Showing posts with label gourmet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gourmet. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Gourmet sandwich vending machines

A vending machine dispensing gourmet sandwiches in addition to Snickers bars would be a nice new product to have into offices and buildings for people who arrive for work early and stay late. By gourmet I also mean fresh, so daily restocking of ingredients will be required. On busy days, I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to get fresh a sandwich right off my desk.

http://www.thinkaloo.com

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

What do exotic recipes in gourmet food tell us about people?

This thought was posted on Thinkaloo on 18 March 2008 by member michelle

Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people

---

The other day I was having dinner with a friend at an upscale, expensive Indian restaurant. We noticed that most of the items in the menu were variations of curry, a recipe that both rich and poor people eat daily. I am sure Indian gourmet food also includes recipes that you won't see people eat every day, but what is interesting is that most recipes on the menu or what people order the most in a gourmet Indian restaurant are curry variations with fresher spices and ingredients, better cooking and obviously better taste.

When I eat at an Italian gourmet restaurant this is also the case, recipes will be mostly pasta or meat variations, with pasta and meat being food people of all incomes eat every day in Italy.

But when I go to a French or Chinese upscale restaurant, chances are that most items on the menu will not be every day recipes, meaning food that people eat every day. It will be either an exotic recipe or a recipe with hard to find or very expensive ingredients.

Does recipe variation and its split on the menu of a gourmet, upscale restaurant between everyday recipes and exotic recipes tell us something about people in that country?

French kings and Chinese emperors for example were notorious for indulging in food with their chefs competing to produce food that was exclusive to the king and had exotic, exquisite taste.

Can we say that such societies are more exclusive and hierarchical? Japanese society for example is well-known for being hierarchical. Gourmet Japanese food is kaiseki cuisine which you rarely see people eat every day.

Sushi, on the other hand, was the laborers' food during the Edo period which is now considered gourmet cuisine in the West. But sushi is something that people eat often in Japan. This is why the Japanese have the highest fish consumption per capita in the world.

Don't you think it's interesting that if you go out to eat good, gourmet Indian food chances are that you will be ordering some kind of curry variation, curry being is a recipe most people eat every day in India anyway?

What conclusions can we make about the people in a country based on the composition of their gourmet food and its high or low inclusion of every day recipes and ingredients?

Have you ever thought about it? Do you think my observation is valid or is it me who might not yet have been to the truly upscale gourmet restaurants? What do you think?

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Pasta in a sandwich?

This thought was posted on Thinkaloo on 7 March 2008 by member andy

Visit www.thinkaloo.com, our new online community where you can share your thoughts and knowledge, discuss your ideas, ask questions and meet smart people

---

Apparently yes! Seems to be popular in Japan. Have you seen it in other countries? Not sure I would eat plain pasta in bread. Adding some pasta sauce might taste better. I've been told it's fast food sold in convenience stores and people eat it as a snack. I think if they put pasta sauce in it, the taste would improve a lot. Pasta sauce companies could advertise their products this way!