as America’s Second Harvest.
Definitely something to think about on a day that’s all about savoring food, and something to remember throughout the year.
WHY on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WHYhunger
WHY on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hungerthon
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller’s newest restaurant, Bouchon in Beverly Hills, opened this week. BMW added die oompf to the Hollywood affair providing rides to Pierce Brosnan, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Ludacris, Gilles Marini and Sex and the City creator Darren Star in a BMW Active Hybrid X6.The vehicles reach dealership Dec. 5
In charge of the French cuisine are Chef de Cuisine Rory Herrmann, General Manager Greg Rowan, Pastry Chef Scott Wheatfill and Head Sommelier Alex Weil.
Also among the 400 guests were Ryan Seacrest, Jay Leno, Star Jones and Larry King. Bouchon’s sister locations are in Yountville and Las Vegas. Chef Keller’s additional restaurants are The French Laundry, Per Se, Ad Hoc and Bouchon Bakery. Keller’s new cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home, is out for those who can’t driver the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 to Bouchon.
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All dressed up, but where to go? Our colleague and compatriot food and travel critic extraordinaire Salma Abdelnour has launched a Salmaland — the new where-to-go domain for all things fanciful, filling and fresh in New York City. Salma will reveal where you’ll really find the best NY burger, and she’ll share industry gems along the way, such as” too much demand is the road to sloppiness.” This is not your average food blog –Salma was the travel editor at Food & Wine and the restaurant editor at Time Out New York. She left her job as food editor at O, The Oprah Magazine, to be a freelance food and travel writer. You can’t get much better taste buds than that.
Here’s an excerpt from the world according to Salma:
Soho/Nolita: Breakfast Club
Café Gitane sums up what’s enchanting about Nolita—and what’s so damned annoying about it. A little café on a side street with deliciously potent coffee; a laid-back, vaguely French-Moroccan vibe; glossy international magazines to browse through; sunlight pouring through the streetside windows. You could spend hours here. Except you can’t get a table, ever. (Unless you show up around 9am on a weekday morning.) Order a cafe creme and the baked eggs with basil or an open-face sandwich of chili-spiked avocado on whole-grain toast, and be reminded why you’re alive, why you’re in this crazy town, and why it’s all worth it. The couscous is better than it needs to be too, especially when you spike it with the harissa that comes on the side. But for that, you’ll have to show up at midday or evening rush hour—and, yes, wait.
Café Gitane. 242 Mott St. between Prince and Houston Sts.; (212) 334-9552.
Prices/Features: C, V (See “How Salmaland Works” for key to letter abbreviations.)
Fine dining goes south, that’s South Carolina on Sept. 20 for Euphoria, a Higher State of Food, Wine and Music. The four-year old food and music festival takes place over four days and features a range of cuisines presented by chefs across the country. Guy and Frank Savoy of Restaurant Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, Tim Graham who is executive chef of Chicago’s Tru and Executive Chef Tyler Brown of Capital Grille in Nashville are among the culinary masters.
Events include Taste of the South, live music by Edwin McCain, wine tastings, full-course wine dinners,an outdoor Jazz brunch buffet featuring New Orleans style foods and live Jazz music and a Culinary Cook-off in which chefs compete in a live cooking demonstration.
Euphoria is presented by Local Boys Do Good (“LBDG”), a non-profit organization with proceeds donated to South Carolina charities that focus on providing sustenance to those in need, serving education, and helping children.
Tickets are available at www.euphoriagreenville.com. Prices range from $45 for individual event tickets to $950 for a full-weekend VIP all-access pass.
Food is the fuel for the body. How would we get anywhere without sustenance and nutrition providing us with the brain power and energy needed to live? How we think about food has resonance on so many levels. The most basic and primal – the disturbing and rising number of hungry Americans. Then there’s our fixation with fad diets in an era of utter obesity. Finally, there’s the joy of food – an appreciation of well-prepared meals from low brow to high brow, from the feel-good comfort of down home to the exquisite. The James Beard Foundation managed to touch on all of these topics under the glow of glamour at the annual award show held at Lincoln Center last night.
Hosted by Stanley Tucci, Emeril Legasse and Iron Chef Cat Cora, the best chef (Dan Barber Blue Hill) and the best restaurant (Jean-Georges) were awarded as a parade of food stars filled the audience including Mario Batali and Daniel Boulud. The theme was Women in Food — and pastry chef Gina DePalma, of Babbo in New York represented with a top award.
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