All about Men and the women who love them!
In an attempt to address gender imbalance, Michelin France has added a total of 11 female-led restaurants to their 2019 list bringing the overall number to 26.The Shiraz is going back to the Super Bowl! On Sunday, Yellow Tail will return to the airwaves for the third year in a row, matching the latest streak of consecutive appearances the New England Patriots have made in the championship game and the Los Angeles Rams have made in the National Football League. This year, however, Yellow Tail and importer Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits are debuting an entirely new ad campaign, “Tastes Like Happy,” which toasts such happy occasions as “lifelong bonds and well-deserved promotions” and “the online date who actually looks like their profile picture.”
“It just felt like it’s kind of a great moment in time to share images and moments that are probably seen as universally happy at a time when the country doesn’t agree on a lot of stuff,” Deutsch Family president Tom Steffanci told Unfiltered.
It’s a departure from the past two years’ irreverent duo of mascots Yellow Tail Guy and Roo, and before 2017, no wine commercials had appeared at all in the big game since 1988.
“When we first did this, we thought it was going to be a one-year investment,” Steffanci recalled. That year, sales of the most-imported brand in the U.S., made by Australian company Casella, were trending down about 5 percent. But in January and February 2017, growth spiked 8 percent, with the following February improving another 5 percent. By some metrics, these are the most sluggish wine sales months of the year; they are now Yellow Tail’s strongest. This year, Deutsch Family will spend slightly under $6 million to reach an estimated audience of 100 million. The company hopes to post an additional 2 percent growth in sales in each of those months.
The creation process for this year’s ad began with about five different campaign ideas, put in front of focus groups of consumers, Steffanci told us. “As we came up with, ‘What are these moments that our consumers would associate with happiness and Yellow Tail?’ it was kind of a natural progression to say, ‘Well, why don’t we allow consumers to suggest what that might look like?'” And so a video contest was born: Entrants were invited to create 6-second videos, and the two winning clips would be woven into the 30-second Super Bowl ad. (Eagle-eyed viewers should look for a salsa dancer on the beach and a woman on a rope swing.)
As in previous years, Deutsch Family has had to get creative to circumvent Anheuser-Busch InBev’s exclusive national rights to advertising alcohol during the game, instead placing local ad buys piecemeal. In 2019, that will be 81 markets, to reach an estimated 90 to 95 percent of total viewers.
New “Tastes Like Happy” spots will appear later on TV, YouTube, Hulu and Yellow Tail’s social media platforms, although Deutsch has not yet decided if they’ll be returning in 2020’s Super Bowl LIV. As for Yellow Tail Guy and Roo, “like all hardworking, successful people, they are enjoying their retirement,” no doubt keeping the Chardonnay on ice on a beach somewhere for Rob Gronkowski.
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We look back at all the ‘theme on plate’ and ‘theme on platter’ presentations from day one at Bocuse d’Or 2019. All the teams’ culinary creations in images.
Alain Ducasse opens Le Café, a permanent coffee boutique at the Coal Drops Yard in London’s King’s Cross next to Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse.As we begin 2019, many of us set intentions, goals and resolutions. We intend to start the year with a fresh slate and reset for another trip around the sun. I am personally always striving to create balance in my life. I like to remind myself of this intention throughout the year and look at the many aspects of my life where I can improve and maintain balance.
As a Chef, food and diet are always at the top of my mind. I know this is not unique to myself and I would guess that many people quickly jump to food when trying to achieve a balanced life. After all, what we feed ourselves directly impacts how we feel. This is true in both the short term and long term. The short term is the satisfying of the basic feeling of hunger or a craving. This often initially drives my decision on what to eat. I try to balance this short-term satisfaction while remembering the long-term impact. In my ideal scenario I hit both my short term and long-term goals for the perfect balance in each meal.
In designing the Urban Plates menu, I wanted to ensure we maintain this balance of healthy, indulgent and combination of both in our menu items. We have a selection of seasonal menu changes to highlight produce at its peak, along with a core menu you can rely upon.
Our menu categories allow you to choose your path. For the healthier route you might choose one of our Urban Greens salads. We have carefully created each salad to satisfy hunger, provide bold flavors, and leave you feeling good about what you just ate. Our salads are full of nutrients and offer well-rounded nourishment. Most salads feature one of our hot carved-to-order proteins that we also feature in our Plates and Sandwiches. We make all of our dressings in house and use organic oils, fresh citrus juices and specialty vinegars. We offer a wide variety of flavor profiles so you can satisfy your craving, whether that be a health-conscious vegetarian option, like our Antioxidant Salad, or a more indulgent option, like our Cage Free Chicken Cobb. Whether you choose to eat healthy, indulgent, or a little bit of both, quality ingredients and time-honored scratch-cooking techniques are at the center of our menu.
This January, new and returning items feature on our menu to fit right into your balanced lifestyle.
Striped Sea Bass
Our Striped Sea Bass is a beautiful fish sourced carefully from the pristine marine sanctuary of Isla Todos Santos in Baja California, Mexico. Pacifico Striped Bass is ocean raised and is rated 4 stars by Best Aquaculture Practices, the world’s most trusted, comprehensive and proven third-party aquaculture certification program. This fish has a clean and moist mouth feel, semi- firm texture with a clean and light flavor. We marinate the filets in our scratch made light white miso sauce that incorporates ginger, garlic, scallions and chili. We oven bake the filets and the miso sauce caramelizes during the baking process to enhance the flavors of the miso and create a rich and buttery flavor profile. We finish each filet with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and our sesame ginger chili sauce made with tamari, ginger, garlic, a hint of chili, sesame oil and our house made lemongrass vinegar. The buttery miso roasted fish is balanced perfectly by the bright and lightly tangy sesame ginger sauce. The fresh raw ginger adds a kick of spice and keeps this dish fresh. This fish is a great health conscious entrée that I like to pair with our sesame broccolini and organic brown rice or white rice.
Heaven & Hell Cake
Sometimes we just need a little bit of indulgence. Our pastry chef created the Heaven & Hell cake with this theme in mind. Our version of this classic dessert inspired by Chef Stephan Pyle’s original cake has alternating layers of fluffy, ethereal angel food cake and rich, moist devil’s food cake filled with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. We finish the cake with house roasted, lightly spicy crunchy peanuts and a mound of chocolate shavings. It is the perfect combination of rich chocolate, lightly sweet mellow vanilla, luscious nutty peanut butter flavor and hint of salt to balance it all out! I love how light this cake eats and of course the stunning appearance of the different color cake layers and perfectly thin, melt in your mouth chocolate shavings! You can keep the slice to yourself or order a whole cake for the family.
Green Superfood Replenisher
All of our replenishers are made in house with fresh whole ingredients to provide you with real flavors and plenty of nutrient benefits. Our Green Superfood replenisher is a hearty and healthy option made with organic baby kale, celery, cucumber, fresh lemon juice, raw ginger, parsley, pineapple, chia seeds and naturally sweetened with organic apple juice. There is no added sugar! Kale is loaded with antioxidants that can help lower cholesterol. Ginger is an excellent anti-inflammatory and chia seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber and calcium. This replenisher is packed with nutrient dense ingredients and that boost your immune system. It’s the perfect balance of vegetable and lightly natural fruit sweetness. It’s a great pick me up that satisfies your quench and gives you that long term health impact, the perfect balance!
Kombucha
Another healthy beverage we offer is GT’s Kombucha. We have a new flavor, Pure Love, in addition to the popular Trilogy. Kombucha is a fermented tea-based drink often flavored with fruits and herbs. The brewing process starts with a culture made from black and green teas. This culture is what makes the drink rich with probiotics, amino acids, polyphenols, antioxidants and active enzymes. GT’s makes their kombucha with no added sugars and is raw and organic, meaning you get the full health benefits! It is great for balancing your gut health, improves digestion, and fights free radicals in your body to give you an immune boost.
Both flavors have the classic tangy taste that is similar to apple cider vinegar. Some people are skeptical of this at first, but once you have tried this refreshing beverage (on tap at all Urban Plates locations) you’ll see why it has become a trend.
The Trilogy is a combination of tart lemon, tangy raspberry and spicy ginger. This is one of the most popular flavors and a personal favorite. We are offering Pure Love, a limited-edition flavor, made with fresh pressed blood orange juice, dried hibiscus, rose petals and rose water. It has a fruity and floral flavor profile that is perfect for the season.
The post A Balanced Life: When To Be Healthy and When To Indulge appeared first on Urban Plates.
Discover the eclectic mix of events around the world this month, from affordable dining in NYC to the inaugural edition of The World Restaurant Awards.
The first day in Lyon for the Bocuse d’Or 2019 Finale: watch chefs Gavin Kaysen and Yannick Alleno interviews with Fine Dining Lovers!Like many wine pros, Yumi Tanabe was a child of winemakers. But her story doesn’t begin in Napa or Bordeaux—the family winery where she grew up was on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, at a time when Japan’s domestic wine scene was just getting started. Tanabe eventually found her own way to wine during her studies at Cornell University, and in her 39-year career, she has become one of the most influential figures in the Japanese wine scene, as a writer, educator, importer and occasionally even a winemaker herself.
In 1992, Tanabe founded Japan’s first school for wine professionals, and in 2013, established the increasingly successful Sakura Japan Women’s Wine Awards. The next year, Tanabe made her first vintage.
Tanabe’s publications include, USA Winery Guide, Californian Wine, Yumi Tanabe’s Wine Book and Yumi, Are You Making Wine? Wine Spectator contributor Julian Littler spoke to Tanabe in Tokyo about the past and future of Japanese wine, what she has done to champion women in her work, and how to pair some of the trickiest flavors in Japanese cuisine with wine. The 2019 Sakura Awards begin on Jan. 29; 530 woman sommeliers will be evaluating 4,326 wine entries from 33 countries.
Wine Spectator: How did you first become interested in wine?
Yumi Tanabe: I was born and grew up in a wine region in Hokkaido. At that time, there was only one winery in Hokkaido. This was founded by my father. The vineyard surrounded my home. It doesn’t exist anymore, but I was very interested in taking care of the vines and harvesting the grapes. I had many chances to taste wine at home with dinner, even as a child. I grew up with wine. But when I was at school I was not so interested in the wine industry at all. I studied mathematics; maybe I wanted to be a computer programmer or an engineer, a computer engineer or a teacher [of] mathematics.
I had a chance to visit Cornell, [and] there is a hotel administration [school] there. I just happened to sit in on some wine tasting classes. Cornell changed my idea from mathematics to wine.
WS: In your years experimenting with wine since then, what Japanese foods would you say are most difficult to pair with wine?
YT: Shiokara [Japanese fermented dish often made using squid with salted guts]. Sometimes it’s good with Georgian wine; orange wine is very good with shiokara, Sherry is good. Of course, Japan has unique food. There is a lot of vinegar, sugar and soy sauce—the main [ingredients] for Japanese food.
Also, unlike the French, for Japanese there are many different kinds of food on the table [at the same time]. Rosé, not bone-dry, but a little sweet, is good for all the food together. Sparkling wine is good with sushi; generally speaking, no misses—no mistakes if you select sparkling wine. For example, yesterday I had Italian sparkling wine with fish, with tai [Japanese sea bream]. I’m lucky I was born and grew up in Japan. If I’d grown up in a winegrowing country, like France or Italy, maybe I’d only drink local wine.
WS: Why did you decide to set up a wine school?
YT: I came back to Japan in 1980, when the wine market was still very small, and worked for five years for a wine distributor and importer. At that time, I found that wine service people had no education, no knowledge about wine at all. I thought we needed education about wine to help the development of wine. So I decided to teach what we should know in the Japanese market; we needed more wine professionals in the Japanese market.
WS: Why did you feel the need to establish the Sakura Awards?
YT: I’d been teaching wine for 25 years, and many young people started to work in the wine business and the wine industry, and the wine market in Japan became bigger and bigger. Many people gained the title of sommelier—it’s around 30,000 in Japan now. It’s enough, it’s more than enough. Actually, 43, 44, nearly 45 percent of those who got the title of sommelier are women.
But also, on the consumer side, women drink wine, women like wine more than men in Japan. Women want to know how to drink wine with food for daily drinking. Women are looking for wine they can get in the supermarket for 2,000 yen or 3,000 yen ($18–27), not icon wine.
Looking at the industry [when I started the Awards], in restaurants, the chef sommelier was always a man. He decided what was on the wine list. Even the importers, most of the buyers were men. They decided what kind of wine should be imported. The wine imported into the Japanese market was all the men’s view, not women’s.
OK, [I thought], what should I do next, after the school? The target is women. So, for the Sakura Awards, judges are only women. I want to sell the wine for women’s palate. Some people say, “Oh, Yumi Tanabe is only looking for women, Yumi Tanabe doesn’t like men.” Yes, I like men [laughs]. But in the case of the Sakura Awards it is different, because most of the wine tastings and wine competitions are the men’s side.
This competition is not only to select the wine that women like, but also to involve women in the wine market, to change the wine market in Japan. I want to give some shock to the old liquor industry in Japan. In five years, I think women will have more of a chance for power in the industry, with bosses also thinking about how women are important for the wine industry.
WS: What’s happening with domestic wine?
YT: Of all the wine we consume in Japan, less than 4 percent is Japanese wine. But also, we Japanese like Japanese things. Some young Japanese people are very interested in making wine. Some younger people want to move back to the countryside to work in agriculture, and winemaking has a European image, a good image, not [like] growing rice or potatoes—making wine is a kind of status. We have a lot of new winemakers, new wineries established over the past 10 years. For example, in Hokkaido, before 2000 there were just seven wineries; now there are 36.
I could describe Enyinna Nwigwe as a luxurious slice of chocolate cake, but it would be an understatement. I could describe him as a delicious bowl of seafood okra but the beauty that is Enyinna pass Okra. Enyinna’s face in Nollywood is nothing new, He has acted in different Nollywood movies, but I only noticed him in the movie “The wedding party” where he played Nonso Onwuka the brother to Dozie Onwuka played by Banky W.
Enyinna the beautiful is also an avid foodie, one who isn’t ashamed to cook or ask for seafood okra :p And as he also cooks, he surely deserves some accolades.
see wetin fine boy cook. gotten from Eyinna’s Instagram’s stories
I remember looking through his pictures on Instagram and being swooned, of course it ended with me making a comment and him asking for a bowl of seafood okra. Enyinna, you see, I gat you bro!
I refer to Enyinna as the only Nigerian, Igbotic cow boy.
Apart from his acting skills, Enyinna has a very clean dress sense. The dude can wear anything and look like a million bucks. His baby face, his acting skills and his overall personality sets him apart from most male actors.
see person pikin as he fine
On a serious note, I was mostly swooned by Enyinnas’ love for food/cooking and I instantly knew I had to do an interview with him. Not only is he a pleasant person, but he’s also the real deal. I was curious to learn about him and I’m sure most of us wonder how he lives his daily life.
Please read our interview below:
Nlc: You’re an actor and a foodie. Where are you from in Nigeria?
Enyinna: “I am from Imo state, Nigeria.”
Nlc: How do you balance your real life and being a popular actor?
Enyinna: “I simply live, don’t have a particular approach to it.”
Nlc: You’re an obvious foodie. I see on your stories the food you cook and photograph. What’s your favorite food and how often do you get to cook/eat it?.
Enyinna: “I really can’t say there’s a ‘favorite’ but I love local Nigerian delicacies, jollof rice, Nigerian soups etc, and they are my favorites to make too.”
Nlc: What was the first movie you starred in?
Enyinna: “Wheel Of Change”
Nlc: How do you impact the community around you with your work as an actor?
Eyinna: “I believe my job as an actor enables me wear different hats, putting human faces to situations we face daily in the society, delving into socially sensitive conversations that would otherwise end up as basic conversations through story telling, pushing cultural & global conversations, going past boundaries & telling the African story our own way,setting new narratives, shifting and shaping perceptions.”
Nlc: How did you find out your passion was acting?
Enyinna: “It was purely serendipitous. Went on to hone my craft along the way.”
Nlc: As an actor and a foodie, where do you see yourself in the future? Will you act and cook?
Enyinna: “Currently working on reining it all in, you’ll get to hear soon!”
Nlc: What is your favorite thing to do or eat on a movie set?
Enyinna: “Rice is always SAFE option.”
Nlc: Please share with us one thing we don’t know about you.
Enyinna: “I can be EXTRA perceptive.”
Nlc: What advice will you give to me and others who are pursuing their passion; mine being food?
Enyinna; “One life to live, live it all up & ON YOUR OWN TERMS. “Success happens at the speed of your passion”
Now ladies and gentlemen are you looking for the light at the end of the tunnel? Enyinna is at that light 
Just follow the ladder
Eight ingredients, plus pantry staples. That’s all it takes to make an entire meal from scratch. Add in a good bottle of wine for less than $20, and you’ve got a feast for family or friends.
Twice-baked potatoes are already a favorite party appetizer, but topping them with steak takes them to the next level. This version gets a Tex-Mex twist by adding pico de gallo (fresh Mexican salsa), shredded cheese and chives. It’s hearty enough to make a meal out of by having a couple potatoes with a simple salad on the side.
The potatoes are easy to prepare, but do take a bit of time to bake, during which you can take care of other things. If you’re having a party, you can even do most of the cooking and assembly ahead of time, then finish warming the potatoes in the oven just before your guests arrive. The simple steak topping takes just a few minutes to cook and adds a substantial final flourish. Heap it abundantly on top of the potatoes.
With this meaty topping and rich filling, the potatoes seemed like they could stand up to a moderately big red, so I tried two: a Spanish Garnacha and a Chilean Carmenère.
The Garnacha had flavors of sweet, smoked cherries and vanilla, along with a pleasant acidity that helped balance out the food. However, the fruit had a confectionery note that wasn’t ideal with this dish.
The Carmenère offered deeper black cherry, plum, pepper and herbal notes. The weightier of the two wines, it had more prominent tannins. Initially, I thought this might be a problem, but the tannins grew increasingly plush as the wine got air. Smoky notes in the wine matched the light char on the steak, while its herbal character worked well with the pico de gallo and, in particular, any bites containing guacamole. Over the course of the meal, the Carmenère emerged as the clear favorite.
Pair with a moderately tannic red such as De Martino Carmenère Maipo Valley Legado Reserva 2016 (87 points, $20) from Chile.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 90 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Food Costs: $18
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Rub the potatoes with a little cooking oil and sprinkle with salt, then set on a baking pan or baking dish. Place them in the oven and cook for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are completely cooked through and a knife inserted into the middle encounters no resistance. Remove them from the oven.
2 . Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in half lengthwise. Scoop out about 2/3 to 3/4 of the insides of each potato into a bowl, making sure to leave enough of the potato intact on the bottom so that it is able to hold its form. Line up the potato shells on a baking sheet and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.
4. Add the tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper to the bowl of potato flesh and mash up well. Once it has cooled down a bit, mix in the shredded cheese, sour cream and 1/4 cup of the pico de gallo and combine well. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Evenly distribute the mixture back into the potato shells. Place them back in the oven and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are completely warmed through.
5. While the potatoes are in the oven, heat a small amount of oil in a sauté pan on medium-high. Add the steak cubes to the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and 1/2 cup of the pico de gallo to the pan, stir to combine and cook for another minute. Remove the pan from the heat.
6. Once the potatoes are warmed through, arrange them on a platter. Top each with some of the steak mixture and garnish with the chives and additional shredded cheese. Serve with extra pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole, if desired, on the side. Makes 4 lunch-sized servings or 8 appetizer portions.