Celebrity Chef Roundup: Books, TV/Film, Restaurants, Websites, News

[Darb]

My wife is taking me (and 2 of our close friends - both of them in the Food & Entertainment industry) to Mario Batali's "Babbo" in NYC for my 40th birthday this coming weekend. Hello 3 hour personal tasting menu. Hello tableside visit from Mario

I'd have to say that Mario is my current fave out of the current crop of TV Chefs on the "Food Network". I like him not just because he's truly talented, but because he speaks & cooks straight from the soul. You can't fake that, or learn it in school, or read it off a teleprompter. Cooking from the soul is kinda like the clear soaring note of a tuning fork ... it's either there & on the money, or it's not.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a good time, and I'll be sure to post summaryage of the experience - as time permits.

/me reminds self to pick up a copy of "The Babbo Cookbook" for autographing.

[Darb]

Well, first the good news ...

Babbo now has a website: http://www.babbonyc.com/home.html

The bad news is we had to cancel our reservation due to a family emergency

[Darb]

Thomas Keller (The French Laundry) and Gary Knutz are both in the process of opening restaurants in the new Time Warner center in Manhattan.

Despite my anti-french bias, I'd be interested in going to Keller's new place, "Per Se" ... being that it's American owned, American run, and features the #1 chef in the country.

I highly recommend his book, BTW.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

[bob k. mando]

well, i don't know how this ranks on the 'famousosity' scale but i quite enjoy BILBO BAGGINS GLOBAL WINE CAFE AND RESTAURANT in Alexandria, VA (a suburb of Washington, DC).

i really enjoyed that Andouille Chicken Breast and their Monte Cristo sandwich on the lunch menu is really good.

[Darb]

Well, I must say that I like their:

* Wine list
* Beer menu (slightly offended aside: most microbrews are best served at 40-55F ... very definitely *NOT* at 32-40F in frosted glasses ! The excessive cold closes down the flavor)
* Tapas & Bar Menu

Food looks like a mix of Italian, French, and a touch of Malaysian.

I'd probably go there in a hot second, if they were local, just to try it out.

However, WTF did their chef/owner pick "Bilbo Baggins" as the name of the place ?!

It's got nothing whatsoever to do with the food he's serving or the decor theme ... the only thing I can think of is that hobbits love to eat, so it's a whimsical literary reference to an epicurean in a popular work of fantasy.

I doubt he has permission to do so from JRRT's estate, and they'd be within their rights to sue him ... and given how brutally they stomped on the neck of "Gandalf the Party Clown/Wizard" (feel free to google that, for the sordid details), it probably would only need a single e-mail from a disaffected customer to get the ball rolling

If I were him, I'd be nervous and considering a name change for his establishment.

[bob k. mando]

i've not spoken to armellini personally, but there are several 'hobbit-themed' items on the menu (Bilbo Burger, Bilbo Baggins Dominion Amber Lager, Bilbo's Salad).

the web page used to say that the restaurant's quisine was european (middle-earth) based with influences from around the world ... but i don't see that anymore. maybe it's on their print menu.

however, if you click on 'menu' on the bar on the right of the screen you can print yourself a discount coupon.

there is somewhat of a LOTR theme to the restaurant ... but only if you dine upstairs. they've had a middle-earth themed mural painted across the ceiling of the second floor. alas, that's all there is to the 'hobbitness' of the establishment. no round doors, no round windows and it's certainly not built back into a hill (building codes and historical building preservation regs in Old Towne Alexandria may have something to do with this).

OTOH, at the end of RotK Bilbo sailed to the west did he not? what better way for him to while away his retirement than the serving of good food and .

as for the tolkein estate litigating, i don't know anything about that but i should hope they would go after Bilbo's Motel before they tried to shut down the restaurant.

[Darb]

Question: What are some examples of trademark actions against FanFic authors?

Answer: · Gandalf the Wizard Clown: This is another example involving the various rights related to Tolkien and his works. This case involves "Gandalf," the name of a wizard in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and Michael Kaplan, a children's entertainer who performs at birthday parties in the New York area. The dispute arises from Kaplan's stage name: Gandalf the Wizard Clown. Although technically Kaplan might not be a FanFic author, this example is still important because there might be scenarios where fans do take on the persona of certain characters and "reenact" or "perform" different parts of a book, movie or play. In these cases, there might very well be a trademark violation.

Unlike Kaplan, however, fans usually would not attempt to trademark a stage name or attempt to directly profit from any FanFic activities. Even before filming of The Lord of the Rings movie began, Kaplan's use of the name had reaped him much publicity. This is partly why large companies are willing to go after single individuals. With unimaginable opportunities in merchandising (like Star Wars), companies are more keen on protecting their interests.

Kaplan insists the name Gandalf stems from ancient Scandinavian literature and was therefore not invented by Tolkien. But as a trademark issue, whether a word is in the public domain or not is not such an important distinction; the important issue is whether a mark is distinctive or generic in relation to a good or service. If the former, then it can be a valid trademark despite being in the public domain (see "Is the mark protected"). As the attorneys for Tolkien Enterprises explain, the derivation of the name is irrelevant; only the public perception of the name counts. After several years, the issue has finally be resolved through a mutual agreement. The resolution of the dispute between Kaplan and Tolkien Enterprises allows Kaplan to continue working as Gandalf. "Under the settlement, Kaplan will offer his Gandalf the Wizard Clown performance services and related products under license from Tolkien Enterprises," the statement read. "Other terms of the settlement are confidential."

· Harry Potter: Nancy Stouffer claimed she was the author of several works based on a set of characters called "Muggles," and brought an action against Scholastic Inc. and J. K. Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series, for trademark violations. Subsequently, the suit was dismissed and Stouffer fined after the District Court judge found that she had ``perpetrated a fraud on the court'' by altering documents after release of the first Harry Potter books. See Scholastic, Harry Potter Author Win `Muggles' Suit (Update2) for more details.

Nonetheless, the legal rulings in the case illustrate one relationship between trademark law and fan fiction. One function of trademark law is to prevent a party from "falsely misrepresenting" the source of certain goods and services because this type of act would lead to consumer confusion and harm for the public and the real trademark owner. Section 43(a)(1) of the Lanham Act prohibits such false designations in two forms: "passing off," in which A promotes A's products under B's name, and "reverse passing off," in which A promotes B's products under A's name. In this example, "Stouffer's false designation of origin claim falls into the latter category, because [she] alleges that Rowling engaged in passing off Stouffer's marks, character names, and the illustrated likeness of 'L[H]arry Potter' as her own." In the context of literary works, reverse passing off claims generally consist of the "misappropriation of credit properly belonging to the original creator of the work."

The court in Scholastic Inc., v. Stouffer, 124 F. Supp. 2d 836; 2000 U.S. Dist., stated that a successful reverse passing off claim must "establish (i) that the work at issue originated with the claimant; (ii) that origin of the work was falsely designated by the defendant; (iii) that the false designation of origin was likely to cause consumer confusion; and (iv) that the claimant was harmed by the defendant's false designation of origin." The court also notes that such a claim may be asserted whether or not a registered trademark is involved since Section 43(a) is violated by the use of any "symbol" as a "false designation of origin."

Give them time - it'll happen.

[clong]

Brad, I saw your plug for Keller's book above. Have you ever eaten at the French Laundry? I was there for dinner two years ago - $400+ for two of us (with one of the cheapest wines on the list). Certainly my most memorable dinner of the last 10 years or so.

[Darb]

I havent been to the French Laundry yet, no ... but I know several who have, and they've all loved it. The book (I've written a reminder to myself to write a review for it) encapsulates the theme and philosophy of the restaurant quite nicely. The recipes are 'pinacle' type recipes that pursue perfection in flavor, regardless of how much labor is required to achieve it ... Per SE regullarly stocks things like 12 differnt wild game sauce glaces, 12 different herb oils, made fresh, etc ad infinitum ... and that's just one small part of their daily culinary preparations (mis en place) That's not the sort of things that are easy or typical to make at home. Still, it's a fabulous read, and as soon as life and free time permits, I'm hoping to visit Per Se in NYC.

p.s. I've tasted his recipe for 'salmon tartar in wafer cones, with chive oil' ... which is actually one of his easier recipes to make. Simple, yet complex ... and fabulous.

[Darb]

Anyone planning to watch the new "Iron Chef America" series ?

I've swapped letters with the food network before on this series, and it appears that this latest incarnation will be a lot more serious and less stupid/campy than the last aborted effort. Small victory there.

I'll have to see if I can dredge up some of the letters I wrote and post them ...

[Darb]

So, anyone have any culinary TV shows they'd like to discuss ?

* Iron Chef (various)
* Gordon Elliot: Follow that Ingredient
* Mario Batali: Molto Mario, et al.
* Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Extreme Cuisine, etc.
* Alton Brown: Good Eats
* Rachel Ray: 30 Min Meals
* Emeril Lagasse
* Giada Di Laurentis
* Nigella Lawson: Nigella Bites
* Jacques Pepin
* Galloping Gourmet
* Julia Child
etc.

Who do you like, and why ?
Who do you dislike, and why ?

Let's hear it !

No need to stick with TV either ... theatrical movies are fair game too:

* The Big Night
* Babette's Feast
etc.

[nzilla]

How about The Silence of the Lambs?

[Darb]

That's what I get for kidding around everywhere else in the forum ... nobody wants to take me seriously when I'm actually trying to be serious.

/me lights the portable butane stove, oils the pan, pops a bottle of VSOP cognac, and prepares to saw nzilla's skull open ...

[wolfspirit]

I like watching the cinese guy on WHYY-PBS Simple Ming, or something like that. He does good food, but understands that we are all on a limited budget/don't have all the fancy tools that the pros have.

Other than that, I don't watch many cooking shows. I do try and catch Americas Test Kitchen every Saturday afternoon.

magicfan241

[Darb]

America's Test Kitchen is a good show ... think Alton Brown, minus all the intelligence insulting sight gags.

[RecluceMage]

You missed Hell's Kitchen.... that show was awesome! I think I'd have done well on it. I can cook, am creative, and have problems in a demanding atmosphere. I so would have loved to have attended one of their dinners.

[Darb]

Not sure if I've seen that one - if only because the name doesn't ring a culinary series bell for me. I'll look for it.

I enjoy improvizational cooking, and I'm frequently throwing stuff together to use up things that are overstocked or getting a bit long in the tooth.

Case in point - last night my produce drawer was overstuffed, so I made a dent in it by throwing togther some salad fixing with some suplus fruit, and an old tomato & avacado (half of the latter was black/overripe).

It looks complicated, but it's really just thrown together on the fly, using whatever was handy. I usually dont bother recording such recipes, because they're always changing to fit whatever's available.

Salad Recipe (from memory) <--- Entree for 2 hungry adults

Salad:
* 1 lg head Romaine Lettuce, split lengthwise, rinsed, drained, cored and chopped.
* salt & pepper
* 1 old avacado, diced (I prefer haas, but I only had half of a salvageable Fla handy)
* 1 old tomato, diced
* 1 med-ripe leftover peach, pitted, cored, peeled & diced
* 2 slices multi-grain bread, toasted, cooled, then chopped into croutons.

Dressing:
* Fresh Grated zest of 1 old lemon
* Fresh Juice of 1-2 old lemons (no seeds)
* Dark Sesame Oil
* Spritz of simple syrup (just enough for a touch of sweetness in the dressing)
* Salt to taste

Garnish:
* Freshly micro-grated parm (the real stuff - not green box crap, or domestic versions) ... enough to give a lightly creamy coating to all the ingredients.

Directions:
* Chop all salad ingredients into a large salad bowl & toss.
* Mix dressing in a small mug, drizzle over salad & toss until evenly coated.
* Grate in the cheese & toss until evenly coated.
* Divide between 2 soup bowls, top with a little extra grated cheese, then re-heat, thin-slice, and fan out on top whatever leftover protein you have handy (be it pork chops, steak, chicken breast, salmon, etc ... in my case, it was lamb chops).

p.s. My wife was a little surprised at the pairing of peach and tomato, but it's actually a time-honored version of salsa - there's actually very little that's new under the sun ... there's only things some of us are unfamiliar with.

[RecluceMage]

Ok, Hell's Kitchen was a reality TV show and the final winner got a restaurant of his own. Brad, why didn't you try out for this? You'd have won! It was a good show, and I did actually learn about the nicer side of the food industry (by that I mean a true kitchen, not a Waffle House cook line). It did discuss different foods, their spices, how to make different kinds of dishes, and a lot on food preperation and presentation. While not a true cooking show, it was still quite good.

[wolfspirit]

p.s. My wife was a little surprised at the pairing of peach and tomato, but it's actually a time-honored version of salsa - there's actually very little that's new under the sun ... there's only things some of us are unfamiliar with.

I have to go through my personal recipe book, because I make peach salsa about twice a year, and I'll make sure to put it up on here.

magicfan241

[Paladin]

My wife loves Tyler Florence from the Food Network. We went to one of his book signings a couple years ago when he was in town. I had taken a picture of her standing next to him and she had to put it on the fridge for the next 6 mos.

[Paladin]

BTW I love Iron chef. They use to have a Iron Chef marathon every new years weekend on the food network.

[Paladin]

I did catch Hell's Kitchen. It was truely a good show. In fact I remeber seeing tryouts for it in our local newspaper and PBS station.

I don't know what it is but I find Alton Brown from Good Eats, very annoying. Rachel Ray sometimes gets up there too.

[violetblue]

I did catch Hell's Kitchen. It was truely a good show. In fact I remeber seeing tryouts for it in our local newspaper and PBS station.

I don't know what it is but I find Alton Brown from Good Eats, very annoying. Rachel Ray sometimes gets up there too.

I love Alton Brown. I am not a fusspot in the kitchen like he is, but for some reason, I find his scientific and exacting approach very soothing. But come on, who actually measures? I bet there's no shortcuts in his kitchen. I saw a chef who was one of his teachers talking about him one time, and he said he used to drive him crazy asking him why all the time and conducting his own little cooking experiments after hours. I guess it paid off. Rachel Ray can be annoying because she's got that nasally Southside Chicago thing goin' on. Plus she's so perky. But she knows her way around a kitchen.

I liked Hell's Kitchen, too. Do you remember the one where the winner, Michael, was walking around in circles outside the kitchen, talking to himself "Michael will win, Michael is the best," and then talking to the giant billboard of Gordon Ramsey? Scary and yet darkly humorous. Here's the link to the show's website, for those of you who didn't see it: http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/.

As for the others Brad brought up, I like Iron Chef, but only the old Japanese ones. They are entertaining, if only to see what the host is wearing. Nix Gordon Elliot, too tall and annoying. Mario's OK. He's kind of a know-it-all. Me likes Anthony Bourdain, for a lot of reasons. The more smart-mouthed and swarmy the better, I guess. I plan to read his book, Kitchen Confidential, soon. I haven't seen the TV series yet, although I have them recorded. Emeril, well, he's over the top for me. I find his recipes to be a bit complicated for ordinary people.

Does anybody remember the PBS series, Two Fat Chicks? They rode around on motor scooters. And there was that Cajun guy, who always said "whoo-eee!" He was entertaining. I also used to watch The Frugal Gourmet a long time ago, Jeff Smith was a controversial fellow though, with lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of young men surrounding him. I'm not sure he was ever convicted, but there were several suits that were settled out of court.

[Paladin]

Rachel Ray can be annoying because she's got that nasally Southside Chicago thing goin' on. Plus she's so perky. But she knows her way around a kitchen.

As for the others Brad brought up, I like Iron Chef, but only the old Japanese ones. And there was that Cajun guy, who always said "whoo-eee!" He was entertaining. .

Hey! I'm from the Southside of Chicago! Actually Rachel is from
Massachusetts and then lived in New York.

The old japanese Tron chef shows were great!

The cajun guy is Justin Wilson.

[Paladin]

I just checked Justin Wilson's bio. He died in Sept 2 2001. He was 87 years old. I didn't realize he was that old.