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TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES

New Chef for the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino

Bellstar Announces New Wine Village for Oliver




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ON THE NEWSSTAND TODAY

THE LOCAL INK


We have to say, if you want info on Reece Witherspoon's new figure or Angelina Jolie's latest adoption caper, the Vancouver Sun makes it easy, but you've got work to do if you are a fan of food columnist Mia Stainsby. Tracking down the links to her most current online material is like trying to find one particular raisin in a fruitcake. Here's a couple more links to Stainsby reviews from last week.

Tea Lounge Serves Serenity

Taste of the East Gives Comfort



THE OUTSIDE WORLD


Most of the local media publishes their food columns on Thursday so we will be able to link to that later today, but for now from the media dog we have:



So can you handle it? Sally Peck, food blogger for the Telegraph comments on a BBC film documentary with explicit scenes of animal butchery …

In the programme, a film crew has taken over a small working abattoir and installed windows onto the slaughter room so guests can view the action close-up. An adjacent kitchen-dining room, with views onto the slaughter room, was put in so the meat could be cooked directly after slaughter and then offered to the people who have just watched the killing and butchering.

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Steve Cuozzo of the New York Post grouches about the new trends in restaurant wine lists.

There are excellent bottles below $200, but you must really work to find them. I felt like a cheapskate ordering a $125 bottle of Spanish Priorat after wading through the more numerous likes of Bryant Family Vineyards cabernet sauvignon - a Napa cult favorite offered in every vintage from 1992 to 2002 and priced from $725 to $975 each.

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The LA Times Food section reports on the city’s rash of new wine bars including a coin operated one that functions something like a laudromat. In fact it probably should be in a laudromat.

It's an automat for wine lovers, albeit one that requires lots of quarters. At Vinum Populi in Culver City, tastes of 48 wines are for sale from "Enomatic" vending machines. With your glass under one of the spouts, you insert a prepaid debit card, punch a button and you've served yourself at the wine bar.


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Sweden is putting Absolute vodka up for sale.

With an estimated price tag of $5.7 billion, potential buyers include market leader Diageo PLC, Pernod Ricard SA and Fortune Brands, which already has a distribution deal with V&S.
"It's the best price that counts," said Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell.

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Recipe Tip from Heston Blumenthal, the Michelin three-star chef at the Fat Duck in London came up with this interesting technique for homemade pizza.

The only equipment you’ll need is a cast-iron skillet and your oven’s broiler. You preheat the skillet on the stove over the highest possible heat for 20 minutes, then put the pan under the broiler upside down. A pizza slides on top of the pan’s underside, and goes under the broiler for just 1 minute and 35 seconds. It comes out cooked through and bubbling, with artfully charred edges and crust and a chewy inside.


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WHO'S GOT IT - OUR BUZZ METER For MARCH 7, 2007
(The most requested information on the site as measured by Google keyword counter)





PEOPLE:

1) Janice Lotzgar (Restaurateur)
2) Neil Ingram (Sommelier)
3) Ben Pernosky (Chef)
4) Britta Joyce (Restaurant Owner)
5) Tim Wispinski (Wine Agent)

PLACES:

1) Hugo's Boat House, Victoria
2) Mountain Club, Whistler
3) Fetch Hot Dog Cart, Vancouver
4) Italian Kitchen, Vancouver
5) White Goose Bistro, Prince George

THINGS:

1) Glowbal Group's anniversary
2) closure of Beachside Cafe
3) lunch specials at Provence
4) events at the Fairmont Empress
5) cooking with sous vide method

STRANGEST CONNECTION:

trends with seaweed for 2007


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TODAY'S BIG DEAL