Sneakeater Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 That must be what tripped her up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 but seriously, is it so outrageous that a food writer doesn't know off the top of her head what lobster chou farci refers to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 13 minutes ago, mongo said: but seriously, is it so outrageous that a food writer doesn't know off the top of her head what lobster chou farci refers to? Not to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 Outrageous overstates it, I agree. I could forgive chou, but not knowing a really elementary French cooking term like farci signals certain limits on her experience. She has a good resume, but I guess she took a detour around French cooking. https://www.stephanielynnwu.com/ I had to google plenty of terms on the menu at Chama Mama, but Georgian cooking (and cooking vocabulary) is easier missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 i didn't know farci either. i think it's been a long time since in-depth knowledge of french cooking was a prerequisite for being in american food media. i'm sure she knows what dashi is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 1 minute ago, mongo said: i'm sure she knows what dashi is. A type of lobster? Mushroom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 YES. How could you be a food writer and not know what "chou" and "farci" mean? I would be like being a music writer -- even a pop music writer -- and not knowing what an "adagio" is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 This is someone who gets PAID to write about a SUBJECT. If they don't know basic stuff, how can that be? What are they getting paid for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 To me, "farci" is almost as basic as it gets. Would we agree that there'd be a problem if she had to Google "ravioli"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 (edited) It's like Sietsema's not knowing what an Auslese is. It's fine for any person not to know that. But it's not fine for someone acting as a professional food-and-wine writer. I just don't have time to read shit by people who don't know basic shit about the subject they're writing about. And I do think it's outrageous that people like that get PAID to do such writing. (Of course, I have a horse in that race.) Edited October 31, 2023 by Sneakeater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 If it's any comfort I am certain they're not getting paid very much. The big mistake was telling people she googled it. A smart journalist would have googled it then worn it as a badge of their expertise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 4 minutes ago, Wilfrid said: If it's any comfort I am certain they're not getting paid very much. The big mistake was telling people she googled it. A smart journalist would have googled it then worn it as a badge of their expertise. This. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Sneakeater said: To me, "farci" is almost as basic as it gets. Would we agree that there'd be a problem if she had to Google "ravioli"? Â i dunno. it's hard to go out to eat in the u.s very often and not encounter ravioli. i don't know that i've ever seen the words chou farci on a menu (or encountered them on mouthfuls, a site that has been discussing food for 20 years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diancecht Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 i have, but not recently. once was on a french foodblog where the author resides in lyon, france and the other was in this article in the nyt from february 2023. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diancecht Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 and i am hardly a francophile or even well-versed when it comes to french food but i know what it is without googling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 Quite the farce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 15 minutes ago, Orik said: Quite the farce. Or is it Mousseline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 9 hours ago, mongo said:  i dunno. it's hard to go out to eat in the u.s very often and not encounter ravioli. i don't know that i've ever seen the words chou farci on a menu (or encountered them on mouthfuls, a site that has been discussing food for 20 years). If only we could run a search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted November 1, 2023 Author Share Posted November 1, 2023 Would you want to read a film critic who didn't know who René Clair was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 shocked and saddened that mongo doesn’t remember the picture of the chou farci I posted in 2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloviatrix Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 If only you had called it stuffed cabbage, he might have remembered. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 i do remember the lobsters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, Sneakeater said: Would you want to read a film critic who didn't know who René Clair was?  who is rene clair? the stuffed cabbage of french cinema? Edited November 1, 2023 by mongo 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 10 hours ago, Sneakeater said: Would you want to read a film critic who didn't know who René Clair was? I would probably survive. What if they didn't know who Richard Edson is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 given that the vast majority of american film critics* show no evidence of knowing the names of more than 1 or 2 indian film-makers of the 20th century, i'm not particularly exercised if they don't know the names of every significant french film-maker either.  *the french, it must be said, are far better on this score. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.