This post may contain affiliate links.
Hello friends and Happy Sunday!! ย The weather has been incredible here in San Diego this weekend – 85 degrees and sunny. ย I had such a busy week (3 grand opening events) that I decided to use this weekend for some much needed rest and relaxation. ย This includes watching more House of Cards, playing video games on my iPad, and conducting an informal search for the best fish taco around town with the boyfriend. ย Yesterday, we had some seriously tasty tacos fromย aย food truck in City Heights. ย More details coming soon. ย For now, let’s dish.
- There’s been quite the controversy unfolding recently surrounding this year’s Food52 Piglet cookbook competition. ย Have you been following along? ย If not, here’s a recap:
- Adam Roberts of The Amateur Gourmet was asked to judge one of the first rounds of The Piglet where he had to review A Kitchen in France and Fancy Desserts and select one winner. ย During his comic book-style review, Roberts started by critiquing the look, feel and design of the two books; cooked and shared several recipes from each book; and finally selected Fancy Desserts as the winner. ย Roberts’ review was novel in format, sarcastic (to be expected from Roberts), funny, and honest . You can read the review here. ย So how did this comedic review turn into a full blown foodie controversy? ย Keep reading.
- For some of the Food52 readers, Roberts’ critique of A Kitchen in France was a bitย tooย honest (read through the 100+ comments at the bottom). ย And Mimi Thorisson, the author of A Kitchen in France and Manger, was also not impressed. ย She responds to Roberts’ review here in the section titled “Me and Mr. Roberts.” ย Mimi’s lengthy and scattered responseย eventually leads to this scandalous tidbit: ย “But there is another part of me that canโt help feeling that his approach is a bit shallow (which is fine since this is all in good fun and itโs good not to take things seriously, especially not cookbooks) but also a tad, dare I say it โฆ sexist. Women donโt want to be judged on their looks, and neither do cookbooks.” ย She dropped the S word.
- Roberts then offers an olive branchย to Mimi andย Food52 comes to Adam’s defense. ย But now the Internets are responding.
- Lottie + Doof wrote an interestingย essay titled “You’re Boring,” where they discuss the lack of constructive criticism in the food blogging world. “We lack criticism. And that lack of criticism leads to a sameness that is suffocatingly boring.”
- Is It Sexist to Judge a Cookbook by Its Pictures? (original forum no longer available) published by Eater calls out both Mimi and Adam, but ultimately leads to this conclusion: “And so here we are at the second โ and more important โ occasion of wrongness: Roberts doesn’t think he’s being sexist in his review, but he is.” ย I find it interesting that there’s only one comment on this post. ย Perhaps they’ve yet to sort through their pending comments? ย Be sure to read that single comment though. ย It’s a good one from Adam Roberts.
- So what are your thoughts on all of this? ย I’ve been following both The Amateur Gourmet and Manger for years. ย I find Adam’s blog entertaining, and the his recipes just work. ย I read Mimi’s blog mainly for the photography. ย Seriously, it’s gorgeous. ย In regards to the controversy, I find myself siding with Lottie + Doof. ย I really don’t think sexism is at play here. ย Instead, this is a case of an author having a personal reaction to a professional critique of their work. ย With my full time job, my work is constantly beingย critiqued and reviewed, and I never take this feedback personally. ย It’s what helps me grow in a professional setting. ย We could probably use more of thisย constructive criticism here in the food blogging world!
- Enough with the serious talk! ย Check out these tasty links from the Internets:
- Greg recently shared this Lobster Grilled Cheese (pictured above). ย I mean, how amazing does that look??
- Here’s a vibrant Coconut Citrus Smoothie by Lindsey.
- Mandy posted this Pan-Grilled Marshmallow Toast with Sea Salt, and I’m seriously losing myย mind over it.
- Someone pass me a fork so I can dig right into THIS.
- The New York Times recently posted a series of tips to reduce food waste. ย A very interesting read!
- These Peanut Butter Millionaire Shortbread Bars lookย crazy delicious.
- Aida shared a recipe for Sostanza Brown Butter Chickenย inspired by a trattoria in Florence (pictured below). ย Just look at that hot, bubbling butter!!
- I’ve got a new, flavor-packedย recipe for Hard-Boiled Egg Toast with Harissa Butter going on here.
- Steph just posted these Crispy Roasted Potatoes with Burrata. ย Burrata makes everything better, doesn’t it?
- Last weekend, I went to a San Diego Food Blogger event at one of my favorite food spots, Specialty Produce. ย This is where I purchase most of my produce and pantry items. ย Specialty Produce is a local wholesaler that stocks most of the restaurants around town. ย Over 3 years ago, I discovered that they are also open to the public, and I’ve been a loyal shopper ever since. ย At the event, I learned that SP turns over every piece of produce in the warehouse every 2 – 3 days. ย That’s how they keep all their produceย so fresh! ย They also run a Farmer’s Market Box program similar to a CSA (#SpecialtyProduceFMB). ย Each blogger at the event got one of these boxes. ย Using this recipe as a guide, I roasted up a number of the beautiful vegetables found in my FMB with miso, garlic, ginger, maple syrup and sesame oil. ย I paired the finished miso-roasted vegetables with some brown rice and soft-boiled eggs for dinner. ย So easy. ย So delicious! ย Check out a photo of the pre-roasted vegetables here.
- I’ve got a cookbook giveaway going on here. ย Check it out!
- I’m going to finish with Carly Rae Jepsen’s latest music video. ย Enjoy!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I love Specialty Produce! I used to live super close to it too for about 6 months. I need to go there more often….sounds like a fun event and I love the factoids you shared about how fast they turn things over!
Brandon Matzek says
Yes!! I find myself at SP 1 to 2 times a week ๐
Nancy Buchanan says
I couldn’t agree with you more Brandon about “the controversy!” Love this sunday round up – and sooo wish I lived closer to Specialty Produce!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Nancy! And if you lived closer we could share blog food leftovers ๐
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
What a fun post. I loved it. Can’t wait to hear the outcome of your fish taco search with the boyfriend.
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Michelle! I’m sharing results in April ๐
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says
I’ve been following the whole controversy too. I don’t think his review was sexist at all. I have her cookbook and while I like looking at the photos, I didn’t really find any recipe that I wanted to make.
Brandon Matzek says
Yeah, I’ve always found her photos to be quite inspiring, but I’ve never once wanted to cook one of her recipes. Which is fine! I read different blogs for different reasons.
Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen) says
I feel like I should have had a cocktail in my hand as I read this! Drama, drama, drama! LOL Loved the play-by-play on this “incident”.
Brandon Matzek says
Haha thanks Dee Dee!!
Rachel Farnsworth says
Food blog drama. Who knew! I feel badly for all parties involved. It is something meant to be fun that turned into an unfortunate situation. Adam is definitely rocking the boat lately. Perhaps it is a good thing. The food blog world could use a little shake up. Or is that what the facebook like cleanup is for?
Brandon Matzek says
Haha yes!! His recent essays about food blogging do have me thinking about my own blog. I think it’s a good thing.
Susan | LunaCafe says
Fun update, thanks! I read through most of the commentary on the Piglet cookbook review. It’s difficult to comment, in that I haven’t seen either cookbook. So I will demur for now. ๐
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Susan!