So many choice quotes from the article, “Tasteful Attire: Designers Whip Up a Buffet of Fashion Out of Food” from the WSJ:

“Try to keep the chocolate away from the armpit area,” advises Ms. Mahoney, a self-described “chocolate artist.” Such esoteric insight is useful for image-makers riding a wave of interest in clothing made out of food. Lady Gaga’s “meat dress,” concocted from strips of flank steak, is but the highest-profile example.”

“[costume maker] Ms. Goodheart also designed a pasta body suit, waffle trousers and a cocktail dress, with matching hat and handbag, from bread and chocolate. She spent a week learning how to make challah for the shoulder pads and baguettes for the skirt.”

“Though her dress included fresh croissants, Ms. Ploof resisting nibbling on them, but she did pilfer some chocolate from the sewing table before it was stitched on her. Ms. Goodheart, who trimmed 72 waffles into a pair of pants, says she indulged in the scraps.”

Each quote just a little more ridiculous than the previous. Ultimately this is still the domain of one offs and special occasions. And here I thought the WSJ was onto something a bit more general purpose & practical.

“Can’t get enough of the Momofuku chef, David Chang? Soon you’ll be able to carry him around with you. In late April, he plans to release Lucky Peach, a quarterly iPad app and print journal. Each issue will examine a dish or ingredient through many facets. For instance, the first app will present an interactive bowl of ramen from his Momofuku Noodle Bar. Clicking the ingredients in the image will reveal about 35 videos, 50 recipes, graphics and other elements.”

So far fantastic. This will appeal to many; really foreshadowing the direction media (print especially) is going. But this next quote is very exciting:

“Mr. Chang said that he had talked to television networks about doing a program, but that this offered more freedom and more possibilities, as well as providing research and development for his restaurants. “We were able to go a little deeper than we could have on TV, without being constrained by the networks,” he said. “They wanted yelling. They wanted everything but education.”

More freedom and more possibilities–no longer the providence of television!

“The “Meal Planning Solution,” part of Intel’s “Connected Store,” is a sort of kiosk you might find in an upscale suburban market, catering to families desperate to find something the kids will eat. [...] So, when he or she passes by the kiosk, the digital signage, equipped with a freaky sort of Anonymous Video Analytics technology, zooms in on his or her face and instantly determines gender and age group to guess what products might exert some allure.”

Sadly the video demos everything but the face recognition. Lame, Fast Company.

“Every Tuesday at noon, Dave Arnold, author of Cooking Issues.com, the French Culinary Institute’s Tech n’Stuff blog, will discuss the new and innovative techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Call in with your own questions to see if Dave and the crew can solve your cooking issues. Got a question on ike-jime, the Japanese fish killing technique? We got you covered. Hydrocolloids, sous-vide, liquid nitrogen? No problem. Have a question about pimping your oven to make great pizza? We love that kind of question too. We take all cooking issues seriously.”

I’ve been devouring all their podcasts since and am dreading the moment I run out. It’s good! Dave, the host, is part chemist, part chef, part mad scientist and is a very compelling character. Check it out on iTunes if you prefer.

And looking around, I head straight to the Aerogel. Surely they have it. It’s totally space-age–NASA uses it after all, plus it makes for compelling demos. And since it’s generally considered an expensive material, it can only be cheaper online right?

Inventables has something they call “Flexible Aerogel Fabric” but unfortunately they’re out of stock. But they do tell us it’s only $3-$10 per square foot. Not bad at all.

For the real stuff, you have to visit the aptly named United Nuclear Scientific Supplies. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see 5 gallons of Aerogel granules for $300.00 USD. That’s more like it; quite a suitable price for something NASA uses.

I love specialized stores like Inventables and United Nuclear. And another favorite for the list is LeSanctuaire, which provides “only the rarest choice ingredients” to “fine dining restaurants and professional chefs.” That got me thinking, how do the traditional “expensive” ingredients used in cooking compare?

• Aerogel
  16 oz $300 (1 oz $18.75)

• Vanilla Beans
  8.8 oz $110 (1 oz 12.50)

• Truffles
  8.8 oz $135 (1 oz $15.34)

• Saffron
  1 oz $190

(All of the ingredient pricing was pulled from LeSanctuaire’s site.)

Saffron wins this round.

Celebrity food endorsements are a dicey proposition. Thanks to Uncrate for bringing this one to my attention. Funny, celebrity liquor endorsements always work. How could we forget Danny DeVito’s Limoncello? Justin Timberlake’s tequila? In fact, surely the two together create something magical? And with some of the Duke’s jerky nearby, this is the menu for your next football game.

“A coin-operated glass-and-chrome wonder, Horn & Hardart’s Automats revolutionized the way Americans ate when they opened up in Philadelphia and New York in the early twentieth century. [...] The Automat served freshly made food for the price of a few coins, and no one made a better cup of coffee. By the peak of its popularity—from the Great Depression to the post-war years—the Automat was more than an inexpensive place to buy a good meal; it was a culinary treasure, a technical marvel, and an emblem of the times.” The book, “The Automat” by Diehl & Hardart, was a quick read, recommended.

And the depressing end of the Automats? Most of them (in New York, at least) were turned into Burger Kings.

Do you know about cookingissues.com, “The French Culinary Institute’s Tech’N Stuff blog”? Great reading, plus a regular podcast. The above image is from the “Country Ham Fantastica: Our Hams’ Place in the World” article, chock full of info and pics. (Thanks, Chris)

Aldi Süd, the house brands only, low-cost supermarket chain from Germany, is going to war with the German Bakers’ Confederation over a innocuous brightly colored wall of buttons.

My automat seeking Google alert (I can dream of an automat renaissance) delivered this fascinating WSJ article, “Fresh Test: Grocery Store Automats Get a Rise Out of German Bakers“. The Bakers say the automat represents “deceptive advertising”, while Aldi feels the automats are a “technological innovation in automated baking.”

Thanks to Heinickel GmbH, I believe this video demonstrates the operation of the oven inside Aldi. Like the baker in the article says, looks like a microwave and maybe some convection oven combo.