Monthly Archives: February 2017

Michel Guerard, French chef of the restaurant Les Pres d'Eugenie, poses on September 26, 2013 at his restaurant at Eugenie-les-Bains, France. NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP/Getty Images

"The new gourmet law: hold the butter," reads the strapline of the European edition of TIME's Feb. 9 1976 issue, alongside a cartoon of the French culinary master Michel Gurard, then 42.

Fast forward four decades and the debate over butter and fat intake is still magazine-cover-worthy . But now it's a far more saturated conversation: evidence of links between certain fats and heart disease changes on a regular basis, as does the merit of plant-based dairy alternatives, made from almonds or coconut or walnuts. Thanks to prominent campaigns , the clean eating movement and savvy restaurateurs , healthy eating is more in the zeitgeist than ever before.

However, back in the 70s, Gurard's 'waist-not, want-not' approach was revolutionary. Considered a founding father of 'Nouvelle Cuisine' - a Japanese-inspired cooking style which emphazises freshness, lightness and flavor, Gurard eschewed the copious quantities of butter, large servings and cream-filled sauces ubiquitous with traditional French cooking while still maintaining the highest order of taste. Thanks to Gurard, reported TIME's George M. Taber in 1976, "no longer need a Frenchman dig his grave with a fork."

Gurard's main restaurant, Les Prs d'Eugnie, which specializes in low-calorie, full-flavour cooking, won the chef three Michelin stars: in 1974, 1975 and 1977. Now 83, he remains a key figure in educating and changing perceptions of healthy cuisine.

The pioneering chef celebrated the ruby anniversary of his three Michelin Stars this week. He spoke to TIME in an email interview about how the culinary industry has changed during his 69 years in the industry, clean eating and what he thinks of people's obsession with photographing their food.

TIME: How have attitudes towards healthy food changed during your career?

Michel Gurard: When I launched my slimming cuisine back in 1975, it triggered a wave of outrage within the culinary world. I will never forget my friend [chef] Paul Bocuse saying to everyone that if they go to Gurards, they should take their medical prescription with them. My attitude towards food did not make sense to chefs at the time; I was at worst an outcast and at best a crazy cook. Fortunately, I had two Michelin stars at that point, which spoke for my professionalism.

Today, health has become fashionable and it is reassuring to see that trendsetters have caught up with the idea. I was very appreciative of Michelle Obamas fight , for instance. I know that Im one of the people who have mattered the most in this realization. But I dont draw any pride in that: it was only a matter time before public health and governments were obliged to do something.

Although healthy food has been a hot topic for a while, it doesn't mean that all problems are solved. Healthy food remains something that wealthier people can enjoy; it excludes the poor and it will be a long time before they benefit from the trend.

And how is the world of haute cuisine different today?

Certainly the rise of the celebrity chef. We all got out of the kitchen and into the media. Today, you cannot take a walk without seeing chefs everywhere. The upside is that the move has meant a lot of people now choose to be a chef - when I started out, that was not the case. I understand that I contributed to this rise, but the media frenzy around cooks has become extreme and sometimes ridiculous.

Another change is that food and gastronomy have become a globalized product. I find it striking that you can eat exactly the same things in New York as you can in Paris. This was not the case 15 years ago and I dont know what to make of it. Should we fear this standardization of taste? I dont think so, but we should still remain cautious as some of our culinary heritage has been disappearing for some years. There is surely a risk that our national cuisines will one day fade to nothing.

Are there foods you think people should and shouldn't eat?

I am not a guru wholl tell you what to eat and what not to eat. As long as food comes from nature herself, I dont see why you shouldnt eat it - and just as a reminder, Dominos Pizza does not come from nature! I believe you can eat anything as long as you keep a balanced diet.

Which cuisines and ingredients excite you the most?

I am a big fan of Chinese cuisine, which is very precise with its seasonings. The Chinese have beautiful cooking, like Peking duck. When it is done the traditional way, it is like a piece of art.

I dont have a favourite food. But I like to work with ingredients that can surprise you. For instance, once I wanted to create something with oysters and I wondered for many months what taste or what other ingredient I could combine with their very particular flavor. Finally, I decided on green coffee. Served as a frothy chiboust like a cloud on an oyster, it is sumptuous and delicious.

What do you remember about your TIME interview in 1976?

I had previously done interviews with American media, but the TIME cover was a total surprise. To me, the only French people who would make a TIME cover were individuals like General de Gaulle. It was when I did the cover that I became aware of how unique what I was doing was; it made me realise that my work was important. The journalists who interviewed me had a premonition that health would become a cornerstone of cooking.

Do you think social media has changed the way people eat?

Professionally, my daughters [take photos of their food in restaurants] all the time, to feed our websites and digital accounts. It shows everyone that follows us what we do, who we are and what were working on for our guests. It entices people; its publicity.

But from a personal point of view, I have a hard time understanding what seems to have become an addiction. People are living by proxy through their phones. They want to show everyone how great their lives are, choosing carefully what they display. It makes sense in a way; its self-promotion that reflects the individualistic society we live in.

I find it a little bit sad that for some the picture has become more important than the food itself; the fact that the picture must be pretty has had a huge influence on cuisine and pastry. In most high-end restaurants, it is unthinkable to serve something that doesnt look great except what looks smart doesnt always taste nice.

Pastry has become a dog and pony show for desserts I mean cold desserts that can be made and dressed prettily in advance. Minute pastry, like souffl, is disappearing. And I think its a pity because the know-how is disappearing too. Some chefs are so attached to the way their dishes look that they refuse to change the recipe when people mention that they dislike the taste. They know it will end up on the Internet, so they want to make sure it looks the way it is supposed to.

If you were going to predict the biggest food craze in 50 years time, what would you say?

Ten years ago, we predicted a lot of funny things such as dried food like astronauts or even food tablets. But the act of eating is about much more than just filling a physiological need: it gives pleasure and its a social ritual. We will carry on eating as weve been doing for tens of thousands of years. However, Im sure healthy cooking will become even more important than it is now.

Finally, what would you choose as your last supper?

I would like this supper to be completely natural. The chef cooking it would have to have great experience, as well as a sensitivity which would allow him to play with his culinary creation freely and effortlessly. I would like to taste something that surprises me and would make me think: "How did I not come up with this this myself?".

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Q&A: Chef Michel Gurard, a Pioneer of Low-Calorie Cuisine - TIME

Ava DuVernay has been up until 12:30 a.m. shooting A Wrinkle in Time for Disney, but the director of Selma is enthused to finally talk about the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th.

The former publicist is the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with a production budget of more than $100 million. Last fall, she premiered her first television show, the well-received Queen Sugar, which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

So DuVernay hasnt much time to discuss her powerful documentary released in October which is up for Oscar and BAFTA awards.

13th takes its title from the amendment that outlawed slavery in 1865, though with the caveat except as a punishment for a crime.

The documentary, available on Netflix, examines how that clause has led to a mass-incarceration system that disproportionately imprisons African-American men. In many of the for-profit institutions, inmates are then used as cheap labor, employed for pennies by major companies, creating a de facto form of slavery.

A note here: DuVernay and I were phone acquaintances in her PR days, although we never met. So it was a pleasure to finally meet her in person. What follows is an edited version of our conversation about 13, and what led her to do the film, including an emotional story from when she grew up in Compton.

Q Has the film been getting the response you were hoping for?

A I have been shocked. I really didnt think it would have this much attention, and I did not think that people react to it as emotionally as they have. It is an intimate topic. It is really about the way that we think about race in this country, regardless of who you are and how we engage with each other and what our belief system is. There are some things in this doc that challenge what we believed or even thought we knew. Its a little disconcerting when we realize what we dont know. I thought it would sit on Netflix as a resource for teachers. I really didnt think it would cross into a cultural zeitgeist kind of thing.

Q Are you getting response from legislators?

A Yes, as a teaching tool like Congressman John Lewis and Sen. Cory Booker. Those people are using it as an entry point to talk to their communities and constituents. I havent heard about any pushback from the other side. Havent heard anything from anyone on the right or any conservatives. Its been oddly quiet.

Q When you made this, it was before the presidential election and reforms were being pushed; now with President Trump in the White House, the film is more relevant than ever.

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A Stock in private prisons shot up the day after his election. The executive orders that hes signing signal his intention to bolster policies and practices that favor those who profit off of the least of us. Prisons are clearly in the bulls-eye for this. The deregulation through executive is moving to a place that will undo a lot of work that has been done by a bipartisan coalition taking steps toward reform.

Q What can be done?

A Its important that people continue to assert what they believe. I believe in the power people have and the power in the protest. That isnt just pie in the sky stuff. Three years ago, the Black Lives matter movement was happening and people thought this is a moment, but there has been a concerted, concentrated effort with deliberate action that has not stopped since that day. The Civil Rights Movement at its height was over 10 years. In the two weeks of Trumps presidency, weve seen spontaneous protests at airports and huge numbers at the womens marches all around the country expressing their dissent. Its going to be more crucial now than ever to continue do that, and for artists to continue to promote that and do what we can to amplify it.

Q How did you come to the project?

A I was an African American studies major at UCLA. We were encouraged to do a deep dive into the Constitution, and it has just kind of been putting together the pieces from there understanding there is a direct correlation between that clause and the mass incarceration that were experiencing now. At first, I hadnt done the research to connect the dots, but with some 2.3 million people behind bars it seemed there was something to that. So I began tracing and tracking it and really being able to get down to the kind of granular policies legislation signed that actually perpetuated it. It was important to break down the images of the war on drugs and what was perpetuated by the media. So the assignment for myself was to focus on prison for profit, the way that many companies are profiting on punishment.

Q You reached out to conservatives in the documentary, like Newt Gingrich.

A I know what I think, but it was important to reach out to Republicans and Democrats and liberals. I wanted this to be a conversation like a master class from people of all walks of life. Sometimes we learn from people who dont think anything like us.

Q Youve been pretty busy.

A These films are my children. I dont have kids, and Im not going to have kids. So this is what Im leaving behind. But for this film, I havent had a chance to go out there and beat the drum for it.

Q It seems like everyone in the black community Ive talked to feel connected to this film because of things that happened in their lives.

A Growing up in Compton, police aggression and issues of incarceration were all around. I have a very, very small family. So theres no one in my direct family involved, but when every black man you know has a police story, a lot of the people have been directly touched by it. I tell this story on this Netflix special I did with Oprah about my father being tackled in our backyard in Compton because the police were running through peoples backyards looking for someone else. My father was in the backyard watering the grass. Hes a very dignified man a beautiful, beautiful man. He was tackled to the ground like a criminal, handcuffed in front of his family, cursed at I saw all this berated and belittled because they thought he was a criminal. They had no respect for his property a man in his own backyard and they couldnt hear his protests. These are the kinds of incidences that many people of color in this country are scarred with, and so when I watch 13th, it has a particular vibe to it for me.

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Ava DuVernay's Oscar-nominated '13th' documentary aims to unlock the truth - The Pasadena Star-News

When Professor Bernard ORourke plans the itinerary for a Business Division study-abroad experience, he takes a good hard look at the nation his students will visit. Every country has a story, he says. I determine the essence of the countrys business to get its business zeitgeist. He frames each trip so students can learn through an immersion in a nations economic and business life.

Since 2001, ORourke, associate dean of the Business Division, has led short-term trips to Belgium, Holland, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Austria, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. In setting the agenda, he reaches out to government agencies, which are often eager to help with appointments that showcase a countrys economic profile and direction, and networks with business contacts.

In Costa Rica students toured a coffee plantation and a free-trade zone. In Panama they explored the iconic Panama Canal. In Austria they visited the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In the Czech Republic they saw the workings of the Skoda auto plant, which was regenerated when the country reverted to a free-market economy after overturning the communist regime. In the Dominican Republic they walked the floor of the Baldom food manufacturing company.

ORourkes taste for international business and travel began when he was a young man in Ireland in the 1970s. He was eager to help his homeland. What spurred me was the intent to move Ireland forward, to move it out of poverty, he says. Growing up in an impoverished region of Ireland, with little beyond farm and retail work available for most school leavers, I instinctively knew that Ireland needed to move forward with the times and somehow begin a new investment revolution to provide jobs for those who did not wish to emigrate to the U.K. or the U.S. as generations before had done.

The vision for a new Ireland was provided by an aggressive investment promotion program in which Ireland scoured the world for state-of-the-art industries that could generate good-paying, export-focused jobs for the rising generation of well-educated Irish men and women. ORourke knew he had to be a part of the movement to regenerate Ireland and help create opportunities so the country might become prosperous and self-sustaining and not just a source of talented immigrants for the rest of the world. It grabbed me and a lot of young people at the time, he says.

He had received an undergraduate degree in economics with a political science minor from the biggest university in Ireland, University College Dublin, and then a law degree from Kings Inns, Irelands oldest school of law, qualifying him to go as far as pleading a case in the Irish courts. But practicing law was not his interest; he had a drive to work in international business to raise Irelands profile in the global marketplace.

ORourke grew up in Inniskeen, a small village in County Monaghan just beside the border with Northern Ireland. The town was a farming community in the traditional Irish countryside. He and his seven younger brothers and sistersone of whom drowned at the age of twowere raised by their Catholic parents, who encouraged education. ORourke and his siblings attended grammar school in a two-room schoolhouse with 60 students. His father, a miller, sold cornmeal products for farm animals, and ORourke learned on the familys small farm how to gather potatoes and cut hay, barley, oats and wheat.

It was the 1950s, and he recalls how a few families in Inniskeen still rode horse-drawn carts to church on Sunday. Television became available when he was about 9 years old, but people had to go 25 miles to the other side of the mountain to pick up the hazy signals for British programs. It was still amazing, says ORourke. In his early teens Irelands Troubles were still years away, so he would ride his bicycle across the border into Northern Ireland where we could get better and richer candies and cheaper dairy products like butter. He was exposed to the big city of Dublin since the family frequently visited his grandparents there. After sixth grade he went to Castleknock College, a boarding prep school outside Dublin run by Vincentian priests.

After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees, ORourke worked for his father in Ireland for a short period, but it was evident that times were changing in farming. He took a legal position at the Irish Development Agency, hoping to bring foreign investors to the Emerald Isle to create jobs. The position gave him a nice taste of travel, he says, including a trip to Helsinki. Eventually he was offered a post in Manhattan. I was given territory in New England and had to find any companies interested in manufacturing in Ireland, and the government agency would give them grants and tax benefits. Then he began chasing textile companies in the South.

His professional journey next took him to managing Belleek china for the Waterford Crystal company where he gained legal, marketing and operational experience, learning to deal with computer software and to keep the books. He picked up his MBA along the way at Fordham and developed investments and marketing plans for Irish companies in America. After many years in business, ORourke started teaching international business at Fairleigh Dickinson University and found he enjoyed it. Doors opened for teaching at Caldwell, and he eventually made his way into higher education full time, sharing his multifaceted business experience with students.

ORourke has been a leader in advancing Caldwells Business Division, overseeing the department when it added programs including undergraduate degrees in financial economics, health care administration and sport management and masters in accounting and in business administration.

He is excited about the significant increase in enrollment in the undergraduate programs and about the new programs, including the bachelors in health care administration, a good fit because of our other health-related programs, the bachelors in sport management and the new online MBA program. ORourke hopes that the division can take the impact of technology to the next level with enhanced programs in IT and that it can pursue more international students for the MBA program.

His experience in international business makes him value the contributions of the divisions Business Advisory Council, which provides a bridge between the business community and the university and is made up of senior executives and business owners.

The council provides networking opportunities for students and professors and forums for showcasing faculty and student research and best practices in business and mentorship. We are fortunate that our Business Advisory Council members are supportive in facilitating student internships, says ORourke.

Most rewarding for him is seeing students developthe progress they make over the semester and how they grow in understanding and relating to the worldand then watching them receive their diplomas when they are ready to go out into the world of business.

ORourke is convinced Caldwell has something bigger schools dont, citing as an example a student who was eager to leave for a big-time university but who transferred back to Caldwell after two months. There will always be a need for the Caldwell ethos.

Every country has a story. I determine the essence of the countrys business to get its business zeitgeist.

As a young man working in Manhattan, he joined the New York Athletic Club rugby teama quick way to be integrated into a good group of people, even playing in a tournament in the Cayman Islands.

He and his wife Sheila, Caldwells vice president for institutional effectiveness, have two grown daughters, one grandson, Ronan, and another grandchild on the way.

He served as president of the West Essex and Essex Fells school boards combined for nearly 16 years. I ran three weeks after becoming a citizen. It helped me understand the school system. He testified before Congress on behalf of the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Why we should visit his Ireland: As my wife says, It will always live up to your expectations. There are 40 shades of green. People really are fun to deal with and enjoy. The scenery is fantastic.

It was almost a third world country when I was growing up. In the last 30 years, based on the economic development, it has become one of the richest countries in Europe. Thats not to say it doesnt have its problems; it has many problems; it certainly suffered in the last recession.

The party time and fun timethat exists as an authentic Irish experience.

Everybody deserves to go at least once.

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Bernie O'Rourke: An Irishman's Passion for Business - Caldwell University News

Every awardshows history is riddled with controversial selections andsnubs, but the Grammyspast is especially turbulent. Its voters have repeatedly proven that they areout of touch to a staggering degree. This was the case in the 60s, when they couldn't let go of Sinatra, in the 70s, when they favored disco over Elvis Costello and Debby Booneover "Hotel California," and in the 80s, which we'll get to. By the time the 90s arrived, the Grammys lost most of its cach. Just ask Homer.

Not much has changed.

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In anticipation of Sunday's ceremony, we'vecompiled some of the most egregious flubs in Grammys history, from crowining one-hit wonders as the Next Big Thingto all butignoring entire genres of music.

Related: Beyonc, Adele lead Grammy nominations

In 1985, the competition for Album of the Year seemed to be a tight race between Princes Purple Rainand Bruce Springsteens Born In the U.S.A.So it was surprising when the award went to...Lionel Richies Cant Slow Down.Sure, it was a solid recordAll Night Long (All Night) and Hello are perfect pop songsbut the album came out in 1983.Even though ittechnically qualified for Album of the Year based on the Grammys' seemingly arbitrary rules, it was certainly not the best album of thatyear.

But also, considering how well Princesand Springsteens work has held up respective to Richies, the decision is a spectacular misstep. These are the kind of brilliant classic records that one can argue in favor of just by adding curse words to their titles:Born In the God Damn U.S.A.! Purple Fucking Rain! See? End of shitting argument. Joe Veix

In 1981, RunD.M.C. and the Beastie Boys both formed in New York. That year the Grammys were busy fawning over Christopher Cross. As hip-hop emerged as the most significant musical and social movement of the 1980s, the Recording Academy was characteristically late to the party. The Best Rap Performance category was added in 1989, but it wasnt actually included in the televised ceremony, prompting nominees Will Smith, LL Cool J and Salt-n-Pepa to lead a Grammy boycott. (Some more politically charged rap acts, like N.W.A, were ignored altogether.) During the 1990s, seminal albums like Nass Illmatic and A Tribe Called Quests The Low End Theory were overlooked. It was not until 1999 that a hip-hop album finally won Album of the Year: Lauryn Hills The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Even in the Best Rap Album category, the Academy cant seem to get it right, with Macklemore famously responding to his own win with a sheepish texted apology to Kendrick Lamar.Zach Schonfeld

Santana's meme-friendly Supernatural edging out the Backstreet Boys, TLC, the Dixie Chicks and Diana Krall in 2000 was a portentous start to a decade that thoroughly confused Grammy voters. The following year, a thoroughly forgettable Steely Dan album was honored over Beck, Radiohead and Eminem. In 2002, the award was given to a motion picture soundtrack (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) over Outkast's Stankonia. A few years later, in 2005, a posthumous Ray Charles album won. This is fine, but it illustrates the Grammysinability to tap into the zeitgeist. This brings us to the decades most egregious snub. In 2006, a Herbie Hancocks jazz tribute to Joni Mitchell won over both Amy Winehouse's Back In Black and Kanye West's Graduation. And music lovers also groaned when U2 won for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2006, an album best listened to in an iPod commercial. Ryan Bort

In 1989, Jethro Tull won Best Hard Rock/Metal Performanceover Metallica. This is "Jump Start," fromCrest Of A Knave, the album Jethro Tull won for:

This is "Harvester Of Sorrow," from Metallica's ...And Justice For All:

You be the judge of what qualifies as "metal/hard rock." (Hint: it's not the one with pan flute.) Ryan Bort

The Best New Artist category is, in theory, a well-intentioned idea: Give an award to a musician fresh on the scene, who might not be able to compete in the Best Album category against bigger acts like Michael Jackson or The Rolling Stones or Milli Vanilli. The only problem is the Grammys have a really bizarre definition of new. According to rule changes implemented by the Recording Academy in 2016, artists only become ineligible for the award after releasing more than three records (or 30 singles). Also, they cant have been nominated more than three times, and must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the eligibility period. So: not exactly new! A pedantic music nerd could make the case that multiple bands from the 70s could still be eligible.

Not surprisingly, this broad definition translates to some choices that are...unconventional. Just a few examples: Bon Iver won Best New Artist in 2012five years after his breakout debut For Emma, Forever Ago and two years after guesting on Kanye Wests My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Lauryn Hill won the award in 1999, even though she released two prior records with the Fugees years earlier. Going further back, the Beatles won in 1965, even though by then they werekind of a big deal. If the Grammyswere concerned about accuracy, the category should really be called Best Artist That the Recording Academys Kids Just Told Them About. Joe Veix

Its customary for the Grammys to acknowledge trailblazing weirdo geniuses decades late if at all. So when David Bowie was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, it felt more like an apologetic shrug than a wholehearted endorsement. Speaking of lifetime achievements, Bowie released 25 albums during his life. Only one of them, 1983s Lets Dance, was nominated in the most prestigious category: Album of the Year. (It lost.) The Grammys roundly ignored Bowie during the 1970s, when he arguably reached his creative peak (Ziggy Stardust, Low, etc). And even in death, the Thin White Duke is being snubbed: Blackstar, Bowies final album, was shut out of the top category and instead was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album,proving that alternative music is about as meaningless a phrase in 2017 as fake news.Zach Schonfeld

The 60s can claim arguably the richest musical output of any decade since someone first figured out how to run electricity through a guitar. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, the Who. The list goes on. Of all of these artists, only the Beatles would take home one of the decade's Best Album Grammys when they won in 1968 for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. In fact, the Beatles were the only pop rock artists even nominated for the award. The same can be said for Song of the Year. The Beatles won in 1967 for "Michelle." In 66, "Yesterday" lost to Tony Bennetts "The Shadow Of Your Smile." The latter is a lovely song, but its win proves that Grammy votershave always been behind the times. Ryan Bort

Tony Bennett won Album of the Yearfor "The Shadow Of Your Smile" in 1966, and then again 30 years later in 1995, for his MTV Unplugged album, which was filled with old standards like "Fly Me to the Moon" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." These are great and all, but shouldnt the Grammys recognize the years achievements in original music? Shouldn't the winners be in some way indicative of the current moment? Do voters not want their choices to reflect the music that had the deepest cultural impact? Apparently not, which was evinced in an even more egregious fashion two years earlier... Ryan Bort

More proof that the Grammys are perennially 20 years stuck in the past: Eric Clapton was persona non grata during his Cream/Derek and the Dominos heyday but swept the 1993 ceremony with his live Unplugged recording. (Tears in Heaven, Claptons heartfelt tribute to his late son, garnered several prizes of its own that year.) Similarly, during this same era, Nirvana did not receive a Grammy win until the band softened its sound for its own MTV Unplugged in New York album. By this point, Kurt Cobain was already dead. Nevermindarguably the most culturally significant album of 1991was denied an Album of the Year nomination, perhaps to make room for Amy Grants Christian pop sensation Heart in Motion.Zach Schonfeld

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9 Ways the Grammys have Totally Blown It - Newsweek - Newsweek