Looking at the past 20 year’s of our country’s democracy yesterday, I chose an article written about a recent ‘Culinary Conclave’ (or Indaba or Kosberaad, as we would call it) held by one of the world’s greatest chefs, Ferran Adrià of the former El Bulli, for inspiration for today’s blogpost.

Adrià and fellow chef Andoni Luis Aduriz invited 15 ‘gastronomic journalists‘ from around the world (none from our country) for a two day discussion about the past 20 years of gastronomy.  Each attendee was requested to present the gastronomic trends over the past two decades in their country, the impact of gastronomy on society and culture, how the media has changed and influenced gastronomy, and how the definitions of ‘great cuisine‘ and ‘dining experience‘ have changed.

These were some of the gastronomic trends identified:

*   Andrew Coleman from the USA highlighted the increase in TV shows that position cooking ‘as a fight’

*   Sofia Perez from the USA spoke about how the concern for the environment has influenced food development in that country.

*   The rise of the Slow Food movement, which was started in Italy, was the topic of Marco Bolasco’s address, emphasising how Italy’s links to its heritage has influenced its cuisine, and that trattorias are making a gastronomic come-back.

*   Allan Jenkins from the UK spoke about foot and mouth disease, and the recent scandal of meat marked as beef contained horse meat.

*   Bill Knott from the UK shared his observation that French chefs have influenced the culinary scene in the UK.

*   Xanthe Clay from the UK spoke about home-cooking taking off in the ‘Eighties, and the impact of Delia Smith’s recipe books on the range of supermarket food stocked, on home-cooking, and on Britons’ evaluation of food.

*   Ryan King from the UK focused on the dining experience, and how technology is influencing it for entertainment, to improve flavours, to inform patrons, and to improve the health of diners.

Adrià too reflected on his past, and how his thinking about food and cooking has changed since he closed down El Bulli three years ago.  He became known as the master of molecular gastronomy whilst he operated the restaurant.

Adrià’s concerns are the lack of a uniform gastronomic vocabulary, and that gastronomy and its historical development is not yet fully understood.  Adrià is working on the launch of ‘Bullipedia’, defined by Adrià as ‘an online techno-emotional cooking encyclopaedia” which aims to be a tool to record, organise and accumulate information about culinary art in the west’.  He adds that his project will influence the future of cooking, and that ‘Maybe it will take us 10 years, but for future generations they’ll be able to understand what and how things happened. I’m very sure they’ll cook in a different way. I’m sure‘.

South African culinary trends in the past twenty years include:

*   the plethora of cookbooks by celebrity chefs and food writers, relative to the dominance of ‘Kook en Geniet‘ as the cooking bible in the past.

*   the growth in food blogging in the past five years, making many food lovers writers and documenters of local favourite foods.

*   the tremendous appeal of cooking programs on TV such as MasterChef SA and Kokkedoor, yet fewer households are cooking, eating more ready-made meals from supermarkets

*   the greater focus on organic meats, eggs, herbs, and vegetables, of seasonal produce, and of produce which is from near-by.

*   the greater concern in serving in restaurants and buying for homes only fish that is SASSI green-listed.

*   the greater focus on eating styles rather than diets for health reasons, e.g. the Paleo eating plan of high protein and low carbohydrates

*   increasing number of restaurants offering tapas-style dishes

*   identification of sources of supplies on restaurant menus

*   specialist sourcers of supplies for restaurants

*   growing herbs, vegetables, and even fruit on restaurant properties, in plant boxes, on their roofs, in their kitchens, and in their gardens.

*  the growing marriage between food and our excellent local wines

South Africa’s culinary compass seems to be headed in the same direction as those countries which participated in Adrà’s ‘Culinary Conclave‘.  Exciting for Cape Town is that one of his former chefs may be settling in our food city soon!

POSTSCRIPT 28/4: Chef Deon Schutte has reminded me that kitchen spaces have become so small in new developments, reflecting that fewer households are cooking or eating in.  We have read that many new apartments in New York now are kitchenless!

 Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: WhaleCottage