Product Description
by Patric Kuh (Author)
The multiple-James Beard Award--winning restaurant critic for Los Angeles Magazine delivers an arresting exploration of our cultural demand for "artisanal" foods in a world dominated by corporate agribusiness.
We hear the word "artisanal" all the time--attached to cheese, chocolate, coffee, even fast-food chain sandwiches--but what does it actually mean? We take "farm to table" and "handcrafted food" for granted now but how did we get here? In Finding the Flavors We Lost, acclaimed food writer Patric Kuh profiles major figures in the so-called "artisanal" food movement who brought exceptional taste back to food and inspired chefs and restaurateurs to redefine and rethink the way we eat.
Kuh begins by narrating the entertaining stories of countercultural "radicals" who taught themselves the forgotten crafts of bread, cheese, and beer-making in reaction to the ever-present marketing of bland, mass-produced food, and how these people became the inspiration for today's crop of young chefs and artisans. Kuh examines how a rediscovery of the value of craft and individual effort has fueled today's popularity and appreciation for artisanal food and the transformations this has effected on both the restaurant menu and the dinner table. Throughout the book, he raises a host of critical questions. How big of an operation is too big for a food company to still call themselves "artisanal"? Does the high cost of handcrafted goods unintentionally make them unaffordable for many Americans? Does technological progress have to quash flavor?
Eye-opening, informative, and entertaining, Finding the Flavors We Lost is a fresh look into the culture of artisan food as we know it today--and what its future may be.
Front Jacket
We hear the word artisanal all the time--attached to chocolate, coffee, even fast-food chain sandwiches--but what does it actually mean? We take "farm to table" and "handcrafted food" for granted now, but how did we get here? In Finding the Flavors We Lost, the multiple James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic for Los Angeles magazine Patric Kuh delivers an arresting exploration of the rise in cultural demand for "artisanal" foods in a world dominated by corporate agribusiness. He narrates the fascinating stories of countercultural "radicals" who taught themselves how to make better tasting bread, cheese, and beer in reaction to the ever-present marketing of bland, mass-produced food. These artisans in turn helped blaze the trail for today's crop of rising young chefs.
Eye-opening, informative, and entertaining, Finding the Flavors We Lost is a fresh look into the culture of artisanal food as we know it today--and what its future may be.
--Alex Guarnaschelli, executive chef at Butter and author of Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to CookBack Jacket
We hear the word artisanal all the time--attached to chocolate, coffee, even fast-food chain sandwiches--but what does it actually mean? We take "farm to table" and "handcrafted food" for granted now, but how did we get here? In Finding the Flavors We Lost, the multiple James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic for Los Angeles magazine Patric Kuh delivers an arresting exploration of the rise in cultural demand for "artisanal" foods in a world dominated by corporate agribusiness. He narrates the fascinating stories of countercultural "radicals" who taught themselves how to make better tasting bread, cheese, and beer in reaction to the ever-present marketing of bland, mass-produced food. These artisans in turn helped blaze the trail for today's crop of rising young chefs.
Eye-opening, informative, and entertaining, Finding the Flavors We Lost is a fresh look into the culture of artisanal food as we know it today--and what its future may be.
