andrew dornenburg and karen page ifbc keynote
TRANSCRIPT
Karen Page and Andrew DornenburgIFBC Keynote
September 20, 2014
Sheri Wetherell of Foodista
…and the entire extended International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) team
We’re happy to be here!
Thank you!
Food.
Writing.
Technology.
IFBC Conference Theme
The mission of being a food writer Our stories Trends and opportunities
◦The Top 3 Flavor Mega-Trends in the U.S. Closing remarks Q & A
“So, what are we going to talk about, honey?”
The mission of being a food writer• Learn/Educate• Entertain• Inspire
“Being a good writer has to do with living an
authentic life.”
Our storiesKarenAndrew
b. Warren, Michigan
Karen Page
b. Concord, California
Andrew Dornenburg
m. August 25, 1990BIBA
Boston, Massachusetts
Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Quotes from our rejection letters from agents
May 5, 1992
Quotes from our rejection letters from editors
July 6, 1992
Quotes from our rejection letters from editors
July 8, 1992
Quotes from our rejection letters from editors
BECOMING A CHEFJuly 1995
“Today” Show with Matt Lauer
Pioneering Flavor Compatibility
Our Books Timeline
1996: CULINARY ARTISTRY is the first known reference of compatible flavors
2008: THE FLAVOR BIBLE is the first known comprehensive reference of compatible flavors, and is translated into multiple languages
Exploring the Dining Experience
Our Books Various Vantage Points
Spent a year interviewing and dining out with restaurant critics across America
Interviewed chefs on where they eat, both on a regular basis as well as transformative experiences and lessons learned
Taking on the Wine Challenge
Our Books Exploring New Passions
No one eats in a vacuum; there is typically something to drink to accompany a meal.
How can the flavor synergies be maximized?
How can a complex topic like wine be simplified?
In Chinese, English, French, German, and Russian
Our Books (1992-2014)
“Go where no culinary writers have gone before.”
—International Cookbook Review
“The incisive, hip writing team of Dornenburg and Page [provide] a peek
into today’s great culinary minds.”—Publishers Weekly
“[Their books are] the best place to experience the cult of the New
American chef.”—The New Yorker
Impact of our books
Trends and opportunities
% Americans
ObeseOverweightNormalUnderweight
“Life” in the U.S.
Obesity increases the risk of many health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure; Type 2 diabetes; cancers, liver and gallbladder disease; sleep apnea and respiratory problems; osteoarthritis; infertility; mental health conditions
“As of 2010, diet surpassed smoking as the number-one risk factor for disease
and death in America.”
—Michael Moss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Salt, Sugar, Fat, writing in a November 3, 2013, New York Times Magazine cover story on broccoli
Death in the U.S.
The problem? The number-one cause of death in America is nutritionally-preventable diseases.
“The weight of evidence at this point in time…is so overwhelming…Nothing else…can begin to compete with the evidence
available for the whole food, plant-based diets in terms of promoting
human health.”
—T. Colin Campbell, PhD, author of the million-copy bestseller The China Study (2005)
So, what’s the solution?
“In all my interviews with nutrition experts, the benefits
of a plant-based diet provided the only point of
universal consensus.”—Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food (2008)
Leading experts concur:
Or, as TV host Bill Maher put it:
“We won’t stop being sick until we stop making
ourselves sick…The answer isn’t another pill. The answer is spinach.”
% Calories
Plant FoodsAnimal FoodsProcessed Foods
The Standard American Diet (SAD)
A Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet
% of Plate
VegetablesFruitsLegumesWhole Grains
Source: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
Top 3 Flavor Mega-Trends in the U.S.#1: Meat Consumption Falling Dramatically
2005: The China Study, Skinny Bitch & The PPK 2007: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, How to
Cook Everything Vegetarian, Veganomicon 2008: Oprah Winfrey’s vegan cleanse, Eating 2009: Eating Animals, Engine-2 Diet, Kind Diet 2010: BusinessWeek profiles “power vegans” 2011: Oprah’s Vegan Challenge, Forks Over
Knives 2012: Ellen DeGeneres on “Rachael Ray Show”
What increased the demand for plants?
2003: Candle 79 2004: Café Gratitude, Green Zebra, Pure Food &
Wine 2005: Veggie Grill 2006: Horizons, Sublime 2008: Dirt Candy, 1st veg dinner at James Beard
House by Jeremy & Deanie Fox of Ubuntu 2009: 1st vegan dinner at JBH by Vedge 2010: Gracias Madre & Eataly “vegetable
butchers” 2011: Vedge named one of GQ’s Top 12
…and what has increased the supply of plant-based foods since 2007?
% Americans
VeganVegetarianSemi-VegetarianOmnivore
Most Americans embrace eating plants — increasingly or entirely
“Vegetables are the new pork, the new cupcake, and the new craft beer all in one — they are the biggest mega-trend
ever.”
Top 3 Flavor Mega-Trends in the U.S.#2: Vegetables Taking Center Stage
Application of a broad range of traditionally meat-based techniques to plant-based ingredients, e.g.,
◦ Butchering (e.g., Eataly)
◦ Charring (e.g., fennel, ramps)
◦ Confiting (e.g., carrots)
◦ Dehydrating (e.g., kale)
◦ Grilling (e.g., corn, zucchini)
◦ Grinding (e.g., carrots)
◦ Salt-Curing (e.g., cabbage, cucumber, eggplant)
◦ Smoking (e.g., apples, cherries, cinnamon, vanilla, zucchini)
◦ Sous-Vide Cooking (e.g., carrots, parsnips, turnips)
◦ Spit-Roasting (e.g., beets)
◦ Steaking (e.g., cauliflower)
Top 3 Flavor Mega-Trends in the U.S.#3: Treating Plants Like Meat
Top 3 Flavor Mega-Trends in the U.S.
#3: Treating Plants Like Meat – Part II
Zucchini Smoked w/ Everything Bagel Crumble…
…Pickles, and Zucchini Caviar at Eleven Madison
“[Chef Rene Redzepi of] Noma, otherwise known as the best restaurant in the world
[believes]: The reason we should eat our vegetables isn’t because they’re better for us. We
should be plucking and pan roasting our friends in the plant kingdom, first
and foremost, because they are damned delicious.”
—Adam Sachs, Bon Appetit (December 2012)
Happily, there’s no need to sacrifice flavor!
“Flavor profiles are really in the herbs or the vegetables, not the protein. That is what determines the character of
the dish.”—Tom Colicchio, to Stephanie March
of Hamptons magazine (November 2012)
“I had no idea so much flavor could be delivered without butter, cream, milk, eggs, and other kitchen staples…I had trouble understanding how vegan food had
advanced this far and this fast without an accompanying outpouring of
acclaim.”—Alan Richman, GQ’s 15-time James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic, naming Philadelphia’s Vedge one of the 12 most outstanding restaurants of
2013
What happens when you eliminate eggs and dairy, too?
Eleven Madison Park (#5), Per Se (#11), DANIEL (#29), and The French Laundry (#47) all offer vegetarian tasting menus that can be served vegan upon request
Del Posto: vegan tasting menu (June 2014)
Alain Ducasse reopens Plaza Athenee in Paris with a meat- and cream-free menu (Sept. 2014)
Jean-Georges Vongerichten announces plans to open a raw vegan restaurant in 2015
Among the world’s best restaurants…
A Guide to Flavorful Plant-Strong Cuisine
• Debuts October 14, 2014
• Features insights from America’s best vegetarian and vegan restaurants
• Draws inspiration from America’s best veg tasting menus at DANIEL, Eleven Madison Park, the Inn at Little Washington, Melisse, Per Se, Picholine, and more
Closing remarks“Who are you?”
“Being a good writer has to do with living an
authentic life.”
Q & Awith K & A
