If ethics is not a topic you care to discuss in the middle of a hot kitchen, take heart. The second word in the title is gourmet, and the recipes will have you dancing around the stove even while you are learning. The Ethical Gourmet is a book for food lovers as well as a guide to educated food shopping that helps all of us take care of our own small corner of the world. This is an important book.
The author, Jay Weinstein, comfortably wears two hats, that of chef and that of journalist. Both skills enrich the book. Weinstein trained as a chef at the Culinary Institute of America and cooked at Le Bernardin. As chef he gives us recipes such as Fresh Fig Soup with Sheep's Milk Yogurt, Pappardelle with Braised Lamb Shanks and Winter Vegetables, Bison Osso Buco, Roasted Quail Salad with Spiced Cashews, Farmed Crawfish Étoufée and Penne with Albacore Tuna and Artichoke Cream.
Weinstein is also a journalist, and it is his narrative skill that enlivens a discussion of sustainable farming, fair trade practices, organic foods. Unabashed, he even risks a lively discussion on the politics of food.
Preferring pork over pork barrels, Weinstein is not afraid to show his scorn for the political machinations that have led to the production of food that harms the environment. The first words we read are these: "We're at a turning point in the history of American food production, when a reborn ethic -that we're responsible for the way we treat the land and its bounty- is changing what we see on our supermarket shelves and dinner plates." This one sentence sets the tone for the book. Without denying the negative impact we have had on the land, Weinstein is looking forward to a renewal that emanates from an educated public making deliberate choices to sustain the land.
Like a chef planning a complicated meal, Weinstein tackles the often confusing aspects of food production and its implications for the environment. His work is so skillfully organized, that topic flows into topic easily. After a solid introduction, data about each ingredient accompanies the gourmet recipes. Weinstein does not ignore any aspect of food production: sustainable agriculture, seasonal and local eating, genetically modified foods, definitions of organic, free-range, fair trade. Weinstein doesn't miss an ingredient, giving information about poultry, beef, seafood (farmed and wild), vegetables, coffee and yes, even water. The book includes an extensive resource list to help the reader shop selectively.
Weinstein has an ace up his sleeve. He has hope; he believes that we CAN make the changes we need to make by supporting the food producers who are committed to ethical means of production. Love the earth, love the food you eat, love yourself.
About the author: In addition to his writing, Jay Weinstein is a protégé of Jasper White, has written two cookbooks and has published articles in the New York Times, and Travel and Leisure, among other publications. He is the editor of the CIA newsletter Kitchen and Cook.
Please read an excerpt on the topic of seasonal, local foods: seasonal, local foods
The author has kindly shared these recipes with us:
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