January 27, 2009 |
Short Order
It’s unsettling, even scary, to see the sharks of the internet so eager to rip into Alice Waters. “Has the locavore Taliban finally been checked?” Josh Ozersky asks on The Feedbag this morning. “There is something about the priggishness and sanctimony of these Bay Area matrons...” he goes on. Ageist, sexist and geopolitical all in one big gulp. Maybe Alice was a bit presumptuous and a dash self-promoting in urging a kitchen revolution on the Obamas not knowing that the White House already skews organic and does indeed have its own vegetable garden. Ex-White House chef Walter Scheib and Anthony Bourdain both pounced at the chance to air their outrage. And now Todd Kliman — food and wine editor of the Washingtonian — dirties the water at NPR by slamming the whole sustainable movement and damning Waters as no longer a food hero but rather, the food police. Misogynists all. Granted, the woman did not invent haricots verts but she has been an inspiration to chefs for decades and her zeal for her Edible Schoolyard program is admirable. And I salute her dedication to Citymeals-on-Wheels for more than twenty years of star appearances dishing up exquisite ice cream or James Beard’s spring onion sandwiches as a star chef at our annual Garden Party in Rockefeller Center. I wonder if Mother Teresa suffered such rage and rancor.
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