4 thoughts on “De arte coquinaria, the Art of cooking”

1. A new animation movie that also seems to entice the culinary sense of wonder is the new Pixar/Disney movie Ratatouille. This light hearted animation is about a Parisian Rat who is different than the rest of the pack. This little guy doesn’t find garbage appealing and is fascinated by the work of a French chef Gusteau who believed “Any one can cook!” Following his “nose” he pursues his unfathomable dream of becoming a chef. Very good, light hearted comedy and a potent reminder of the empowering possibilities of pursuing one’s dreams.

   p.s. I’ve seen both Like Water for Chocolate and The Big Night. Both excellent movies. The new Persian movie Fish is also interesting… The old French cult classic La Grand Buffet is somewhat crazy but worth a mention.

2. Dear Michele,

   My hero is Brillat/Savarin. His great work Physiologie du Goût, ou Méditations de Gastronomie Transcendante; ouvrage théorique, historique et à l’ordre du jour, dédié aux Gastronomes parisiens, par un Professeur, membre de plusieurs sociétés littéraires et savantes is the continuation of the philosophy of Epicure. Guess what. His full text is available at Project Gutenberg.

   The best

   Tamas

3. For romantic foodies, watching No reservations, is a feast for the eyes, an appetizer which might not push the urge to rush out and treat the appetite to some great food………….but Pixar’s Remy has a oscar nominee with Ratatouille, creating a palete for both taste buds and the eyes. Watching them back to back surely intices you enough to rush out, rollup your sleeves, straighten the apron with pride and create an ensemble of tastes with your finger print all over it.
   The clean marriage of fennel, celery, bok choy and ……tossed together in a bowl, was refreshing and reminded one of a fundimental fact……Choosing to be true to your self and your make, in contrast to the complexity of say a french creation or…..
   I choose to make a small bowl of Pasta caviar after all…

4. Salvador Dali said about wine : “Qui sait déguster ne boit plus jamais de vin mais goûte des secrets”

   This is applicable to good food too. 🙂