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By Liz Neumark | May 01, 2013
The man most responsible for causing us to examine what we put onto our plates and into our mouths with his blockbuster Omnivore's Dilemma is at it again, this time with a book titled Cooked. My copy arrived last week. I love how he once again uncovers fundamental truths that have somehow gotten lost in our postmodern shuffle -- hidden-in-plain-sight, simple, logical truths. Just as he peeled back the layers on processed food and industrial farming, this time he engages in the ancient, timeless and indispensable ritual of cooking.
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By Liz Neumark | April 30, 2013
I love food -- being around it, cooking and eating it, sharing and learning about it -- and most meaningfully, making sure that the bounty and access I have is also available to others.
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By Liz Neumark | April 19, 2013
At Great Performances, I meet brides weekly in the context of creating delicious and creative catering experiences. It is very rewarding to become a part of the family as the detailed planning progresses over the swiftly passing months. Hospitality and celebrating over a festive meal and toasts are the glue that binds, hopefully for a lifetime, and leaves me with the feeling that "I married them." But nothing prepared me for the overwhelming responsibility of being an actual wedding officiant.
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By Liz Neumark | April 08, 2013
Here in the Northeast, nothing is growing yet -- but people are getting so excited about their veggies. What's up? In Maine last week -- everywhere I went I saw posters for local CSAs, promising weekly veggies, meat, cheese and, most intriguing, healing herbs. All this while the snow was still in mounds on sidewalks. This past weekend, at the Just Food Conference in New York City, CSA leaflets abounded. In fact, CSA development and support is a cornerstone of Just Food's mission. And last week I visited my first Florida farm in Homestead about an hour south of Miami and was introduced to a wonderful farm CSA.
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By Liz Neumark | March 27, 2013
The celebration of Easter and Passover this week is an opportunity for a cultural mash-up quite aside from the religious connections between the two important holidays. And though spirituality and religious traditions are most meaningful to the observant, it is around the table that many of us discover community, share in social lessons and feed our passions, all puns intended.
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By Liz Neumark | March 12, 2013
It was out to Las Vegas late Friday to join an elite and interesting group of top caterers for a day of roundtable conversations. The group is comprised of heads of leading companies, generally one from every major U.S. city, and meets bi-annually to discuss industry issues and share best practices in a non-competitive, collegial forum. This gathering was set against the backdrop of Sin City, the most startling, bizarre and artificial landscape on the continent.
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By Liz Neumark | March 08, 2013
The International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York rolls into town every March with a vast array of vendors and displays. From kitchen equipment to software, ice cream to state-of-the-art doggie bags, you will find it here. My favorite section is one that has been steadily growing - The Pride of New York.
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By Liz Neumark | February 26, 2013
The topic was Changing the Way We Eat, an independently organized event, TED-style, by Diane Hatz, Co-Founder and Director of the Glynwood Institute. Held at The Times Center, it was a gathering of individuals interested in our food system: how things grow, what gets grown, who eats/who doesn't, what's in the food we eat (are you sure you want to know?), what about the environment (affecting food/being affected by agriculture) and what about the other animals (the ones we eat). And more.
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By Liz Neumark | January 24, 2013
The proverbial thud at the front door as the hefty Sunday edition of the New York Times hits the floor. Let's pretend for a moment that it is a sound we all recognize (I don't believe the online version announces its arrival.) Everyone has his or her favorite first read, followed by numbers two, three, etc. until the bulk of the news is consumed and digested.
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By Liz Neumark | January 17, 2013
Fashion you wear, got that. It changes seasonally with hemlines going up and down; pants either tapered, wide or skin-tight; color palettes in or out; must-have accessories -- you know the drill. I reluctantly embrace food fashion (food theater) like kale -- the it vegetable, obscure animal parts and uber/hyper-local microgreens, pickles or craft beer of the milli-moment. The edible trends have a longer lifespan than those of the runway, and in spite of the lack of newly discovered food items, we manage to fill our plates and stomachs with newly fashioned items for consumption with surprising regularity.
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By Liz Neumark | January 04, 2013
Slowly we go back to work after the holiday stretch -- embracing deadlines, setting meetings, dusting off the to-do list and peppering it with newly resolved goals and timelines. For another two or three weeks, we can still greet a friend or colleague with "Happy New Year" and ask how the time was passed. I spent both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve at 37,000 feet, wondering if I could catch a glimpse of a man with reindeer on a sled on the 24th or celebrate the stroke of midnight several times as we traversed the east to west time zones as 2012 came to a close.
