McDonald’s Adopts French Style

There’s hope that the image, at least, of fast food might change. Well, in France that is.  

McDonald’s French Division has hired the famed, but very private, product designer Patrick Norquet to create not only elegant (and very collectable) new beverage cups but also a new interior that upscales the rather dated red and yellow world of Ronald McDonald.

The result is stunning, modern, chic – in short, so very French.

One can only hope that this design change won’t be limited to just France.

After all, Patrick Norquet is international known, having designed product imagery for the likes of Dior, Guerlain and Lanvin.

Stateside his much copied “Rainbow Chair” is even in the permanent design collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City. Not a bad resume reference that.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, thanks to Patrick Norquet, mass produced dining interiors were replaced by inspired design in America? What better environment could there be to eat one’s ‘French’ fries in?

Historical Note: ‘French’ fries are not really from France. The name was incorrectly given to the fried potato strips by American soldiers during World War I. 

Unfamiliar with European terrain and confused by the endless trenches from which they fought, these weary soldiers thought they were in France when they were actually in Belgium.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Chef Ferran Adria’s Film El Bulli Cooking in Progress Is Off and Running at SxSW

It may seem unfair, but it’s the film buffs at a primiere at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and then at the South by Southwest Film and Multimedia Conference (or SxSW) in Austin, Texas, who got the first in-depth look at an inspiring new film about Ferran Adria and his amazing culinary creations. Entitled El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, the movie delighted viewers so much it was the first film to be snatched up for American distribution at the Festival.  Fantastic!

Purchased by Kino Lorber for his new company Alive Mind Cinema, this captivating movie about culinary creativity will be the first film shown by the new firm at New York’s Film Forum on July 27, 2011.  The rest of us will be able to see the film during a later 2011 fall distribution.

Filmed by the noted German documentary film visionary Gereon Wetzel, the movie follows the creativity of famed Spanish chef Ferran Adria as he and his staff design through intent and discovery a unique and daring menu for the next seasonal offerings at El Bulli.

Working at his Barcelona “laboratory”, Ferran and his staff are shown creating many of the 30 plus dishes they will later share with the famed restaurant’s long-waiting guests. Every “experiment” involves structure, sound, color, texture and, of course, taste. Ferran is shown always as on hand – tasting, adjusting, directing, true to the tradition of a master chef.

Yet discovery is always part of the creative experience. When one young chef drops an ice cube into a nearby plate of gravy, the thought occurs to everyone why not create a new entrée from ice cubes?

Suddenly, the thought is moving creatively among this talented gathering of chefs. Why not go further? Why not mix oil with water and create a cocktail that leaves an elegant smooth coating on the lips?

Every discovery (both positive AND negative) is carefully written in notebooks that line the walls or on a wall board for further research and expansion. Photographed in high definition and without the burden of a non-culinary narrative to clutter the viewing experience for the insightful professional, this is an amazing film that explores, not merely food, but the entire creative experience, free and far reaching.  

Truly a “must-see” film.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011