P1060105

Originally uploaded by manhattanlab

How many people actually really know where their dinner came from? How many people really care?

In this day and age we seem to be becoming more and more insulated from the realities of where our food comes from and how it got into the neat little packages which you load into your trolley’s and take home. Our hunter and gatherer instincts seemed to of changed into one of selection when we are choosing which cut from which animal.

One thing I did notice since living in Spain is how we do not generally call the meat we eat by the same name as that which is living. Take for example Pork, the animal is called a pig yet we call the meat Pork. When you think about pork or beef you do not conjure up a picture of an animal but instead a food product, so it makes it easier for some people to eat. With something like Chicken no one really bothered to think up another name as it is a small animal which not even many vegetarians have a problem with eating. But here in Spain the animals and the meat have the same name as they are not as sensitive as other cultures, you will also find there are far less vegetarians here as well for this same reason.

Chefs deal with butchery everyday and yet many of us have no idea of the steps involved before it came to us, this is a shame!

Anyone who is easily offended or has a sensitive stomach should think about not reading any further (this means I do not want to get hate mail from any vegetarians or Vegans as has happened in the past).

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Imagine getting out of bed in the morning just knowing you were going to do a substandard job and sail your way through the day only using 10% of your little brain until the day is finished…………………….

This is what I wonder most mornings when I go for breakfast here in Madrid.

Being an Australian I really appreciate a great breakfast made up of simply prepared high quality ingredients, and of course a coffee made with a little intelligence and a lot of LOVE! Is that so much to ask?

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On the 25th of February the site “Guia de la Buena Mesa” were the first to write about the absurd situation in Italy with the signing of new legislation banning the use of Food additives in the kitchen, this is also going to extend to the use of Liquid Nitrogen as it is a “gaseous substances” and considered dangerous even though 78% of earths atmosphere is actually Nitrogen in it’s gas form! The title of the article says more than 1000 of my words “The Italian Taliban”! The article is as below:

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Well kind of…………………

I am still having a technical difficulty on uploading pictures so you will have to bear with me until this is fixed very shortly, my apologies!

MANY things have been happening since I last wrote, this is part of the reason that I have not been able to get anything up on this site. Let me try to bring you up to speed.

• I have started consulting for a beautiful restaurant on the Adriatic coast in Croatia, this restaurant is set in a 700 year old building and has an immense amount of potential! I am working with the Chef/Owner to help develop dishes using only local products and products which have little or no environmental impact. There are some very bad fishing practices which exist in Croatia, one of my goals of this project is to help educate the Chefs, Diners and government about the alternatives and how to correct this error before it’s too late. I will bring you more up to date with this as I make some headway.
• I have finished shooting the first episode of a US TV show I have been planning for the past 12 months! The footage is now with my Producer in New York which we aim to have ready in the next 2 weeks to be able to pitch to some of the major networks who have shown interest. The concept is very new and sure to raise a few eyebrows! I cannot share the details with you at the moment, but you will be the first to know as soon as I can
• My Manhattan restaurant is still moving along nicely (contrary to media reports) but I have delayed it slightly due to some major projects I have here in Spain. I will make some more details available when I can make them public.
• I have now started my second company here in Spain which is Adam Melonas Consulting. I am now busy with projects all over Spain and I have also been asked to pitch for a project which would see my influence in 40 countries around the world, I can tell you a little more about this very soon………………………

Apart from this there are many more things happening! But I will try to space it out a little so I don’t overwhelm you.

I am out of Spain on a lot of trips in the next 2-3 months, So as always I will be posting stories from all of my trips while I am away. Also if you are in any of the countries which I will be please feel free to drop me a line so we can meet up and you can show me some good local cuisine. My calendar is as below:

• Venice (April 9 – 12)
• Slovenia (April 12)
• Croatia – Sibenik (April 13th – 18th)
• Istanbul (April 29th – May 5th)
• Australia – Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane (May 16th – June 9th)
• Denmark and Sweden (June 16th – 20th)

I now have many stories in reserve, so I will now be back to posting 4-5 stories per week. Stay Tuned!

Thanks for continuing to read!

Since I wrote the story regarding fishing and harvesting with a conscience I have had an amazing response on my email, other sites and some people have even felt the need to call me! I also posted the same story on Egullet.org which people have responded both positive and negatively. The good point is that we are continuing to discuss the topic, the more awareness = more people thinking before they order one of these items.

I am also putting my money where my mouth is! I have since taken a consultancy role in Croatia where I will not be using anything which is not local or sustainable in the region. It is a small step but hopefully we can start something and begin to educate the others not to use irresponsible products. I will keep you posted on the progress of the restaurant and my mission!

See the below link to a very interesting article published on a sustainable blue fin tuna named Kindai, as well controversial but definitely a step in the right direction!

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/02/22/with_bluefin_endangered_sushi_chefs_look_to_other_fish_in_the_sea/

Also see the below link to the comments chain in Egullet.org

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131972-sustainable-ingredients-when-will-we-learn/page__pid__1731233__st__0&#entry1731233

When you are constantly searching for new techniques you often encounter some collateral damage in the form of techniques which you cannot find a use for and who get left behind.

It is not because they are bad or unattractive but instead from not being able to make them fit into what you are doing.

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When will some people learn? This is the question I am constantly asking myself…………………………..

We all know the problems we are facing in the world with some of the oceans and rivers being close to fished out, but why does it take so long to really sink in to some peoples heads?

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I thought you should see the end of this comments Chain, there were some pretty good points brought up and some others which were a little strange. The good news is that I haven’t changed my mind from my first points, in fact I may of even just strengthened my view on the matter!

Feel free to leave your comments on the chain

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131769-progressive-cuisine-is-not-dead/

I posted my recent article Entitled “Stop the BS” on Egullet and since then I have been receiving comments and emails, both in support and against. The aim of this site and also the work I do in posting on other sites is to stir up a debate and have certain issues talked about. This gets people thinking and pushes our cuisine forward. Very interesting read, please feel free to leave your comments as well.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131769-progressive-cuisine-is-not-dead/page__pid__1729430__st__0&#entry1729430

This story has been long overdue but to tell you truth there could not be a more relevant time to be discussing this topic!

The topic I am talking about is New Cuisine as we know it today, it does not matter what name you know it by (Molecular Gastronomy, Progressive cuisine, Nueva Cocina, Techno-emotional, Avant Garde, Etc) the principles are all the same. There has been such a hot debate over the naming and defining of our cuisine and not enough work into Evolving it. Now we are at a critical point where people are starting to throw stones and writing an early obituary, let’s see how dead it really is!

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You may remember quite some time back I received the very famous miracle berries from Africa…………….

Well if you don’t here’s a recap:

Miracle berries are a berry grown in Africa which contain a protein called Miraculin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin), Miraculin acts as a protective film which coats your tongue and stops the penetration of Acidic and Bitter elements. I tested the effects on about 160 different products ranging from Bitter, Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Artificial sweeteners, Umami etc. There were some surprising results such as it actually made artificial sweetener about twice as sweet and regular sugar half as sweet. The power was taken out of the Umami effect.

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One of the more symbolic food investigations I undertook in 2009 was the search for the perfect representation of both Australia and Spain, As I am an Australian living and working in Spain,

My tests took me all around the many options available from both countries but I settled with the most symbolic ingredient from each of the countries…………. Kangaroo from Australia and Jamon Iberico from Spain!

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Do you recognize this Chemical above? Probably not!

It actually happens to be what I call one of the biggest misconceptions in food and cooking. How many times have you said or heard someone say “My steak is still bleeding” or “I like my Steak Bloody”? What if I told you that in most cases it is not even blood (obviously depending on the cut). When you think about it for a while it actually makes sense! Where does the blood circulate in your body? Your muscles or your veins? Obviously your veins! So if you are eating a piece of animal muscle why should it be any different? So when you think of it logically then it makes sense that the piece of rare steak you have in front of you is not actually bleeding nor does it contain any blood.

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Well My time is coming to an end here in the Casino de Madrid. It is my last day today as I have many exciting challenges I need to be sinking my teeth into and now I have the time to focus 110% on there progression.

I will be staying in Madrid for the coming months as I need to build my consultancy and production company until it functions by itself with a minimum of maintenance.

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Check out this amazing story on the study of plants and how “Alive and aware” they really are………………….

I was about to eat a bowl of Brussels Sprouts, but now I might eat a roast chicken instead as I can’t bring myself to eat these intelligent little fighters. Might leave a few vegetarians with no options on what to eat for dinner tonight

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?em