Continue reading

Continue reading

Jacques Torres is a true artist when it comes to his chocolate truffles. They are 'ta die fawh' as is his lightly spiced hot chocolate. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting his kitchen and store in Brooklyn, New York. Another genius chocolatier, Joel Durand, has his culinary workshop in St. Remy de Provence. His work surpasses even the remarkable Torres. I had the good fortune of making regular visits to Durand's shop while living near by in Aix-en-Provence. Both can be located on the Culinary Compass Map. This is a short video of Monsieur Torres taking... Continue reading

I had the pleasure of meeting this man, Yashka Ginzberg, while at Katz's Delicatessen in New York City. We talked about pastrami, Schwartz's Delicatessen, Montreal's best deli, and his Hungarian and Israeli roots. I'm sure you will also enjoy seeing him in action in the video. Yashka says his favorite delicatessen when he is not at Katz's is hanging at his hometown delicatessen famous for its smoked meat, Schwartz's! Continue reading

Check out my fun visit to Schwartz's Delicatessan in Montreal, a Katz's Delicatessan, Canadian Jewish style. Marc's Simple Sour Pickles (Inspired by Sando Katz) In summer cukes are most abundant but any time of year you can make sour pickles. Basically transforming a cuke into a pickle means fermentation. That means things do go wrong. Just try and see what happens. Then try again...and again! Also it is fun to experiment. Add some hot peppers or cauliflower. Maybe a little less salt. You'll need: - A large glass or ceramic bowl - A plate that you will put on top... Continue reading

Over the years there have been so many wonderful food-related movies. Three of my favorites are Tampopo, Babette's Feast & Big Night. I've posted short clips of each film below. Of special note is the first clip titled 'Ramen Master' which is my all time favorite scene from a foodie movie. Big Night Babette's Feast Tampopo Continue reading

There are some towns that define what it means to be locally focused. Burlington is that type of town. Homemade, locally owned and the highest quality! Enough said. A few spots to take notice of: Coffee at Muddy Water's Cafe Lunch at the Red Onion Baguettes, the real deal, from August First. More reat places, details and links on the Culinary Compass map. http://www.marcs-culinary-compass.com/culinarycompassmap.html Continue reading

My Favorite Tongs My Favorite Silicon Tongs Continue reading

My favorite February holiday isn't Valentines Day but the Fete du Citron in Menton, France. The annual 2 week long festival celebrates all things citrus. This press kit is filled with great information about the festival. Seriously, if you are a foodie you'll really enjoy browsing through it. And of course scroll down to see some of my pictures from the event. My favorite part of the press kit share the ledgend of how the lemon tree first took root in Menton. "Expelled from the Garden of Eden along with Adam, Eve took with her a golden fruit. Adam, fearing... Continue reading

OK, I'll admit it. Every so often I find myself on YouTube for more than an hour watching silly videos. Sometimes I even watch the same video over and over and over again. The one below is an example but I have an excuse. It covers two of my favorite topics. Dogs and bacon. Once you're finished watching check out the news from a new spot, The Baconery. I haven't been there yet but it's on my hit list. The Baconery - A little bit from the owner. "“My name is Wesley Klein and I’m a breakfast and dessert kind... Continue reading

Last week I noticed that the Culinary Compass was visited by it's 7,990th unique visitor. I watched till the number clicked from 7,999 to 8,000. The little yellow dot flashed on my tracking map indicating that the visitor logged in from MECCA in Saudi Arabia! Seriously. How cool is that? Continue reading

How lucky am I to share a kitchen with the wonderful, spicy, confident and talented 12 year old chef in the video below? It took just an hour to film and edit the video but the memory will in fact last a lifetime ... and the 2 minute lesson is really helpful. Ohhhhhh yeah, she is also my daughter, rises and falls with me when the New York Rangers win or lose and takes no prisoners when she decides she wants something. Silpat & Other Silicon Baking Sheets Continue reading