Innovation: The Panini Press

An innovation is a breakthrough in idea or technology that pushes its field in a forward direction. In the culinary industry, an example of a an innovative piece of technology is the panini press. A panini is an Italian sandwich that is toasted with grill marks.

A panini press looks like 2 regular grills, one parallel to the ground and another hanging above without space in between where grease would drop into charcoal or a gas fire but instead uses electricity. It can be used for just about anything that can be seared such as vegetables, burgers, steaks, fish, waffles, pork chops and sausages. It is somewhat easy to clean, extremely versatile and inexpensive to operate. They are used on a table top and usually are made of cast iron.

The panini press falls under the innovative technology category. This piece of equipment has helped me at work and at home significantly. At work, I use a panini press for toasting bread, making sandwiches, grilling beef skewers and chorizo and it saves me an exponential amount of time and stress during service as apposed to having to do that stuff in a pan or in the oven. I use a version of a panini press at home, the George Foreman grill which helps me make a quick meal in the mornings so I don't have to skip breakfast. 

The very first panini press was invented by Thomas Edison but it was not very popular so it was discontinued in the 1930's, but the first panini press he made is on display in Thomas Edison's winter estate museum in Fort Myers, Florida. Edison's press was forgotten about and an inventor named Breville re-invented the panini press in 1974. 

The Panini press is important because it provides professional cooks a piece of fast, reliable, durable and versatile technology to rely on.

Diets & Dietary Restrictions

For this diets & dietary restrictions assignment I was to adhere to a diet of my choice for a week. Over the past week I have been eating as a lacto ovo vegetarian. A lacto ovo vegetarian diet consists of only vegetables, eggs and dairy products. I chose to go with this diet because I know a week of just vegetables wouldn't be doable for me so being able to get protein and fat from eggs and dairy products made the week much more manageable.

A few examples of a typical daily menu for a LOV (lacto ovo vegetarian) could be a cheese & egg sandwich, oatmeal or fresh fruits for breakfast, lunch could be a salad or a vegetarian sandwich and dinner might be pasta without meat, vegetables with rice or a veg pie.

While I was at work, I came up with a recipe that makes not eating meat easy. I put together boiled potatoes, roasted vegetables (zucchini, peppers, eggplant), chick peas and a bit of tomato sauce in a pan until heated through, seasoned with smoked paprika, salt & pepper, put a fried egg on top and ate it with some toasted baguette.

 The first three days were pretty difficult because I am very used to eating a larger amount of meat with almost every meal but it slowly got easier and easier. I was hungry most of the time but I managed to fill up with rice. After day 4 I didn't really mind it and didn't really see too much of a difference as opposed to how I was eating before in terms of how I was feeling. By day 7 I had strong craving for meat and was happy that the diet was over. I wouldn't continue with this diet just because I do enjoy meat that much. However, there are benefits to a lacto ovo vegetarian diet such as: low rates of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and some cancer.

This diet would be difficult to continue and be a professional chef because you wouldn't be able to taste anything with meat which would make seasoning things like soups and stews difficult. For a chef who wants to keep or promote a lacto ovo vegetarian diet I would suggest not making meat the main component of the dish and make that a secondary or tertiary component of a dish. For example, highlight vegetables and grains to make the meat less important to whoever is eating. Chef David Chang does something similar with Momofuku, he says: " My restaurants still won't kowtow to vegetarians. We will, however, focus more on vegetable and grain dishes in which meat adds flavor, not heft."

Reference:
Chang, D. (2015, May 19). What the 21st Century Will Taste Like. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/a4964/21st-century-taste-like-1008/

Hug A Farmer

The farm I decided to blog about is an organic meat farm in Etobicoke called Beretta Farms. Beretta Farms started as a small, family run organic food company that would supply grocery stores and other markets. The Beretta family all have organic food background and also cook & cater. The reasoning behind their choice to grow organic is no other than just the fact that their main goal is food that is both healthy and delicious.

 Their story on their website says that they want to be able to provide organic meat, free-range chickens, anti-biotic free pork and be able to teach people to live a healthier lifestyle. They offer cooking classes and even have a  Beretta University where they teach about farm life, organic foods etc. Their philosophy is that its best to understand the food so people can live a healthier lifestyle, and protect the environment and farmlands. 

From learning about Beretta farms, I learned easy ways to eat healthier and how organic farming better effects the environment. Because the farmer wasn't at the market at the time, I wasn't able to get a picture with a farmer. I have attached the Beretta Farms website and an informational video with Andy Fantuz. I hope you've learned as much as I have.

Beretta Farms with Tiger-Cats WR Andy Fantuz
Beretta Farms