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The New York Times has declared down home Southern cooking undignified in a story that heaped praise on a new generation of Southern chefs while denigrating fried chicken, Cracker Barrel restaurants and the Queen of Southern Food — Paula Deen. The food snobs at the Times attacked Miss Paula in the second sentence of their lengthy diatribe – calling her a “so-called queen of Southern food, who cooks with canned fruit and Crisco.” The Times bemoaned the “hayseed image” of Southern cooking while praising “a new generation of chefs who have pushed Southern cooking into the vanguard of world cuisine.”...

A US government delegation has been invited to Scotland in a bid to overturn its 40-year ban on haggis. Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead's invitation comes two days ahead of Burns Night, when suppers are held in honour of poet Robert Burns.

Vietnamese expats get 45 days each in Saudi prison for slicing the camel aliveA Saudi court sentenced two Vietnamese expatriates to 45 days in prison after they were found guilty of cutting off a leg of a camel alive just to taste its meat, the Saudi Arabic language daily Alwatan reported on Tuesday. The two sneaked into a farm in the southwestern town of Najran with a heavy metal bar after seeing the camel pasturing alone, the paper said. “They clubbed the camel with the bar on the head and it fell unconscious…they cut off its leg and left the...

Troops from nearly 50 lands dine on combat meals in Afghanistan — each reminding them of where they’d rather be. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ASHLEY GILBERTSON/VII NETWORK, FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; FOOD STYLIST, MARIA WASHBURN

The chain has replaced bacon with smoked halal turkey in restaurants in three branches in a Paris suburb, two in Marseille, and the remainder in Toulouse, Villeurbanne, near Lyon, and Roubaix, northern France – all of them areas with high Muslim populations. These restaurants now serve only halal food, seen as permissible according to Islamic law. The company said the move was part of a test, which began in November, and that pork may return to the menu at a later date. However, it has sparked angry reactions from Catholic groups. A comment on E-Deo, a Catholic website, said: "Quick...

If there is one thing that you can find wherever you go in the Middle East - Jerusalem, Gaza, Beirut or Cairo - it is hummus, that mashed-up festival of chickpeas, olive oil, sesame paste, lemon juice and garlic. It should be touching - a food that unites. But the Middle East is a place where passions are quick to ignite. And so, where there is hummus, there is also intense rivalry - over who has the best recipe, over who invented it, and over who can make the biggest bowl of it. Last year, Israeli chefs came up with...

Man escapes charges for barbecuing pet dog By Saeed Ahmed CNN (CNN) -- A man who roasted his pet dog to enjoy as a meal with his family and friends escaped prosecution after authorities in New Zealand determined the animal was killed humanely. "We were in a dilemma at seeing something we were fairly upset about -- but being in a position of being able to do absolutely nothing about it," said Garth Halliday, of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on Monday. The SPCA -- which investigates acts of animal cruelty and presses charges --...

Giant rabbits to return to Spanish menus Spaniards will soon be enjoying a diet of giant rabbit under plans to reintroduce the rare breed for human consumption. By Fiona Govan in Madrid The Valencia Agricultural Research Institute has launched a breeding programme of the rare Valenciano rabbit and predicts that it could be on supermarket shelves within three years. It is hoped that the animals, which can grow as big as a lamb and produce 7kgs (15lbs) of meat, will prove popular as a healthy and cheap alternative to red meat. The Valenciano breed was established in 1912 when farmers...

The biannual Bocuse d'Or culinary competition in Lyon, France, ended on a familiar note Wednesday: A chef from Norway won again. It was a disappointment for U.S. contestant Timothy Hollingsworth, who placed sixth.

Stalin's last army: hordes of gigantic crabs on their way to invade Europe - By Julius Strauss in Kirkenes, Northern Norway Millions of giant Pacific crabs, whose ancestors were brought to Europe by Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, are marching south along Norway's coast, devouring everything in their path.The monster crabs, which can weigh up to 25lb and have a claw-span of more than three feet, are proving so resilient that scientists fear they could end up as far south as Gibraltar. Energised by a mysterious population explosion a decade ago, whole armies of the crustaceans - known as the...

Would You Eat Your Buddies in a Blizzard? Suppose you were stranded in a blizzard and were forced to cannibalize your friends. This short survey will tell you how likely you would be to eat your buddies. Note: Click onto the link provided to take this self survey. Bon appetit!

Tuesday, BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- It's the most talked about conflict in the world -- but the food remains a mystery. Despite decades of attention to the Mideast, Palestinian cooking is all but unknown to a world more familiar with images of angry Palestinians with AK-47s than chefs creating delicate salads or carefully roasted stuffed pigeon. "We do have (Palestinian) fighters," said Fadi Kattan, organizer of the Second Palestinian Culinary Competition, a recent effort to raise the profile of the region's cuisine. "But we also have other things that make us Palestinian." One reason so little is known about those...

Mexico City man suspected of being cannibal serial killer By Jeremy Schwartz COX NEWS SERVICE October 12, 2007 MEXICO CITY – On the stove, a frying pan with chunks of flesh. In the refrigerator, a leg and part of an arm, both deboned. The bones were stuffed into a cereal box. Mexico City police made the grisly discoveries this week as they arrested the man the Mexican media are calling a cannibalistic serial killer. Police said José Luis Calva Zepeda, 40, was arrested Monday and was being held on suspicion of homicide after an investigation into the disap-pearance of his...

A convicted Scottish sex offender who ran up a 140,000 kronor bill at one of Stockholm's top restaurants has said he wants to serve his sentence in Sweden. John Cronin, from East Lothian in Scotland, is well known as a confidence trickster and sex offender in Britain and Ireland. Earlier in August, he ran up a huge bill at Stockholm's exclusive Operakällaren restaurant, which he refused to pay. Following his arrest, police found that he had also run up a big bill at Malmö's Hotel Savoy. Cronin's lawyer, Bengt H Nilsson, said he had no desire to serve his sentence...

So you think you know the McDonald's menu like the back of your hand? Think again. From McDonald's international, here are some menu items you have probably never tried before. Good morning, welcome to McDonald's. May I have your order please? INDIA In India, there are no Big Macs because the Hindu people don't eat beef. However, they have the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made of lamb or chicken meat. There is also a vegetarian burger, the McAloo Tikki.NORWAY In fish-loving Norway, they have the McLaks, a sandwich made of grilled salmon and dill sauce.GERMANY It's...

A British man ran up a bill of 139,435 kronor ($20,000) at one of Stockholm's top restaurants. When he refused to pay, the restaurant called the police. Fine by me, was the man's reaction. "He admits everything. He said he wants to go to jail," said Lars-Erik Baarsen of Stockholm Police. The 36-year-old, smartly-dressed Brit ordered scallops, entrecote and ice cream at Stockholm's exclusive Café Opera restaurant. The rest of the bill was made up of drinks of various kinds. The man was served bottle after bottle of expensive wine, although according to staff he drank no more than one...

President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet this weekend at the coastal Maine home of Bush's parents, the White House said Wednesday. Sarkozy is vacationing at an estate on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, N.H., about 50 miles away from Kennebunkport, Maine, where former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, own a seaside compound called Walker's Point. The president arrives in Kennebunkport on Thursday, staying through the weekend for a wedding. The Bushes are having Sarkozy and his wife, Cecilia, to a private lunch on Saturday, presidential spokesman Tony Snow said. Laura Bush extended the invitation during...

Storm-battered and abandoned in winter, Sweden’s harbor-side restaurants come alive in the summer. But two million boat lovers’ thirst for good food and seaside relaxation means tough work for the seasonal restaurant owners.

101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors From Around The World Ice cream is a frozen dessert made from dairy products, such as cream (or substituted ingredients), combined with flavorings and sweeteners, such as sugar. In the fifth century BC, ancient Greeks sold snow cones mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens. Persians, having mastered the storage of ice, ate ice cream well into summer. Roman emperor Nero (37–68) had ice brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings. Today’s ice treats likely originated with these early ice delicacies. But at some point, the world of ice cream...

The Bohus county lobster has one, as does the oyster. Now the humble shrimp has one too - its own academy. The institute will have the remit of spreading knowledge about the little sea beast's splendid qualities. reported local newspaper Bohusläningen. Strömstad will be the home of the academy. It was from here that Sweden's first commercial shrimp trawler departed at the beginning of the last century. Today the industry is worth more than 100 million kronor a year. The academy will be inaugurated on the Shrimp Day, July 21st. The board of the academy will consist of 12 people....

Source: Smithsonian Date: July 9, 2007 Ancient Americans Liked It Hot: Mexican Cuisine Traced To 1,500 Years Ago Science Daily — One of the world's tastiest and most popular cuisines, Mexican food also may be one of the oldest. These chili peppers from the Guila Naquitz cave in Oaxaca Mexico date to between A.D. 490 and 780, and represent two cultivars or cultivated types. A Smithsonian scientist analyzed the chili pepper remains and determined that Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region hundreds of years ago enjoyed a spicy fare similar to Mexican cuisine today. (Credit: Linda Perry, Smithsonian Institution) Plant remains...

Increasing food imports from China could pose a risk to public health in Sweden, according to the food products governing body. During the first five months of the year, Sweden's National Food Administration (Livsmedelsverket) was made aware of 138 cases within the EU of food imported from China that was not fit for consumption. By the same time last year the figure had reached 88. Examples included food containing banned colouring, antibiotics, preservatives or pesticides. There were also cases of illegally imported, unclean or foul-smelling food, as well as products with high levels of heavy metals, poisonous mould and dioxins,...

It's official - our nation has gone cuisine crazy. A new little Thai restaurant opened up just round the corner. It's one of those more traditional authentic Thai restaurants, with the traditional authentic Thai decor, and the traditional authentic Thai pun-based name - it was something like Bow Thai, or Thai-Tanic, or it may have been Thai Me Kangaroo Down Sport. Anyway, it looked pretty good, and we were pretty hungry, so we popped down to get some takeaway. We ordered a green curry and a red curry, and also a brown curry, which is probably just the red curry...

(Hong Kong)--Four Hong Kong men sentenced to jail for slaughtering and eating two dogs launched an appeal of their sentence Friday. The men, aged 40 to 49, were sentenced to 30 days in December after pleading guilty to killing and cooking two mongrel dogs that had been raised by one of the men. At the hearing, they claimed that eating dogs was part of Chinese culture, but their argument was rejected by the magistrate, who said men and dogs had a bond of friendship that should not be abused. At the appeal Friday, their defence counsel asked the court to...

As France goes to the polls many agree that change is vital to tackle the slowing economy and growing public debt. But they also want to keep the best of what makes the country so distinctive... so French. Earlier this spring, I found myself in the small sleepy Burgundy town of Donzy at one o'clock and very much looking forward to a solid French lunch. The pale sunshine beat down on the main square, giving the honey-coloured stone a golden tinge. On the narrow cobbled main street was a host of cafes, their blinds shading the tables outside. For once,...

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2007 – TV cooking-show icon Emeril Lagasse offered a culinary salute to the military Friday when he filmed two episodes of “Emeril Live” featuring servicemembers and their winning recipes. “Emeril’s Army-Navy Cookoff” and “Emeril’s Military Contest,” filmed at the Food Network studios in the Chelsea Market building, will air on June 29 and 30, respectively Lagasse went looking for a few good recipes last fall and found them through a military-only cooking contest. “I was so impressed with the creativity from all ranks, from every branch of the service,” Lagasse said of the hundreds of recipes...

SAN FERNANDO DE APURE, Venezuela ? As dusk fell on the tropical wetland crawling with iguanas and small crocodilian caimans, Jos? Ismael Jim?nez pointed his harpoon at a rodent about the size of a Labrador retriever. With aim that comes from years of practice, he landed his spear on the back of its head. Farmhands turned hunters stalking the wild capybara, reputedly the world?s largest rodent, on Saturday on Hato Santa Luisa. One of them hurled a harpoon at a wounded capybara. The meat is then salted and dried. But this hunt was not about ridding the country?s southern plains...

Vietnamese women sell roast dog at a streetcorner market in Hanoi in this January 5, 2006 file photo. Dogs, bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken and barramundi will grace dinner tables across the Asia Pacific this Christmas, a festival celebrated with lots of cheer, and very little turkey, in this mainly non-Christian region. (Claro Cortes IV/Reuters) SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters Life!) - Dogs, bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken and barramundi will grace dinner tables across the Asia Pacific this Christmas, a festival celebrated with lots of cheer, and very little turkey, in this mainly non-Christian region. Christmas Day is seen as a foreign,...

Let 'em eat foie gras, they declare Almost 4 months after ban, a number of restaurants appear to be dishing up the delicacy with impunity By Josh Noel Tribune staff reporter December 21, 2006 NOTE: This story contains corrected material, published Dec. 22, 2006. When the letter came from City Hall threatening punishment if he continued to serve foie gras at his North Side restaurant, Doug Sohn framed the warning and set it beside his cash register. And he kept serving the fattened duck liver without a care. "We displayed it proudly," said Sohn, owner of Hot Doug's, a gourmet...

Taste of the Ukraine: Classic sauerkraut dish is simmered in culture By Mat Schaffer Wednesday, September 13, 2006 When Tania Vitvitsky is making bigos, you smell it as soon as you walk through the front door. This classic sauerkraut and pork stew announces itself with a distinctive pungent aroma that portends its bold, tart flavors. “I grew up eating Ukrainian food,” said Vitvitsky, executive director of Sabre Foundation, a Cambridge-based organization that distributes donated books to developing countries. “But I warn you, this is a cross-cultural dish, and some people consider it Polish. My parents are from a part of...

A survey by coffee makers Percol reveals a change in the UK's drinking habits. Once tea was the dominant drink in the UK. Now coffee reigns supreme. As an extension of our new found foodie-status the average UK household stocks three different varieties of coffee. Expenditure on coffee overtook tea back in 1998 and has continued to rise since then. People in London and the South East are more likely to have more varieties of coffee in their home. The study also revealed that over two thirds of kitchens stocked ground beans. Origin is increasingly important as is fairtrade branding....

U.S forces in Iraq suspect that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, has fled to Iran. Iraq's intelligence services have received information that the Jordanian-born terrorist was spotted in areas close to the Himreen Mountains, 75 miles south of Kirkuk and near the border with Iran. Adu Humpmahn, press secretary for al-Qaeda acknowledged that Zarqawi has gone to Iran, but denied that he had “fled” Iraq. “We are winning in Iraq,” said Humpmahn. “Why would Zarqawi flee?” “Zarqawi is merely taking a break while he plans even mightier blows against the American Crusaders,” said Humpmahn. “Zarqawi will be...

Lady Claire insists she loves good food, but prefers to call a potato a potato. Picture: Julie Bull   Why Her Ladyship calls a spud a spud LAURA ROBERTS WOULD madam care for some purée of petit pois and hand-cut pomme frites to accompany her confit of ground lamb encased in a baked pastry shell? If the diner concerned is the Scottish aristocrat and culinary expert Lady Claire Macdonald, the answer would be an emphatic No - though she would not object to peas and chips with her pie. The award-winning cookery writer yesterday said pretentious restaurateurs who serve...

Take one soup cube, pepper, salt and onions, not forgetting chunks of monkey, head included. Cook in a casserole and serve. At the restaurant "Maman Marie Gibier (game)" in Libreville, the dish will set appreciative diners back 2.80 dollars. "I have been eating monkey since I was little," said Sandra, 28, who works for a bank. But she draws the line at great ape meat. "Gorillas, they look like people. You can't eat that. It's horrible." Her colleague Jean is less fastidious. "Monkey meat, big or small, it's all the same once it's in the bowl." It is uncommon to...

The Doody family hope to raise profile of faggotsA West Midlands family is playing a central role in the quest to raise the profile of a forgotten British dish - faggots. The Doody family from Wolverhampton has been crowned The Faggot Family in a national competition, and to kick off their reign they will launch National Faggot Week. The family will be touring the country extolling the virtues of the dish, which is best-known for its links with the Black Country. The Doody family were chosen to front the campaign after impressing judges at the Savoy Hotel in London in...

LONDON (AP) - French President Jacques Chirac's low opinion of British cuisine, which he reportedly dubbed the worst in Europe after Finland, has started a food fight with London and sparked the wrath of Britain's press. London's newspapers, which regularly take offense at the French, lashed out at Chirac's jokes on the nation's cuisine. "A man full of bile is not fit to pronounce on food," food critic Egon Ronay was quoted as saying in a front-page story in The Guardian. The French newspaper Liberation reported Monday that Chirac had made the insulting remarks about food in London during a...

Chirac Opens His Big Mouth Again

Polish Borscht for Easter By Dina D'Amato / Recipe The recipe above was a traditional Easter morning meal served and enjoyed by most members of the Polish side of my family. I have very fond memories of Easter as a child. Following church, we would go with my Dad and Grandfather "house-hopping" to several of my relatives' homes. Mom would usually stay home for those who would be visiting our home. At each house, there was a large pot on the stove of fresh borscht and an abundance of sides, and plenty of everything to go around. I have tried...

The worst moment in Danny Reicher's culinary career was when his teacher at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in New York pulled out a huge lobster. "It was particularly horrible," recalls the Orthodox Teanecker who made aliya in 1999. "The chef just grabbed it and tore it apart alive." It's memories like these that give Reicher - a teacher at the newly-opened Kosher Culinary Academy in Jerusalem - the impetus to make the school work. Until three weeks ago, there has been nowhere that an Orthodox guy - or girl - can train to be a gourmet chef in...

Eating Snails Can Kill, Australian Medics SaySYDNEY (Reuters) - While escargot is the pride of French cuisine, eating common garden slugs or snails can be fatal. The Medical Journal of Australia made the discovery after a patient with mysterious symptoms was found to have eaten two garden slugs for a dare. A young man who showed puzzling symptoms over a period of weeks was diagnosed with human eosinophilic meningitis after eating the molluscs, which are hosts of the larval stage of a lung worm parasite, the Journal said. "Repeated questioning revealed that the patient had ingested, five weeks earlier for...

For Veronica Rosales, one of the joys of living in El Paso is visiting her neighborhood tortilleria. At least once a week, Rosales will stop by Tortilleria Del Sol at 3329 Fort Blvd. in Central El Paso and pick up three dozen fresh corn tortillas. "They remind me of the tortillas I grew up with in Juarez," Rosales, 30 said. "They're wrapped in butcher paper, and when I get home, they are still warm." The smell, taste and warmth of fresh tortillas that Borderland residents have known for centuries is catching on throughout the country, according to a recent study...

Of all the delicious depravities of French cuisine, few have been as celebrated as the pressed duck served at La Tour d'Argent in Paris, which last night made its one millionth appearance. Fireworks exploded over the Seine and 140 celebrities and gastronomes crowded into the restaurant to see the millionth duck waddle free, while his less fortunate confrères submitted to the dancing knives of "canardier" Jean-Pierre Marchand. You can have your duck several ways at the Tour, but the most popular is "bloody duck". Since 1890 the restaurant's canardiers have prepared the birds in the dining room overlooking Notre Dame...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Their day together started with a hug and ended with a joint dance with their wives at a state dinner that put on full display the warm relations between President Bush and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. The U.S. president and first lady Laura Bush clearly were delighted Wednesday night to host the couple who had so generously entertained them during a visit to Warsaw last year. After thanking Kwasniewski and his wife, Jolanta, in Polish for their hospitality, Bush also toasted the country of his guests as a steadfast supporter of the U.S.-led war on terror and...