The Year That Was 2021

With the threat of another lockdown upon us with the Omicron variant running rampant, 2022 is beginning to look and feel a lot more like most of 2020. As we head into the new year, let's take a moment to look back on the food-related events that made 2021 the year that it was.

Ketchup package shortage
Takeout usage was higher than ever because of COVID in-house dining restrictions throughout the year. This created a severe shortage of the carryout version of the popular condiment. It got to the point where a thriving market for ketchup packets on eBay existed, with prices going for anywhere between 50¢ to $5; you'd think they were TimBiebs boxes or something. I would have thought investing in a bottle of ketchup would negate any packet shortage, but I guess that would mean going to the grocery store.

Air fryers

The adult E-Z Bake Oven that is the air fryer is still as popular as ever with it taking up counter space in kitchens across the country. With an air fryer, it is possible to make healthier alternatives to deep-fried foods, but people need to keep in mind that frozen chicken nuggets don't magically become healthier because less oil is used - the nutrition value of the food doesn't change. My old-school deep fryer still works so I'm not in the market to upgrade. Plus, I'd rather get a full-sized convection oven, and I don't have the space for an air fryer because I already have last year's must-have kitchen appliance.

Buttergate
When people fill the large amount of the time on their hands that the pandemic has given them with baking, they start noticing something is wrong with the butter they're using. Early in 2021 people claimed that Canadian butter no longer softened at room temperature. People claimed this "hard" butter was because of an increased use of palmitic acid, a byproduct of palm oil, commonly added to cow feed. Gripes about hard butter took a more serious turn when reports out of British Columbia about non-foaming milk lead to discussions about whether dairy farmers should even be feeding palm fats to cows and the lack of transparency about the process in the daily industry. The Dairy Farmers of Canada says there's no reason to be concerned but they will look into the matter further to reassure consumers and stakeholders. I hadn't noticed anything different about the butter I've used in the past year, but if "Buttergate" leads to better dairy products, it will be worth all the drama around it.

Popcorn salad
Molly Yeh had no idea she would create the year's most controversial dish. On her Food Network show "Girl Meets Farm", Yeh introduced the popcorn salad and promptly broke the internet. This isn't her first daring take on the classic American salad, having created a pizza salad (think a deconstructed pizza in a bowl), and a chocolate bar salad (!)  in the past. I'm not much of a salad eater, so I'll assume it's the combination of popcorn and vegetables that have people up in arms. To satisfy your curiosity about popcorn salad, try the recipe below :

Ingredients: Molly Yeh’s Popcorn Salad

1/3 cup popcorn kernels
vegetable oil, as needed for popping
white Cheddar popcorn seasoning
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 shallot, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed, cut crosswise into thirds
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup chopped celery plus 1/2 cup tender inner celery leaves
1 bunch watercress, trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces

1. Pop the popcorn in a popcorn maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. While it's still hot, sprinkle with the white cheddar popcorn seasoning to taste. Let cool completely.
2. Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, cider vinegar, sugar, and Dijon together in a large serving bowl. Stir in the shallot. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the snap peas, carrot, and chopped celery and toss to coat. Add the popcorn and toss to coat the kernels in the dressing.
4. Pile the watercress on top and sprinkle with the celery leaves. Serve immediately.

Plant-based eggs

Plant-based meat never really took off as a lot of people hoped. As close to meat as it was, it still wasn't enough like the real thing for most consumers. But that didn't stop the makers of Just Egg, a mung bean-based product known for its ability to mimic the look and texture of cooked eggs. I think these will go over huge with the fast-food crowd, or at least better than those plant-based sandwiches that silently fell off a lot of menus. And speaking of fast-food sandwiches...

Subway's legal problems
Having barely survived the fallout of having Jared Fogel as a spokesperson, Subway continues to be plagued with accusations of selling fake meat. After winning the right to proceed with a defamation lawsuit against the CBC after a story from the show "Marketplace" in 2017 claimed about half the DNA in Subway chicken was soy, the sandwich makers had to deal with a similar claim about what's really in their tuna sandwiches. With claims that their seafood is not "100% tuna" as advertised, Subway owners must long for the days when the biggest worry they had was complaints about the foot-longs not being 12 inches in length.

Restaurant worker shortage
Not surprisingly, the restaurant industry has encountered unprecedented difficulties over the past two years. With numerous restaurants forced to shut down in 2020 restaurants found it hard to get employees back when they reopened in 2021. Some people blamed CERB payments and a lack of work ethic in today's workers; a lot of people blamed low wages and poor working conditions for the lack of interest in working in the service industry. This may change now that the minimum wage has increased this year, but don't be surprised if your favourite restaurant is closed more often than it used to be. 

Price increases and shortages
If you went to the supermarket at any point last year, you noticed that if what you wanted was in stock, it now costs more than it used to. Supply-chain bottlenecks, labour shortages, product shortages, strong demand - there were lots of reasons why grocery bills were high. Reports of shortages of turkeys and liquor may have been a bit premature, as I saw plenty of both available through the Christmas season. As food gets more expensive, people will adapt their diets according to their budgets. Luckily, this can be done without sacrificing dietary concerns or flavour.

What does 2022 have in store for us? Stay tuned...

Commentary on the year that was 2018

2019 is about a two-weeks old, so let's look back at what was hot, hip, and happening in 2018 while it's still fresh in our memories.

Food recalls: It seemed like every week last year, we were getting a warning to not eating something. E-coli in the produce, salmonella in the meat; with reports of food costs to go up this year, we shouldn't have to throw out as much as we do.

The Keto Diet: I completely missed this trend, but a diet that was used primarily to treat refractory epilepsy in children was all the rage. To me, it looks like it involves eating lots of avocados, eggs, nuts, cheese, and salmon, but fans of the keto diet claim you can turn your body into a “fat burning machine" by making it go into ketosis — a physical state where the body is flooded with "ketones" after you deprived it of carbohydrates. Others claim it's just another bad fad diet that's hard to follow, has a high fat intake and could have unknown long-term side effects. I guess like everything, moderation is the key.

Anthony Bourdain Dies: I loved his shows, I loved his writing, I loved his attitude. If I had discovered "Kitchen Confidential" before starting college, my life might have gone in a whole different direction.

Ottawa restaurant closures and openings: Among the noticeable closures in 2018 were Dunn's on Elgin; Wong's Palace; Table 85, and Boko Bakery. Ironically, the restaurant that forced the beloved Mello's to close in 2015, Ace Mercado, has also closed its doors, with surprisingly little fanfare. But as the guy in Semisonic warbled in the nineties, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end with the Queen St. Fare, Ottawa's first food hall, opening in the old Hy’s Steakhouse, and acclaimed chef Briana Kim to open a new restaurant called Alice later this year. Both are on my ever-expanding list of local restaurants to visit.

Buck-a-Beer: Whether it's extending the hours of the LCBO, or considering letting corner stores sell beer, it seems all of millionaire Doug Ford's attempts to appeal to the common man involve getting people drunk. The premier's challenge to Ontario breweries to sell beer for a dollar (plus deposit) after the Ontario government lowered the minimum price by a quarter was a dud. No one wants to drink cheap beer (it tastes bad); no one wants to make cheap beer (you lose money doing so). It was a waste of time that had little to no payoff whatsoever. Hopefully, the Ontario government will handle marijuana edibles better when they become legal this year, I hear Doug has some experience in that area (allegedly).

The Big Mac Turns 50: Back in August U.S McDonald's franchises decided to celebrate the creation of placing two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun by giving customers a limited-edition collectable metal coin with the purchase of every Big Mac that could be redeemed for one free Big Mac until the end of the year. I would have thought there would have been more fanfare about this, not sure why Canadian Mickey D's didn't join in on the celebrating.

Starbucks Closes for ‘Racial Bias Training’: After an employee at a Starbucks called the cops on two black men for the crime of being black in a Starbucks, the company issued an official apology and eventually closed 8,000 of its U.S. shops for “racial bias training” on the afternoon of May 29. Canadian Starbucks followed suit on June 11 and closed all of their company-operated stores and offices for the afternoon as staff underwent similar training. I don't know how much this corporate lesson did to improve racial relations between staff and customers, but I do know that if you complained about not being able to get a cup of coffee that afternoon when they closed, you weren't looking that hard for coffee and you're a racist.

Ottawa Wine and Food Festival Bites The Dust: In a move no one saw coming despite the lack of online ticket sales, an ongoing legal battle, and a long line of people wanting the money they're owed, the popular Ottawa Wine and Food Festival was canceled eight days before its announced opening. Having been to the event when it was at the Ottawa Congress Centre, I didn't ever expect to use the word "clusterfuck" to describe the Ottawa Wine and Food Festival, but it's an appropriate word for everything involved with the event since the move to the EY Centre. There are plans to have another go this year, but I'm not holding my breath on it coming together - why can't Ottawa have nice things?

Mario Batali's Comeback: Despite having lost his job on “The Chew”, having his products pulled from store shelves, and being forced to step away from his restaurant business, Mario Batali still hoped he could salvage his reputation and career despite the numerous sexual misconduct accusations against him. But in spite of the charity work Batali is reportedly doing in Rwanda, and the news that he will not be charged for two alleged sexual assault cases against him, the public isn't ready to forgive the Louis CK of the cooking world. Me, I was done with him after I heard one of his restaurants had a rape room in it, fuck him and his asshole business partner from "MasterChef" Joe Bastianich.

Chef José Andrés Is Nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize: José Andrés is known for the three years he worked at elBulli, or for bringing the small plates dining concept to America in his restaurants. He is also known as the founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Because of his humanitarian efforts, he has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. It's nice to know that not everything was horrible last year.

2017: Food Thoughts and Observations

Happy 2018 everyone. Instead of making resolutions, I'm going to take this opportunity to get some bullshit off my brain about some random thoughts I've had, and some more specific ones about the year that was.

• For all the hand-wringing about the closing of Hy's and Mello's, the Ottawa food scene isn't any better or worse without them.
• Poké may be just deconstructed sushi served on rice in a bowl, but it lives up to the food hype better than the sushi burrito.
• It always pops up on best-of-Ottawa lists, but I've never known anyone who's eaten at Fritomania, and I've lived in Orleans for over 20 years.
• For a city that isn't known as a food destination, we have a lot of food festivals. Not that I'm complaining, I like a summer with several ribfests in between beer festivals.
• Having spent "An Evening with Matty Matheson", I am amazed these celebrity chefs ever had the time to cook what with all the cocaine and alcohol they consume.
• In the upcoming municipal election, a candidate could win my vote by promising to cut the noose the city put around food trucks and treats them like any other restaurant opening within city limits.
• Apparently, drinkable vinegar, snorting chocolate, and using activated charcoal as an ingredient were things in 2017 - who knew?
• The "Riverdale" promotion aside, the only reason anyone should eat at Zak's is they're too drunk or too lazy to go anywhere else.
• Grilling a thick slab of cauliflower may be tasty, but don't call it a steak.
• Nothing wrong with being socially conscious, but do people ever talk about the food at Union 613 anymore?
• If the price of having a meal at the Sky Lounge was what kept you away, fine, but don't use the excuse that it was a lack of a bathroom. Would being able to use a Port-a-Potty 45 metres up really make you feel more comfortable?
• Anyone who has ever pondered whether a hot dog is or is not a sandwich has too much time on their hands (The answer, of course, is 'who cares?').
• "Lucky Peach" was too good for this (publishing) world.
• I do not understand the devotion people have for Perkins. It's a waffle house without any of the interesting late-night clientele. 
• Never order jambalaya from an Irish pub; more specifically, don't order the jambalaya from the Audubliner Pour House. Tasting that slop was not the way to end a Franklin-family outing to see La Machine.
• I loved Jules in "Pulp Fiction", but I got to side with Vincent, bacon and pork chops taste good; not as good as pumpkin pie, but better than a sewer rat.
• I don't think anyone could have predicted the reaction “Rick and Morty” would have over McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce; some of these people lose their damn minds over this. 
• The need to turn Guy Fieri from being a culinary punchline to a celebrity chef supergenius doesn't hide that's he's a goofball with cheesy theme restaurants, and is the most annoying thing on his shows, no matter how much cooking and business acumen he has.
• Can someone explain to me why the owner of the Black Tomato made protest T-shirts for his employees to wear when he's closing the restaurant? Was it worth wasting those profits on a stupid stunt to get people to feel sorry for him?
• Who would have thought that the best way to sell something overtly sweet and colourful was to add the word "unicorn" to it?
• I wouldn't put my faith in Pepper Potts' claims about food without more scientific evidence, but I look forward to seeing her in the next "Avengers" movie.
• Atelier, the Morning Owl, Dumpling Park - if there are three better restaurants that close to one another in Ottawa, I'd like to know who and where they are.