Judgement and High Standards
Change if Not Progress
GOOD THINGS HAVE BEEN happening with food in North America for about 50 years. There are so many examples. Good fresh bread and fresh flavorful beer hardly used to exist. There’s the number of farmer’s markets, the respect for the seasons, special cheeses made on this side of the ocean, “slow food” (the idea and the organization), the quantity of organic food, the appreciation for grazing, the popularity of “natural” wine, superior pastry, small-scale chocolate producers transforming superior cacao, and small coffee shops brewing excellent, freshly roasted beans. More people have traveled now and eaten in more countries, and we’re inspired by more cuisines. We have much more information, including scientific, at a higher level, although you can’t assume that what you read or hear is correct. There’s a well-informed core of driven chefs and cooks, passionate amateurs, and writers and other media figures. Not that there haven’t been losses.