GAYOT's Blog

by André Gayot

Installed in a former butcher shop, where not much has changed since the nineteenth century except for a few recently added scars on the wall to render it even more authentic, Bistrot Paul Bert in Paris must be one of the most bistro-ish bistros of the world and possibly one of the most emblematic. The bistrot — with a ’t’ or without — is now a part of our lifestyle and an indispensible component of a gastronomically civilized city. We are well used to its format: the zinc bar, banquettes, white marble top tables, chalkboard menu, waiters clad in black aprons, steak frites and blanquette de veau, and the house red wine.

A similar setting, and may we say philosophy of joie de vivre and conviviality, reigns in New York’s Millesime, Chicago’s Bistrot Zinc, San Francisco’s Chez Papa Bistrot and Los Angeles’ Bouchon. Traveling on the bistro trail around the world is one way to avoid feeling like a stranger far from home.

Continue reading “The Global Bistro” »

by André Gayot

“The ways the bankers have kind of toppled the way money is distributed and taken most of it into their hands is as good as Stalin or Hitler and the evil guys,” star restaurateur Mario Batali declared at a recent panel sponsored by Time Magazine. No surprise Mr. Batali got a lot of flak, especially, of course, from bankers and the like. The restaurateur realized belatedly that quite a number of his clients in his twenty fancy establishments might very well belong to or be associated with the banking industry because, according to his own terms, bankers “… have taken most of the money into their hands,” and thus can easily afford the hefty bills. Some talked vigorously of boycotting Batali’s restaurants. Deterring such a well-heeled clientele is not good business practice in these uncertain times.

Sorry, oops, my mistake, went Mario, who said through a spokesperson, “It was never my intention to equate our banking industry with Hitler and Stalin, two of the most evil, brutal dictators in modern history.” So we get the message: these two guys are really bad, but bankers are OK. OK, but not angels?

Continue reading “The Cook, the Demons, the Angels & the Bankers” »

by André Gayot

After hearing President Obama‘s recent speech advocating raising taxes on the wealthy, law professor Richard Epstein of New York University disagreed, claiming that society would be better off if we “let the rich get richer.” I am always ready to help academic luminaries, but sadly, there’s not much I can do for the professor. I have indeed come to know some beautiful people here and there, but they never asked for my permission or my help in accumulating another layer over their thick bank accounts. They managed to do it, anyway.

Seriously, how would the recommendation work in the world of restaurateurs and food? Would we get a better restaurant because the restaurateur is richer? What would happen if the restaurateur is “only” if one can say, rich and not really richer? Would he still do the job to our satisfaction? Would we miss something?

Continue reading “The Epstein Theory: RICH IS GOOD, RICHER IS BETTER” »

by André Gayot

The book started as a gift, both to the audacious people who dared purchase an automobile in the early twentieth century, and to their indispensable companions, garage mechanics. Its purpose was to help those brave drivers find a tasty destination for lunch as well as a garage that could repair their new machines, and perhaps change the tires, since selling tires was and still is the main goal of the Michelin Company, and a lucrative one at that.

 

Continue reading “What Made Michelin Red?” »

by André Gayot

Traveling in Germany recently, I was impressed when at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, along with 600 American guests, I was served a high quality dinner. The duck was cooked just right, the plates were warm, the service was precise to the millimeter and the meal unwound in no time. The only lengthy part was due to the speeches of my fellow diners. For this gastronomical tour de force I credit the much heralded German engineering that also produces those sturdy vacuum cleaners and dishwashers, as well as prestigious limousines and coupés. Expensive, but they last a lifetime. The hip-hop generation may not be sensitive to hardware longevity, considering that progress moves faster than life.

Continue reading “When Democracy Rises from the Kitchen” »

by André Gayot

Remember the riddle about the ideal world in which the Italians would be in charge of singing opera, the British would prepare the tea, the Chinese would fry the rice, the French would do the cooking and serve the wine, the Germans would build sturdy cars and be police, etc. That’s the image of the world that we were so comfortable with thanks to the well-worn clichés. Something must have gone wrong: it’s hard today to recognize these established values in the same spots.

Continue reading “Of Cars and Pans: Culture Shock at the Assembly Line” »

 

While the leaders of the twenty richest nations — the G 20 — gathered in Seoul, South Korea, to discipline the ministers of finances, bankers and traders of the world, the Koreans had their own, more direct, worries.

 

Because of bad weather, there was a dearth of cabbage on the markets. “A national tragedy,” proclaimed the press, supporting angry citizens. Cabbages and their derivatives being an essential part of the Korean diet, President Lee Myung-Bak decided that cabbages would be imported from China. Mais voilà, Koreans don’t like Chinese cabbage. What made the shortage even worse was the timing. This is the season when all Korean families practice a ritual: the preparation of Kimchi.

  Continue reading “A Korean Weapon of Mass Nutrition” »

by André Gayot

 

I don’t want to keep you awake tonight, but I have to report the conversation I had with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke.

 

- AG: Hi, Ben, how are you? Reading that low interest rates are responsible for the subprime disaster because people bought houses left and right that they could not pay for, I was wondering if the current very low rates would not give birth to another house buying spree and another bursting bubble.

 

- BB: Don’t worry; people are not buying.

 

- AG: But that’s not too good for the economy, because construction is its main driving force.

 

- BB: This is a transition period and we have other sectors that do well, like TV, where so much money flows to conceive and propagate electoral messages, mostly mud-slinging maybe, but a good sign if you consider that mud is an inexhaustible natural resource. Continue reading “Last Night with Bernie” »

by André Gayot

In my European journey, despite the seasonal French pseudo-revolutionary sitcom, I was able to visit the SIAL in Villepinte near Paris. I guess the acronym is used instead of the full name — Salon des Industries Alimentaires or Food Industry Exhibition — because it’s shorter for the media and maybe also because we don’t like to be reminded that the content of our plates is nowadays largely concocted in industrial factories by Big Business. But there are also artisans who strive to find improbable ways to find a magic formula, such as the one who creates his “caviar” from truffle juice. Caviar is expensive, but so are truffles. I am missing his point.

Continue reading “Food Flair at the Food Fair” »

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