Wine, Really Wine

More people are drinking wine, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. A poll recently commissioned by the WSTA showed than 60% of adults are wine drinkers and wine is the most popular alcoholic beverage. On average it is estimated that there are more than 30 million regular wine drinkers across the country. In the 25 - 34-year-old bracket, it is their favorite drink.

Consumers prefer white wine and sparkling

wines such as Prosecco are growing in popularity. This must be good news for vineyards. The main grape varieties grown are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  The USA tops the wine consumers' polls, followed by France, Italy, Germany and China, with the UK coming in sixth place.

In the US, at least, 20% of people are going out to eat more than they did in the past, and they are spending more on average than they did in the past. A survey has shown that 24% of diners are spending more on wine than they did in previous years.

In the US, wine drinkers spent 4.4% more on wine bought in stores than they did in 2016. Beer sale are falling, but spirits are still popular. Wine drinkers have resisted price increases on their favorite brands, and wine producers have realized it's easier to bring a new, more expensive, wine onto the market than to raise the price of well-established wines.

When it is served by the glass in restaurants, more people will buy it, a survey showed. The bottles with screw tops are ideal for pouring it by the glass, and, it seems, that sommeliers are quite happy to serve wine from them. Rather than have a cork stuffed back in a bottle, a screw cap bottle which holds a glass of wine, ensures that it is fresh and not turning to vinegar.

Diners want their wine to complement their food, which is also good news for sommeliers. They are unlikely to be out of a job just yet! The US Wine Market Council conducted a survey which showed that 64% of regular wine drinkers are more likely to order wine with Italian meals. 56% of respondents said that they usually order wine in a steakhouse. Diners tend to choose refreshing wines, such as sparkling ones and light reds. Of course, these also go well with food.

In the US, at least, wine drinkers are buying more wine in cans than they did a year ago. Cans can be consumed in public places, such as beaches, where glass bottles aren't allowed. However, wine in a can is not very popular in the UK (at least, not yet).

With a constantly changing wine market who knows what will be popular next year?

Chef Emeritus

Local Food Artistry

Farmers markets. They are popping up all around the country. They can range from a true farmers market with farm fresh produce locally grown and sold by the farmer to more of an arts and crafts show. When shopping at a farmers market the consumer needs to be wary of anyone selling fruit or vegetables that are not locally grown or are out of season. It is becoming common practice for some marketers to purchase the same produce that is available at the grocery and sell it in the farmer’s market venue.

Here are a few tips on what to look for in a farmers market.

• Fresh local fruit and vegetables, no commercially grown produce.

• Good prices, the price should be comparable to the grocery store. You may find that in some areas the farmers market is a bit higher but this can be well worth it if the produce is local and fresh.

• Look for moist fresh looking produce. If the corn was picked yesterday it will begin to dry out at the bottom. Look for signs that the fruit and vegetables have been harvested within the last day. Do not be afraid to ask when the produce was picked. If it is the farmer you are talking to they are likely to take pride in their selection.

• Stay away from produce that has been dumped out on a table. The display should say that someone took time to care for the produce and ensure that no bruising has occurred.

• Look for clearly marked prices. If it is hard to find out home much that apple is you may be dealing with lesser quality produce.

Avoid farmers markets that have a lot of crafts. This may be a sign that the area is not based in agricultural and the farmers market may contain mostly commercially produced fruit and vegetables.

Chef Emeritus

But I Wouldn't Call Them Chefs

Now I would hope by now that you would understand where this is going, the fact that people do an NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) and then call themselves Chefs and are instantly wanting to go for Head Chef positions. 

How can they know how to use the best products and what skills to get the best from them? Do they really care about if the customer is happy with the end result if in all honesty they really don't know what the end result should look or taste like?

Now you may think from reading the above that I am being down against the Chef of this day and age and that would simply not be true. What I am saying is the term "Chef", need to be thought about. The Trainee that has just started his or her journey in the finest restaurant in London, France or Switzerland will understand the pride in years to come when their Sous Chef calls them Chef. Then you have the Chef or Cook as I like to call them that work for a chain, the person that has a spec to follow that did 6 months at college but already know they were better than Gordon and thought their big break would be cooking in a high turnover pub. 

Yet again you could think I am against these positions and you would be very wrong, I can't afford to eat in such amazing restaurants all the time. My issue is the person in the kitchen 9 times out of 10 has not a clue about being a chef even though they tell the word they are. 

All the things that the stages of being a chef teach like bring back a broken sauce or why you roast some bones for a stock and not others or what flavors go together and how to get the best from them and the seasons they are available. But the most important thing is the want and passion for the customer to have the very best they can give and if it's not then not serving it.

I will happily call every person working in a chain restaurant Chef if they know and understand the food they are cooking and will make every dish that is sent as good as the first. There are regional managers and executive chefs (cooks), above these people who are not instilling such basic standards and skills.

If you really want to serve the best food you can every time and want to understand food because you have a passion for it. Well then it doesn't matter if you have 3 stars or a play area you can hold your head high and I will be the first to call you Chef. But if you stand on that carving station with a stupid baseball cap on insisting that meat should fall apart like that, Broccoli should be brown and mash potato comes in frozen you should think of a different name other than Chef.

Chef Emeritus