Foodish
Eat, play, love! From pret a manger to pret a porter Foodie is the new trend Caffeine fanatics..it can't be too bad Foodish, a playful guide for food and fashion addicts.
Editor’s letter Welcome to Foodish, the first editorial experiment of a-crazy-for-shoes-caffeine-addicted woman with a keen lust for greasy spoons. If like me, once in your life, you had a hard time deciding between a Prada clutch and a KitchenAid Artisan mixer, it doesn’t mean that you need to spend some time in rehab and I promise that you are not alone. Foodish is a supporting community for people who have a serious issue with food and fashion. As for food, our love for fashion doesn’t stop to the latest Milan fashion shows. We are interested on new and creative fashion solutions. For our first edition we decided to meet Lana Dumitru, a talented designer from Romania. And we consolidated our love for Eastern European countries’ culture tasting cornolete, the ultimate in croissant baking. We hope you will enjoy our creature that we have fed with love for months and we hope we will be able to pass you on the positive vibes we breathed during the development of this idea! Bon apetit!
“People who love to eat are always the best people”. Julia Child
Foodish Contents
CAFFEINE ADDICTED
10-11 Italian coffee? Yes, please!
We found out why Bialetti coffee machine is a must-have
16-17 Our London favorite
35 Why have we fallen in love
with Romania? Cornolete, of course. The ultimate in croissant baking.
corners. Eastenders’ life A tour through the Colombia Road market and some tips on the best cafs in East London
FASHION & FOOD CRAVINGSzz
FOOD OBSSESED
Are skinny models turning into
20-23 Do you know what arri-
chefs?
ves on your table? Giovanna Pisacane investigates the causes of the horsegate
6-8 SFashion is crazy for food. 14-15 Foodish festivals. What
to do in London this summer: EAT!!
26-29 Salone del Mobile. De-
signed furniture and gormande food in the Italian fashion capital
32-34 Lana Dumitru. A new fresh air from the East. We fall in love with Romanian fashion new darling and –of course- with Romanian food. Who said that French croissants are the best?
38-39 Story deli. When fashion meets pizza. Is it true that a former Vogue Italia Stylist opened a restaurant?
FASHION IS CRAZY FOR FOOD: EAT IT UP! Say goodbye to Kate Moss’ sadly rigid diet and
welcome the love for food! Models aren’t known for their appetites, but it seems that recently, fashion industry has fallen in love with food. The “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is only a far mirage. Karl Lagerfeld’s daily meal consisting of ten cans of Diet Coke has been replaced by greasy MacDonald’s cheeseburgers, as Cara Delevigne suggested on twitter, capturing her quick lunches during the latest fashion shows. Meanwhile, Lara Stone, in a recent interview, said that she wants to open a good “chips place”, for which she already found a smart name “Lara Baps and Buns”. “There isn’t a proper caff here”, she stated. “I’d like to have my own burger place. They are all too fancy. My life is quite fancy, but I still love chips. That is the plan”. Cara and Lana are not left alone in this love for food. Jourdan Dunn with her “Well Dunn With Jourdan Dunn” food show on Jay Z’s YouTube channel LifeTimes endeared her audience with fried chicken, jerk pork and rice and peas. “I am not trying to become a model chef. I just wanted you all to see another side of me. Cooking is just something I really enjoy doing” she tweeted after the first show aired in December 2012. “Sport Illustrated” model, Chrissy Teigen, who started with her food blog “So delushious”, followed her fashion mates, ending up recently on the Cooking Channel with her own show “Crissy Teigen’s Hungry”. Traveling around the world with her famous fiancé, the R&B singer John Legend, she drags in a tasting adventure in order to find the best dishes for her wedding. Another super skinny model has recently revealed an unexpected talent for baking. The 20 year old American mannequin Karlie Kloss debuted last September at New York’s Momofuku Milk Bar with a gluten free cookies recipe. And what makes these delicious biscuits taste better is that the money raised through their sale will go towards Lauren Bush Feed association against malnutrition. Even Lancôme most famous face, Elettra Wiede-
mann, showed her passion for food, opening a pop up restaurant in New York. With “Thank Goodness”, she wants to fulfill customers’ craving of a health but at the same time delicious meal. Because healthy doesn’t mean unseasoned boiled vegetables. Her chef Leo Forneas health conscious offerings, in fact, include a silky mushroom accented with vegetarian dumplings and creamy tofu and roasted scallops paired with puckered beets and peppery Japanese greens and none of these delicious dishes sound as healthy but not tasty kind of food. Elettra’s hope is to start a very important dialogue within the industry about healthy food as she declared in a recent interview for The New York Times Magazine. And she is delighted by the fact that Goodness has recently earned the approval of the Council of Fashion Designers
of America Health Initiative. CFDA is a not-forprofit trade association whose membership consists of more than 400 of America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry and accessory designers, who raise funds for charity and industry activities. Again, proceeds from her light menus will go to one of her favorite charities, City Harvest, which is dedicated to feeding New York City’s homeless. Ralph Lauren’s girls, Robyn Lawley and Valentina Zelyaeva followed Elettra enthusiasm for healthy food. Valentina has its own blog where she shares her secret smoothies’ recipes. Recently, she started a collaboration with “Organice your Life”, a online magazine founded by Lonneke Engel, a former successful Danish model (who also worked for Ralph Lauren) and the ambassador of The Green Fashion Competition, organized by Amsterdam Fashion Week. This association’s aim is to find the fashion designer of the future, who also has a passion for sustaining biodiversity. On the other hand, Robyn Lawley’s blog is a banquet for the eyes. She shares low fat and fair trade conscious but always gourmande food pictures and recipes with her audience and she recently wrote on her blog that she is a self confessed foodie. “I live in New York and I am a model, cooking is the best gift in life and I want to share that gift”. Who can blame her? But it’s Cesar Casier’s YSL and Dolce & Gabbana model ‘s“The Cesar Salad blog” the ultimate in cuisine couture. The success of his experiment drove him to write “The model kitchen book”. “I have a great passion for food and for fashion. I left home to model and didn’t want to go to fast food restaurants so I learned to cook. I decided to make a cookbook about what models eat to prove that we eat healthy, fresh and low calories, but still tasty”. The contributors are all famous fellas: Lily Donaldson gave her own kale salad recipe, Milla Jovovich shared her secret for a perfect baked salmon and green asparagus,
Julia Restoin Rotfield gave the right tips to make a delightful roast chicken with quinoa and Lindsey Wixson offered a chocolate chip cookies with real sugar. The infatuation for food has even reached one of the most famous photographer and living spaces’ stylist, Brooklyn based blogger, Todd Selby. He has travelled the world capturing some of the most creative cooks in their kitchens, from founder of St John Fergus Henderson in London to Noma chef René Redzepi in Copenaghen to gather all the information he needed to edit his Edible Selby, who food nerds already baptized as the New Food Bible. It’s not just models who are gone crazy for food. Designer Giles Deacon recently bought a two storey flat in Clerkenwell above a kebab shop planning to turn it into a snack venue. U.S. Designer Reed Krakoff not ready for a life behind the counter, accomplished his love for food, by teaming up with Laduree to create a delicious all black matte dark chocolate macaron for St Valentine’s Day. This is not the first time that this famous Parisian patisserie benefited from the collaboration of a great designer; how to
forget Lanvin’s bubblegum flavored macarons. Collaborations with food companies have been the trend of this season: in February, Richard Nicoll designed the Tropicana Trop 50 bottle, the new fashion friendly low calorie breakfast drink . Nicoll re imagined his famous Stella design in an orange print to customize fifty copies of this product, which have been released in support of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. The newest darling of the London fashion scene, Dutch designer Maarten van der Horst created a Black and Blum lunch pot with his own print in collaboration with Total Greek Yoghurt. What makes this yoghurt even more tastier is that the proceeds of hundred exclusive pots will go to Action for Children. YSL Opium Parfum testimonial Sophie Dahl’s debut in the food industry in 2003, with “From season to season: a year in recipes” was the first model’s attempt to achieve success and recognition in the food industry. She led the way for a big change. If a model writes a book about tasty dishes and gourmande recipes, it means that she eats, or at least that she doesn’t hate food. Fashion association with food has always been negative. Models have often been criticized for their skinny bodies, fueling harsh discussion on how their appearance influence in a bad way teenagers. Anorexia and bulimia are words which have always matched with fashion. Hungry models with a penchant for tasty food, as Cara Delevigne who doesn’t disdain a pizza for dinner, won’t be an answer to the problem. However models who publicly show their appetites by talking on TV shows or by tweeting fantastic pictures of their meals can affect youngsters in a positive way. Counting stopped with Kate Moss. This is the time of Chrissy Teigen and John Legend planning for a stunning wedding menu more than a beautiful ceremony.
Giovanna Pisacane
ITALIAN COFFEE? Why do you need a Bialetti moka to make a real and good Italian coffee? Giovanna Pisacane answers this question. Alfonso Bialetti introduced the Moka Express in 1933. It was the time when entire and brave Italian families confronted the ocean in order to find a better future in the new continent. And they say, they were easing up on their trips drinking a good coffee. The Moka Express is not just a stovetop espresso machine, but it is an object that left a mark on Italian history. 9 in 10 Italian households own a Moka Express. This iconic object, has been developed by Alfonso Bialetti with the help of Luigi De Ponti, and it has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the London design Museum. Do you know that the idea for its construction didn’t originate in the kitchen, but in the laundry room? Alfonso Bialetti was watching his wife do laundry, and observing the workings of
YES, PLEASE! the washing machine: a fire, a bucket, and a lid with a tube coming out of it he started to think. The bucket was filled with a soapy water, sealed with the lid, and then brought to a boil over the fire, at which point the vaporized soapy water was pushed up through the tube and expelled on the laundry. Bialetti imagined a similar mechanism for coffee, one in which a lower chamber filled with boiling water would force steam up through coffee grounds and then condense in an upper chamber. After few attempts, he gave birth to the Moka Express. Paul Campani, contributed to Bialetti coffee machine’s success. To advertise his product, Bialetti commissioned to this famous Italian artist a mascot. In Italian, the figure is known as l’omino coi baffi – the mustachioed little man- and was printed on the side of the coffee machine. It is rumored that l’omino is a caricature of Alfonso Bialetti himself, but according to the Bialetti historical archive, the blacksuited man is actually is eldest son Renato. Bialetti is not just a simple machine you need to make coffee. This little object contains tradition and love for simple things.
FOODISH FESTIVALS
Are you still planning your summer holiday? Don’t leave London! Here, there are some tips to enjoy the most foodish season of the year. REAL FOOD FESTIVAL
TOAST
FOODIES FESTIVAL
TASTE OF LONDON
When? From the 3rd to the 6th of May. Entrance free Where? Southbank Centre What? 150 producers selling artisan cheeses, regional specialities, live music. A huge gathering of independent manufactures will give talks and demonstrations. Animals will be the star attraction; children – and even grown up- will enjoy meeting Nobby the Norfolk Horn ram and friends. This event will also include the Campo Viejo Streets of Spain Festival, with sellers from Barcelona’s La Boqueria Market. Why? Spanish chef Angel Pascual’s pop up, featuring a five-course Catalan tasting menu. And even more! Robert Ortiz of Peruvian restaurant Lima, Raymond Blanc and Atul Kochhar of Benares will give special demonstrations. Best for: foodies obsessed by threats from all over the world! Specialties: try Wessex Pantry’s game pies (£6-£8) and Cranfield’s Foods’ preserves (from £3.80)
When? 1-2 June. Ticket from £10. Where? Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street, EC2. What? The Shoreditch gallery will host a “celebration of food and ideas”, with chefs, restaurateurs and producers who will entertain the audience with discussions and debates. There will be workshops, tastings, a pop-up cookbook shop, food from Street Kitchen and an after-party at hipster hangouty Rotary Bar & Diner on City Road. Why? Food eventeers Bompas & Parr are hosting a talk. There will be Pitt cue Co’s Tom Adams and FT critic Nicholas Lander. Henry Dimbleby of Leon is leading a panel discussion about sustainable food and the industry. Best for: Foodie intellectuals Specialties: Try Street Kitchen’s slow-roast pork with apple coleslaw, pickled red cabbage, smoky potatoes, baby leaf and smoked grain mustard mayo for £7.50. It will worth it!
When? From the 7th to the 9th of June. One-day adult ticket £15, children under 12 go free. Where? Clapham Common What? You can’t miss it. This year, the Foodies festival will feature a children cookery theatre and master chef 2012 winner Shelina Permalloo. Restaurants tents from Randall & Aubin and street-food stalls will feed all those lazy people who’d skip the lessons. Why? One more reason? Jamie Oliver’s restaurants Barbecoa and Jamie’s Italian. Gilgamesh chef Ian Pengelley and Alex Head of Social Pantry will be giving demonstrations. Best for: Family fun. Specialties: Tucker’s Exotic Meat’s African and Aussie game burgers (£5-£6).
When? From the 20th to the 23th of June. Tickets from £24, £12 for children aged six to 14 Where? Regent’s Park What? Regent’s Park will host one of the most memorable festival for foodies of the year. London’s finest restaurants will serve up tasting menus. Here, few of the most famous names have already signed up; L’Anima, Barbecoa, Benares, Gauthier Soho and Club Gascon. Artisan food and drink producers will contribute to the event. Chapel Down English winery and the Tomato Stall, which will be dishing up produce from the Isle of Wight will delight the visitors eyes and mouth. Why? Top chefs have always been the star attraction. In past years Michael Roux Jr, Nuno Mendes and Rene’ Redzepi are just few of the famous names who joined this festival. Best for: Food bloggers will love it. Specialties: Styles Farmhouse ice cream, homemade on the family farm using 100 per cent fresh cow’s milk, for just £2.50 - £3.Is that enough?
Our London favoUrite corners.
Eastenders’ life A take-away coffee from Campania in one hand and a little box of calamari from Lee’s Seafood (try them with a bit of the red sweet – and – sour spicy sauce they offer you ) in the other one and you can start a tour through the Columbia Road Market. Children traders helping their parents to sell their flowers who try to shout as loud as they can to attract visitors to their stalls, the gorgeous smell of daffodils, roses and peonies, the market’s colors, the little gardening shops facing the street give to this London’s corner its well known joyful atmosphere. You can’t miss the Sunday Flower Market - going back home with a bunch of flowers is the kind of London tradition you will love to embrace. The market starts at eight AM (but if you walk back through the road after a night out, you can see traders setting up their stall as early as 4AM) and it gets really busy during lunch time. People love hanging out around the stalls, browsing through the shops that line Columbia Road. How could you go back home without one of the nice pots they sell?
And after having taken the hardest decision of your life when you had to choose between Lisa Burridge’s narcissi and a rosemary plant from Mick & Silvia Grover, the only thing you have to do is to stop at Campania and have a lovely Italian lunch. Legs of ham hanging from the ceiling, an unforgettable coffee smell, smiling and kind waiters, few tables, rustic furniture, you will feel like you are having a Southern Italy meal! You can feed yourself with one of their antipasto board, as many people use to do, drink a glass of Greco di Tufo and taste one of their pasta dish -they will recommend you their Paccheri Tonnaiola, outside tubes with a simple and pleasant sauce made of top – quality tuna, cooked cherry tomatoes, good olive oil and olives-. Flowers, food, the right companion and you can turn your Sunday in a very special day. And trust me, “everithin’ for a fivah” will become a lovely refrain you won’t forget once you have been there. Giovanna Pisacane
PELLICCI, FOOD AND LOVE There is a place in the middle of Bethnal Green Road, where your dreams finally can come true: can you imagine to have the most incredible English breakfast you have ever had, while you are drinking a real Italian coffee? And if I say a real one, believe me, it is! You can recognize the heavenly smell just crossing the street, before getting in the cafè! This lovely “greasy spoon” has been ran by an Italian family since the 1900s; Primo Pellicci began working in the café in 1900 and it was here that his wife Elide brought up his seven children and took care of the business after his death. Then Nevio Pellicci, one of her children, took her place until his death in December 2008. Nowadays it’s Nevio junior who is still running the business, however as it usually happens among Italian families, it’s all in the hands of his mother Maria, with her charisma and her natural authority! She’s is the chief and you can see her through the little kitchen’s window checking if it’s everything in the right place! With his strong cockney accent, Nev, as the customers call him, welcomes you with his kind and friendly smile and makes you feel at home. This East End institution, which has fed gangsters and civilians, poor and posh, nowadays it’s attended not only by artists and cool guys from the area, but also by old regulars who used to go there before going to school and now they use to bring their own children to eat the same breakfast they had few years ago. People queuing for hours during lunch time, who instead of complaining, start speaking to each other, few tables, huge meals and a always smiling Toni -Maria’a nephew, a Neapolitan guy who has been working here since he
left school-, makes you feel you are not just eating out, but you are enjoying a family lunch. What makes this place so familiar is the furniture too: the walls are lined with vintage family portraits and the art deco Formica interior which dates back to 1945 gives it its well known warm atmosphere. What’s more is that Pellicci is the only one of London’s classic Italian caffs to have achieved Grade II – listed status! If you look at the grade II listed facade, you will see an E. emblazoned in chrome upon it which stays for Elide, Pellicci matriarch’s name. There are two rooms upstairs the café where Elide gave birth to her seven children and which now serve as an informal museum of the history of Pellicci, personally curated by Toni. Toni has lined the walls with press cuttings, photographs and all kind of memorabilia, which tell the story of the ascendancy of Pellicci’s. What I love about Pellicci is the courtesy of the owners and their humble manner of serving customers. They won’t make you go away without giving you a slice of bread pudding made by Mamma Maria, as the children who come to the café call her! Pellicci tells a very particular history of the twentieth century and beyond – of immigration, of wars, of coronations and gangster too. But, more than this, it is a history of wonderful meals, a history of very hard work, a history of great family pride, and a history of happiness and love. Giovanna Pisacane
DO YOU KNOW WHAT ARRIVES ON YOUR TABLE? GIOVANNA PISACANE INVESTIGATES THE CAUSES OF THE “HORSEGATE”. Pubs in London have recently reported an unexpected surprise demand for horse meat burgers. East London hipsters are craving for tasty meals made of the not-so-common-to-be-eaten viande de cheval. “The Three Compasses”, Hackney newest hot spot for special burgers sold more than 50 equine meat burgers in few hours last Tuesday night, as chef Michael Brown reported. Is this an unusual reaction to the horse meat scandal that is ongoing in the UK and in the rest of Europe? The European horse meat scandal The horse meat case starts on September the 17th 2012 in Northern Ireland, more precisely in the County of Newry. A health inspector underlines several anomalies on the labeling and on the packaging of a batch of frozen beef meat. The contaminated meat comes from the small McAdams factory which deals with the exportation and the importation of edible goods. However, the real scandal bursts in January, when the Irish authorities reveal that 29% of horse meat is contained in Tesco’s, Iceland’s and Lidl’s beef burgers. The origin of the burgers is then traced back to Poland. And this is just the beginning of the huge scandal that is still affecting people’s dietary habits. Further investigations attested that the whole of Europe has being involved in the so called “horsegate” scandal. In the UK horse meat traces have been found in Burger King’s hamburgers and Whoppers. The contaminated burgers have been made by the Irish-based processing company, Silvercrest, which is part of the ABP foods Group. The same company also made tainted burgers for Tesco, Asda, The Co-op and Iceland. What is more alarming is that it has been verified that the contamination of Burger King’s beef hamburgers has been going on since last May. UK and Ireland aren’t the only countries which have been affected by this scandal. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and many other European and Extra-European nations have been included in the horsegate. In February, the spokesperson of the German Minister of Agriculture and responsible for Consumers Defense has confirmed the presence of contaminated products in the national supermarkets shelves. Meanwhile, in Norway, one of the biggest Norwegian food suppliers, NorgesGruppen has announced through a public statement that horse meat has been found in the frozen lasagnas of First Price brand. In Denmark, the situation hasn’t been different. Denmark foodsafety authority has investigated a case of fraud. A slaughterhouse in Jutland traded horse meat presenting it as beef meat. And even the Rosselkhoznadsor, the Russian authority which is in charge of the food-quality control has recently denounced a food contamination risk in the country’s
supermarkets. He also asked the EU to share the results of their investigation dealing with the horsegate. In France, the authorities retrieved Spanghero factory’s permission to treat meat. In fact, Spanghero has supplied Findus firm with the meat used to prepare the frozen lasagna dishes which recently has been found contaminated by horse meat. February the 18th, even the Switzerland-based multinational Nestle’, one of the biggest worldwide food suppliers, has recalled the trade of two products from the market that could contain horse meat in Spain and in Italy. The meals addressed to millions of consumers containing horse meat were beef meat tortellini Buitoni and Findus Lasagnes a la Bolognaise. The meat contained in both products has been provided by H.J. Schype, a German firm which collaborates with JBS Toledo NV. “There is no food safety issue”, Nestle’ declared in a statement, however “the mislabeling of products means they fail to meet the very high standards consumers expect from us”. Moreover, Nestle’ spokesmen announced that the contaminated goods have been replaced by aliments containing 100% of beef meat. “It is not a matter of safety?” Findus, Nestle’ and Buitoni aren’t the only “big names” involved in this international food industry case. The Huffington Post on February the 26th reported that Czech authorities have discovered horse meat in Swedish meatballs produced for Ikea and labeled as beef and pork. Consequently, the famous furniture company, stopped selling meatballs in more than twenty European countries. “We take seriously the test result from the Czech Republic authorities, indicating presence of horsemeat in one batch of our meatballs,” said Anders Lennartsson, of Ikea food services. “The trust of our customers is of outmost importance, which is why the batch of meatballs was immediately withdrawn and we are now taking this extra precautionary measure.” People’s trust in those brands that have been usually considered safe, has being called into question; sales of frozen burgers have plunged 43% and frozen ready meals have fallen 13% after the horsemeat scandal. UK consumers strong reaction after the scandal can be easily linked to the fact that English people aren’t known as horse meat eaters. On the other hand, in Italy, France and as well in China horse meat dishes are considered a special threat. However, even though horse meat is considered an edible food, further investigations proved that there is a possibility that some horse meat could contain a potentially harmful drug. Phenylbutazone an anti-inflammatory treatment, is used as a medication on horses, but it can cause serious blood disorders on humans. The “endless” food industry chain The base of the problem can be connected to the opaque chain of producers, suppliers, brokers and subcontractors which provide the major food industry multinationals with semi-finished products. The attempt of small and big firms to economize affected the whole food distribution network laying well-known brands credibility on the line. “It is a complex issue”, Benoit Hamon, French Minister of Consumer affairs stated, recounting the scandal of the contaminated Findus lasagna dishes which have been sold in several national supermarkets. The Minister declared: “Comigel, the subcontractor based in Metz, produce the final product (in this case the beef lasagne). The factory which provides Comigel with the meat is the French group Poujol, a Spanghero firm’s holding company. The frozen meat sold by Spanghero society has been bought from a Cypriot trader which subcontracted a Dutch trader which bought the meat from a Romanian slaughterhouse”.Comigel factory which supplies 16 countries with its products is located at the top of the food chain, however there are more than one firm related to this case. Do you really know what arrives on your table? Recent investigations -as it has been reported
above- showed that it is very hard to get precise information of what it is contained in the food products that you usually buy at the supermarkets. People are concerned about their health, but they think the deception that has been committed against them is even worse. “Everyone has the right to choose what to eat and what not to eat”, “I don’t think people have an issue with horse meat as much as they have an issue with horse meat being served as beef ” are few of the comments of ordinary people on the streets. The first reaction of English meat consumers dealt with the safety of horse meat. On the other hand, horse meat eaters throughout the world proved the edibility of this kind of meat. And even the government after the scandal has advised people to carry on with their normal shopping habits. Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency ordered tests to check whether drugs given to racing horses–which can be dangerous to humanshad illegally entered the human food chain. The horse racing industry crisis According to Eric Albert -Le Monde journalist- one of the causes of this international fraud is due to the horse racing industry crisis. How could the horsegate be related to the horse racing industry? During the European recession, many horses’ owners found very hard to maintain them. They had two possibilities, sell them to other horses keepers or -as a last option- sell them to slaughterhouses. And what is more, horses keepers reported that cremating a horse after its death has always been a very expensive practice, while sell it to slaughterhouses has recently proved profitable. In Ireland, -the country with the highest number of horses- it has been recorded that the number of horses sold to slaughterhouses have increased exponentially in 2012 in conjunction with the horse racing industry crisis. And, as a consequence, the horse meat price have poured down. Romanian latest news announce a different situation, but a similar conclusion. It has been recently forbidden by law the circulation of horses as a means of transportation in public roads. For this reason, many horses ended to be sold to slaughterhouses. Roberto Consumati, an Italian multi-awarded saddle horse racer, during an interview for an Italian magazine -Cavalli- admitted that it isn’t common among horse riders to send their old horses to specialized stables for retired animals. “It is too expensive and many horse keepers pretend that their horses have disappeared or they even pretend they have been robbed in order to do not pay taxes when they are not more able to compete”. In fact, in Italy, owning a horse means possessing a luxury good and taxes related to this kind of properties are very high. “However, the most alarming thing is that racers who cannot be slaughtered are anyway sold to slaughterhouses. This is very dangerous, since this kind of meat is not edible”. Ferdinando Pisacane, an Italian horse-jockey from Friuli Venezia Giulia, admitted that it has always been a common practice among horse riders to sell their horses to slaughterhouses once they were too old to compete. However, since two years an EU law forbids to sell horses which use to gallop at contests. “ And after the horsegate, more inspections are occurring throughout the region”. Ferdinando explains how it is expensive to own a horse in Italy at the moment. “It has being very hard nowadays to maintain a horse.. I am a professional, but I haven’t been paid since 10 months. I am not receiving any prize money deriving from the competitions I won. And owning horses means spending a lot of money for veterinary care, proper food, rent. The Italian government is passing through a severe economic crisis and we are paying the consequences. I am lucky, because I have another job besides being a horse-rider, but many colleagues of mine are facing a difficult time”. And there are people who are taking unfair advantage of the situation. The food industry -which proved to be more concerned on cost cuttings rather than on customers’ safety- has probably considered cheap horse meat as a good investment. And latest news attested how the law regarding food safety is not sufficient to defend consumers’ right of being aware about their purchases. Some could argue that most of the news regarding the horse meat imbroglio dealt with precooked meals known for their cheap price and sold in low cost supermarkets. So, is health just a matter of price nowadays?
Expensive food is healthier? Is it just a case that the contaminated burgers as well as the lasagna dishes are products sold in lowcost supermarkets? Burger King, as well as Kfc and McDonald’s became in the last years the food suppliers of many families. The price incredibly low of the meals has always been an attraction for all those people who do not earn enough to afford more healthy food –which proved to be more expensive than fastfood repasts. Latest news opened the Pandora box: cheap means unhealthy and -above all- unsafe. So, is the era of cheap food over? Millions of families -only in the UK- are facing limited budgets and the rising of international food prices at a time of austerity. Supermarkets have responded by attempting to keep prices down at the expense, according to critics, of content and quality. “In a highly competitive market our food industry has not changed its business model,”according to Laura Sandys, a Conservative legislator, writing in The Times of London. “Instead it has tried to adapt to food inflation by fitting a more expensive product into a cheap price structure.” Ms. Sandys, concluding that “the era of cheap food is, sadly, over,” and “consumers were unwittingly absorbing the rising costs of meat and grain through reductions in quality and quantity”. “So the £1 cottage pie in your local freezer shop will be the same price that it has been for years,” she wrote, “but today will contain less meat and more artificial fillers such as high fructose corn syrup.” And last news have upset even more the public opinion; traces of horse meat have been discovered even in food which has been served at school canteens, pubs and hotels. The Lancashire County Council have confirmed that it has been found a percentage of horse meat in meat pies delivered in 47 schools’ canteens. At the same time, a big food hotels supplier, the Whitbread firm, has admitted that after a deep analysis, it has been found horse meat in their lasagna dishes and hamburgers. And it has been recently confirmed that Whitbread products have been even served in several Premier Inn hotels. Hotels, public schools, fast-foods are in the middle of the huge fraud. This means that millions of people only in the UK have been involved in the horsegate for several months. Meanwhile, London youngsters’ reaction is attesting that there is even a funny side about the horse meat imbroglio. Pubs in London have reported an increasing demand for horse meat burgers and even Borough Markets salesmen are not surprised. A supplier said it has never been widely advertised because customers have always considered horses “companions” rather than dinner. However, they are expecting a rise in the trade of horse meat. Sue Farr of Gamston Wood Farm confirmed they are used to sell horse meat. “ We have sold horse meat for years, it’s just not been on the chill counter”. Horse meat burgers served in London pubs. At “The Three Compasses” in Hackney and at “The Lord Nelson” pub in South London as well, they are serving delicious horse meat burgers, since the horsegate burst. “We thought it’d be nice for people to try it and realise it’s really nice if prepared and sourced properly” , “The Three Compasses” owner Lauren Johns said. There are four sizes of burger named on an equine theme, from the 20z taster-size “Shetland” at £ 4 to the £ 11 triple “Trojan” at The Three Compasses, while at the Lord Nelson you can eat 80z burgers with mushrooms and onions. A bit of black pepper mayonnaise, Lettuce, pickles and Emmental cheese and you won’t be any more a passive horse meat eater.
Zabuton by Nendo.
SALONE DEL MOBILE. MILAN. WHAT WE LOVED.
Zabuton is a Japanese cushion traditionally used for sitting on the floor. Nendo, a Japanese designer, reworked this idea creating a more practical solution. In this way a not very comfortable cushion turned into an elegant sofa.
The Salone Internazionale del Mobile was launched in 1961 in Milan. Originally focused on Italian furniture, nowadays it hosts international designers and showcases their latest designed products. Every year on April, Milan turns into a work of art itself. This year, multi-coloured frogs hanging on the town buildings walls welcomed tourists and visitors from all over the world. Parties and “Fuori Salone happy hours events” have been attended by showbiz people, models and famous designers. Foodish nerdish community enjoyed the furniture fair and took notes. Here there are few furniture pieces we’d love to see in our house. The exhibition didn’t include the prices – too expensive,maybe?- Have a look to what Foodish loved about the Salone and let’s dream -as we did-.
Aunts and Uncles by Philippe Starck and Kartell Philippe Starck is a big name in furniture design. He took inspiration from his family, since each piece is named after a relative. Here there is Aunt and Uncles, a stunning sofa made from a singleform mold, using a new type of rigid plastic. Maybe not a very comfortable living solution, but still a beautiful art piece.
Gan-Rugs by Patricia Urquiola
Marni
Why don’t add a knitted carpet to your living room? Patricia Urquiola -a talented Spanish designer, based in Milan- reworked the knit pattern concept, applying it to the living room rug.An elegant and comfortable solution at the same time.
For the opening of the Milan furniture store, the label has launched a new line of exclusive graphic print chairs including, for the first time, children’s versions. These latest pieces from the Italian design house have been hand-made by Colombian ex-convicts as part of a rehabilitation program and all proceeds from the collection will be donated straight to charitable organizations. Chilean designer Consuelo Castiglioni’s label, created in 1994, works with the good causes involved through the INHABI-TANTS. The Migrating Multitude project, which aims to promote equality through diversity. Marni’s new store in Milan will also run workshops on April 13 and 14 where participants can make their own Marni furniture. The pieces will be created from recycled materials and part of the label’s collection, made in the house’s signature colors.
Famous designers, such as Donatella Versace and Anna Molinari for Blumarine attended the show with their ideas to customize fashion addicted mansions. Versace primitive shape golden chair has been declared the best furniture piece Foodish community has spotted during the show. Have a look at the rest! Versace
Blumarine Navy and powder tones dominate fashion house Blumarine’s new collection. The refined leather sofas, tables and armchairs take centre stage in stylish modernized interiors. The label’s flower and animal prints add a splash of frivolity to this brand new range.
LANA DUMITRU, A NEW fresh AIR FROM THE EAST. She is one of the most creative Romanian designers and since she wore her virtual dress, she became one of the most interesting artist of Eastern Europe. Giovanna Pisacane meets Lana Dumitru. Lana defines herself as an artist. Her career as a designer started officially in Rome few years ago when she wore “the facebook dress” in Piazza di Spagna under the astonished eyes of millions of tourists. She didn’t plan to become a fashion designer and she is not sure that her attempt to show how people are losing their own identities through social networks as been understood by the media. There is a bit of annoyance in her voice. At the beginning of her academic career, she was interested in art and in painting, then she realized she could express herself easily by sewing and drawing dresses. “ I am still not satisfied by the fact that people remember me as “the facebook dress” designer. I’d rather prefer being remembered for its meaning. This is the difference between a fashion designer and an artist”. Her last collection, in particular, shows her passion for art. It is a collaboration with contemporary Romanian painters. “La naïve collection is a melting pot of artists; I worked with the young surrealist painter Adrian Preda and the quirky illustrator Mimi Ciora, who is the head of one of the most brilliant art project in Timisoara, The Super Smooth Studio, based on illustrations and on the use of dolls and figurines as a means to create art”. The collection spins around the trompe l’oeil effect, which perfectly worked with the exotic images of René Magritte and Rousseau-Douanier. The main idea behind this project was to combine the works of these famous artists with the traditional Romanian costumes patterns’. “I reworked Van Gogh’s ethereal Iris flowers, Salvador Dali’s supreme eyes and the floral work of the innovative modernist Georgia O’Keeffe..
It is a sort of textile homage and my attempt to play with their works, putting their oeuvres in a new surprising perspective”. Lana believes that there is a strong bond between fashion and art and she proudly reveals that her clothes are exhibited in two museums. The Holon Design Museum in Israel, whose directors asked her to join their “Eastern Europe and Folklore” exhibition and the National Village Museum in Bucarest. Her voice becomes warmer when she speaks about art. “I prefer watching people on the street. I never watch TV and I don’t read the news. I consider myself either never inspired or always inspired”. She defines herself an artist more than a designer. “Nowadays it is possible and it is easier to express art through fashion. I am not “a seasonal designer”. My latest collection’s inspiration came to my mind while talking to a couple of friends who are interested as I am on art”. In Bucarest, young girls love her collection. They consider it fashionable. “But I am not interested in selling. Create a dress means work on a art piece to me. At the moment, I am more concentrated on my Phd book about art and fashion in Eastern European countries, even if it is just the beginning”. The collaboration with the Holon Design Museum in Israel inspired the theme of her book. Folklore has always influenced her and she believes that traditional patterns combined with modern sewing techniques can produce art, since folklore means tradition and tradition is men’s cultural heritage. Recently she collaborated with Puma, creating a limited edition jacket called Etno Snake. Lana’s traditional folklore - inspired pattern is the trademark of this garment. She considers this collaboration as a useful opportunity for her art to be exported even if for the moment this collection has been released only in Bucarest. “I do not believe that this is just a
CORNELETE. DO YOU FANCY A ROMANIAN CROISSANT? After the talk with Lana, Foodish magazine got hungry. Why don’t try a Romanian version of the French croissant? Here is the recipe of cornolete! Who says that you can have it just at Christmas time? Ingredients: 2 cups and 2 Tablespoons of flour 8 oz. of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1/2 cup margarine, softened 1/2 cup butter, softened Filling: 3 cups walnuts, minced 2 eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon (I use Vietnamese cinnamon) Directions: In a standing mixer combined margarine, butter, and cream cheese. Slowly add in the flour and mix until well blended. Shape dough into a 12-inch log. Roll in wax paper and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Combine all of the filling ingredients together and in a bowl and set aside. Remove the log from the refrigerator and slice the into 1/2-inch rounds. Pat each round slice into sugar. Store remaining rounds in the refrigerated until you are ready to work with them. Roll out each round onto a sugared countertop, until very thin (add more sugar as needed to prevent sticking). Cut into 6 triangles. Place nut mixture on wide end of the triangle and roll. Brush the tops with beaten eggs and roll in sugar. Bake at 350° on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
marketing worldwide multinational brand’s move. Puma has always promoted artists and this is the reason why I collaborated with them. I consider Puma as a modern patron, who supports art as, Lorenzo de’ Medici did in Italy in the late Middle Age”. Lana spent two years in Italy studying art and she has been moved by Florentine and especially by Roman art. Romania has been a Roman Empire colony for centuries under the name of Pannonia. “ Romanian people are very similar to Italians. The way we express our feeling is very similar to the way Italians express themselves. And art comes from the heart. This is one of the reason why I decided to study in Italy when I had the possibility to study abroad”. She confesses that she doesn’t want to be remembered for the facebook dress. “It was art for me, however the press reported it as a new designer’s will to gain popularity”. For a while she stopped designing dresses and she decided to concentrate on art. Gathering information for her book became her full job. She considers this new collaboration a chance to make art. Being supported by a well-known brand doesn’t mean she is selling her work to the best offerer. “I don’t know where I will end up in few years. Romania looks like an old man. It is all slow here, but at the same time this atmosphere is inspiring. I don’t know if I could live in a fast moving huge metropolis.”. Lana is a young and talented artist. She doesn’t know if she wants to be a designer. However, her clothes are nothing but a true and vivid expression of art.
Giovanna Pisacane
STORY DELI. WHEN FASHION MEETS...PIZZA. Have you ever dreamed of tasting the most amazing organic pizza in a place customized by a Vogue Italia stylist? Story deli will make your dream come true. Ann Shore opened this little heaven for fashion and food addicted few years ago in East London. The place is incredibly well decorated and you can tell that it is the afford of a fashion stylist. Her taste as a decorator is unmatched. White candles are burning on each table, the menus are printed on brown, recycled paper, the take-away is served in eco-friendly boxes, the specialties of the day written beautifully on blackboards hanging on the walls and the cakes are gorgeously displayed under embellished glass domes. The atmosphere is romantic and the food is well-known throughout London for being truly organic. Lee Hollingworth the owner and Ann Shore’s husband makes personally the pizza dough and he has recently given us the opportunity to have a look at the kitchen. Unfortunately Ann wasn’t in London at the time -she was working as a stylist in Italy for Vogue Italia- but we had the chance to see why Story Deli is a special place. Lee makes its famous dough with no yeast by simply mixing 100% certified organic flour from Italy, salt from Spain, organic olive oil and Highland Spring still water. “Everything I do is open here” says Lee while scattering freshly crushed tomatoes on top of a paper thin yeast free base dough. “Initially Story Deli put together a curios modern organic menu with different things for lunchtime; sandwiches, meat, fish, salads and soups. However since the beginning of this culinary experiment I had the impression that pizza was the juicy part of the menu. I even remember the day when I took the decision to concentrate on pizza only. It was one of the coldest day of the year – 2007- I was still working at my old premises (he used to be in The Old Truman Brewery off Brick Lane) - and no one wanted my hot organic pumpkin soup.. Everyone that came through the door
just kept asking for pizza, pizza, pizza”. Every detail is well-finished in this little restaurant. Ann put everything in such a charming way. Natural linens, glass bottles, vintage jewels and distressed antique mirrors give to this place an elegant and fascinating twist. The delicious pizzas are served on wood platters and you can drink a proper Italian cappuccino in 70s style glass. These are just few of the stylish tips improved on by Ann and his young son Chipper who has even chalked the walls and the doorway by himself. How to forget about the pizza’s ingredients: parmesan, buffalo mozzarella -the real one-, Parma ham, scented dried tomatoes, delicate mascarpone are just few of the menu choices. Story Deli mixes refined Italian taste and English street-style, rich flavors and lightness, modern culinary baking ideas and slow-way manner of cooking. Is this the secret of this realm for foodies in the middle of London? For further information: www.storydeli.com
Giovanna Pisacane