1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the show. So we just finished an 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: episode on the restaurant. But of course, where there is food, 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: there is criticism. Today's episode is all about the food critic. 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 2: Yes, let's define it, like, who decided to criticize food. 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: It's got to be France. But we'll get there. Yeah, 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: it's gotta be friends and we'll get to France. 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 2: What I do love about modern day food critics or 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 2: food criticism is that at its core, it's the art 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,319 Speaker 2: of just paying attention to what's on your plate and 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 2: not just how it tastes everything around it. 11 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 3: I think a good. 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 2: Food critic not just like some instagrammer who's like, I 13 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 2: don't I get like an actual food critic and taste 14 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: a dish, the way it smells, the way it looks, 15 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 2: the way the flavors come together, where the ingredients came from, 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 2: where they sustainably source. You know, they take all of 17 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 2: that and they turn it into a story. And I think, 18 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 2: you know, whether it's a blog or social media or 19 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 2: a professional review in a newspaper of food magazines, I 20 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 2: think it involves a lot more than if it tasted good. 21 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 3: I mean the service right, the service it is. I 22 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 3: mean it's so much. And I think it's. 23 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 2: A mix of personal taste, culinary knowledge understanding. 24 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 3: Also of cultural context. 25 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 2: Like I'm a big proponent of Mexican vanilla, So when 26 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 2: I see like medic escar vanilla or a different kind 27 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: of vanilla, I'm like, oh, you could have just gone 28 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 2: one step. 29 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 3: Further and gotten the authentic real deal. 30 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 2: So I know the cultural context of vanilla and how 31 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 2: important it is to Mexico. 32 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 3: So you know, food critics have to kind of give 33 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 3: you a sense of what it's like. 34 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 2: Sitting at the table so that you can decide if 35 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: you're going to want to make a reservation there or not. 36 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 3: Would you agree? 37 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: So yes, one hundred percent. And I think that the 38 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: food critic today is more sort of food critic food 39 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: journalist because a lot of these critics whose job is 40 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: essentially to give you a sense of the vibe and 41 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: of the food or all of that, introducing journalism and 42 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: all of this cultural context which is so important today. 43 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: The original food critic was not necessarily doing that. I 44 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: think that that's super interesting, the sort of evolution of 45 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: writing about food and thinking about food and writing about 46 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: what's important and what people want to know about people 47 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: want to know about the history of vanilla. So this 48 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: episode is all about the food critic, and we'll dive 49 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: into food journalism as well. My name is Evil Longoria 50 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: and I am mate Remez Rajon and welcome to Hungry. 51 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,239 Speaker 2: For History, a podcast that explores our past and present 52 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 2: through food. 53 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: On every episode, we'll talk about the history of some 54 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: of our favorite dishes, ingredients, and beverages from our culture. 55 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 3: So make yourself at home, evenchel. 56 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 2: All right, well, people have always had opinions about food, 57 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 2: but like, when did the formal practice of food criticism began? 58 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 3: I like, who's credited for being the first food critic. 59 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:21,959 Speaker 3: It must be a French person. 60 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: Right, he is a French person of course, or it 61 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: Alexander Baltasar. 62 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 3: Laurent Grimald de la Yeah, thank you. 63 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: So here's this guy. He was born in seventeen fifty eight. 64 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: He was born to an aristocratic family in Paris and 65 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: his father was a wealthy tax collector. So this guy 66 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: was born with a rare genital condition malformed fingers, and 67 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: his parents told their friends that he had fallen into 68 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: a pigpen and that his hands had been eaten by hogs. 69 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: This guy wore prosthetics underneath these white gloves. But he 70 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: was just this really crazy, kind of wild, funny character. 71 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: He initially went to law school and then he worked 72 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: as a theater critic before gravitating towards food. So he 73 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: was born in seventeen fifty eight, before the French Revolution. 74 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: So when we talked about the history of you know, 75 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: restaurants post revolution, this is when he started gravitating towards food. 76 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: When he started going to restaurants, and so he was 77 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: kind of crazy. He was known to throw these wild 78 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: theatrical dinner parties. There was one his parents' house overlooked 79 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: the champe Lyze and on one he served only black foods, 80 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: only chocolates, only truffles, only plums, only caviat And so 81 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: he started throwing all of these kind of theatrical dinner parties. 82 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: In one of them, his parents were really pissed off. 83 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: They sent him to a monastery for two years, and 84 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: this is when he really discovered his passion for food. 85 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,480 Speaker 1: So when he returned to Paris after the revolution, the 86 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 1: dining scene in Paris was completely transformed, and he decided 87 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,799 Speaker 1: to start writing about food for a living. 88 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, as a punishment, he discovered his passion for distratumy. Yes, 89 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 2: he returned to Paris after the French Revolution in this 90 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 2: moment where Paris's dining scene was literally being transformed, and 91 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 2: we talked about this in the Restaurant episode. We talked 92 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:38,559 Speaker 2: about this in the French Revolution episode. So he turned 93 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 2: a corner and turned his enthusiasm for destronomy into a living. 94 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, so there was a demand for trustworthy food, 95 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: like where do we go? 96 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 3: Right? 97 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: So he started writing his first book of reviews in 98 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: eighteen o three, and so over the next nine years 99 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: he wrote seven books, and each of these books sold 100 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: tens of thousands of copies. He wrote this book called 101 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: the Almanac dig or Mons between eighteen oh three and 102 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: eighteen twelve, and it was a yearly guide that combined 103 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: restaurant reviews, essays, food essays, and commentary. And so this 104 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: was the first modern format of restaurant reviews or restaurant recommendations, 105 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: and it was the predecessor to the Michelin style guides. 106 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: And so he you know, he created a tasting jury 107 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,479 Speaker 1: of trusted people who loved food, who could go and 108 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: evaluate foods anonymously and then would offer opinions and of 109 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: you know, people that had different you know, trades, and 110 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: also specialty items like liqueurs and pastries. He would lavish 111 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: praise on really amazing cooks and suppliers. Sometimes he would 112 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: mock the ones that were very pretentious or overrated. So 113 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: it was reviews because either boost restaurant or ruin a reputation. 114 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 3: Well that's the. 115 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 2: Same as today, I mean, you know, that's how powerful 116 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 2: the influence has food critics have on, you know, boosting 117 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 2: or ruining these reputations of restaurants. 118 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 3: And also, you know, food criticism wasn't just about flavor. 119 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 2: It was about manners and presentation, and it was like 120 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 2: a mark of class and intellect. So I like that 121 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 2: this guy like also mocked pretentious people too, because then 122 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 2: you didn't have to be the fanciest to be the best. 123 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 3: You know, exactly. 124 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: So he basically he launched this genre of restaurant guides 125 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: and critical gastronomic literature. So he has influenced food writing 126 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: to this day. 127 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 3: Don't go anywhere hungry for history will be right back. 128 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 2: So France is credited with the first food critic, but 129 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 2: they're also credited with our most current metric of success 130 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 2: for restaurants, which is the Michelin Guide, and it was 131 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 2: first published in nineteen hundred by Andre and Edoins Michelin, 132 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,559 Speaker 2: so it was free for a long time until nineteen twenty. 133 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 2: So twenty years later they actually Michelin began charging for 134 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 2: the guide. By nineteen thirty one they did the famous 135 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,119 Speaker 2: three star system. So one star was like the place 136 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 2: is good, two stars was that it was worth a detour, 137 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 2: and three stars was that it. 138 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 3: Is a destination restaurant. 139 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 2: And so it was really just in France for the 140 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 2: entire twentieth century. I did not know it did not 141 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 2: come to the United States until two thousand and five, 142 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 2: which is I don't know why I always assumed we 143 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 2: had the Michelin Guide here, but it was just focused 144 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 2: on France, spread into Europe in other countries, but didn't 145 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 2: come to the US till two thousand and five. 146 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: And the Michelin Star can make or break a restaurant, right. 147 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: Some chefs have celebrated, some have cried, some have returned 148 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: their star because it's just too much pressure. But often 149 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: you know many chefs like Adria who you who was 150 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: on searching for surgeon, who's been on searching for spaining, 151 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: they rose to really to global fame in large part 152 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: to this recognition, and our friend he Retostina or the 153 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: restaurant hold Bosh here in La at mergal Panoma. He 154 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: received one Michelin star in twenty twenty four for his 155 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: Yuka Dan style seafood, and the La Times named that 156 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: the restaurant of the Year in twenty twenty three. And 157 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: then there's also the bib Gourmand distinction that is awarded 158 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: to restaurants that sort of high quality food and great value, 159 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: and that was rewarded to our friends at Flavors from 160 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: a Foreign twenty twenty two and has been awarded every 161 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: year since. So I think it's so interesting that what 162 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: started off as a tire company's marketing gimmick right to 163 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: sell more tires, became one of the world's most prestigious 164 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: culinary accolades. 165 00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. 166 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:00,680 Speaker 2: I mean, I love the fact that some of these 167 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 2: stars have given it back. 168 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 3: They were like, no, thank you, we want no part 169 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,079 Speaker 3: of this system. I make food because I want to 170 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 3: make food, not for your stupid rating. 171 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 2: And I'm just told I was like, what people have 172 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 2: people have given it back, But I mean, you know, 173 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 2: I get that, I get it. 174 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 3: The pressure can be too much. To maintain the stars 175 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 3: that you have. 176 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: I love the story that you told me about that 177 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: restaurant in Alsas that you visited that they got a 178 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: star and they're like whatever. 179 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's one of the oldest I mean, it's 180 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 2: at one of the longest running star holding because this 181 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 2: was in the nineteen twenties. 182 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 3: It was. 183 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 2: Before World War Two, and it was an inn and 184 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 2: the woman, the grandmother, would just fish out of the river. 185 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,439 Speaker 3: It's on a river. She would fish out of the 186 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 3: river and just make. 187 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 2: Fish and some sides and people would stop in at 188 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 2: the inn and she would beat them while she had 189 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 2: and she I rate it and got a you know, 190 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 2: Michelin star and she was like okay. And then in 191 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: World War Two, because they were on the river, the 192 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 2: French army bombed. 193 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 3: This bridge that was right next to them. 194 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 2: The current Michelin starship was telling me the story and 195 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 2: I said, is this the original inn? And he goes, 196 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 2: not this part because we were bombed during World War two. 197 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 2: I go, oh, my god, the Nazis bombed you and 198 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 2: he goes, no, the French because we were next to 199 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 2: a bridge and they wanted to explode the bridge so 200 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 2: that the Nazis would not cross into France because they 201 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 2: were right on the border of Germany and France and 202 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 2: they blew They put too much dynamite and they blew 203 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 2: up like three hotels or inns that were on the 204 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 2: rivera Bage. So he goes, So this one is the 205 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 2: rebuilt you know, the current restaurant is the rebuilt one. 206 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 2: So when did the Michelin Died launch in Mexico City 207 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four? 208 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:40,839 Speaker 1: Just last year? 209 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 3: Yeah? 210 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: What just last year and May of last year, may 211 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: have twenty twenty four. And it formally honored back a stands, 212 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,719 Speaker 1: tagetias and just really casual spots. And it shows a 213 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: shift towards honored, yeah, honoring culinary and cultural diversity. So 214 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: just like we said at the beginning, like the food 215 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: critic is now has expanded to talking about culture, and 216 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: it shows the world what you and I have always known. 217 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: A taco can be worthy of praise just as any 218 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: plated dish in a fancy white tablecloth restaurant. 219 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 3: Yeah. El Khalifa received a star. 220 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 2: It's a very famous taia known for tacos al carbon 221 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 2: just salt lime, and it was given a star because 222 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 2: it emphasized the craft of the taco over luxury and 223 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 2: I love that. 224 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 3: I go to Al Khalifa all the time. 225 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 2: The big gormand was awarded to the Takia el Gense 226 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 2: because they're known for its barbacoa and the guisado tacos 227 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 2: at Los Alexi, which is where I go all the time, 228 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 2: Tacos Los Alexi. 229 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: I remember last time I went to Mexico, I asked 230 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: you where should I eat? And Los Alexis was on 231 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: your list. 232 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 3: Los Alexi. 233 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 2: They have an amazing taco there of wheat lacce and 234 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 2: it's the number one toagle there and it's the vegan 235 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,839 Speaker 2: option vegetarian because it has cheese, but it's the vegetarian option, 236 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 2: so good. 237 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: I love a good weekend. 238 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 3: Ques Craving. Okay, I'm a huge Duncan Hins fan. What 239 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 3: does he have to do. 240 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 2: With food criticism because let me tell you, my favorite 241 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 2: flavor of cake is yellow. When I first met Pepe, 242 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 2: my husband from Mexico, he was asking me for my birthday, 243 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 2: what flavor do you want for your cake? 244 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 3: And I said yellow and he goes, no flavor, and 245 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 3: I oh yellow, It's a flavor. 246 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: That's my favorite story of yours because I know a 247 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: yellow days like, and I know whoever's listening, make under 248 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 1: and it's not lemon, No, not lemon. And it's not vanilla. 249 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: It's yellow. 250 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,719 Speaker 2: Oh my god, No it's not it's not vanilla. No, 251 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 2: it's it's flavor of yellow. 252 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 3: But wait, so what did Duncan Heints have to do 253 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,079 Speaker 3: with food critics in the US. 254 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: So long before the cake mix brand, Duncan Hines was 255 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: a traveling salesman who crisscrossed the country keeping notes on 256 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: where he found good food and clean, affordable meals. And 257 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty five he compiled his list into a 258 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: booklet called Adventures in Good Eating And this became a 259 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: guide to reliable roadside restaurants across and he organized it 260 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: by different regions. So before he became Duncan Hines, and 261 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: I always thought that Duncan Hines was like Betty Crocker, 262 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: like not a real person. But no, he was a 263 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: real person. He is the first American food critic, Duncan Hines. 264 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: Duncan Hines, and he wasn't interested in fine dining. He 265 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: was interested in where the everyday traveler would go well prepared. 266 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: How did your regular people? 267 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 3: How did he become the cake mix brand. 268 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: So in the nineteen fifties he partnered with a man 269 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: named Roy Park and together they launched Hines Park Foods, 270 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: and he licensed his name to the line of packaged 271 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: foods that began with cake mixes. So his name became 272 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: one of the first national food brands based on a 273 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: real person's taste and trustworthiness. So Duncan Hines people trusted him, 274 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: and so he put his name on this cake makes sense, 275 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: and later the brand was bought by proc Drink Gamble, 276 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: and proc Drink Gamble helped make Duncan Hines a household name. 277 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: So he was like the first yelp basically, yes, basically, yes, basically. 278 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 2: And then the first full time restaurant critic, because there's 279 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 2: food critics and there's restaurant critics. The first full time 280 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 2: restaurant critic for a major US newspaper wasn't until nineteen 281 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 2: fifty seven, and it was The New York Times, Right. 282 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, New York Times, And I always think of, you know, 283 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: New York Times is sort of the gold standard. Right, 284 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: So Craig Clairborne set the standard for martyrn restaurant reviews 285 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: by you know, he formalized this with these anonymous visits 286 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: and star ratings and so you know he was he 287 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: was really the first big you know name to do that. 288 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: And there are many of them, right, There's Ruth Riigall 289 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: and Gourmet Magazine, but Craig Clairborne was like in nineteen 290 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: fifty seven. He became the sort of standard. 291 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 3: Los Angeles is known for. Jonathan Gold. So let's talk about. 292 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 2: Him and his predecessor, Barbara Hanson, because there would be 293 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 2: no Jonathan Gold without Barbara Hansen. 294 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: Yes, Barbara Hanson is this forgotten woman. I learned about 295 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: her when her obituary when I read her obituer in 296 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. So she started writing for the La 297 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: Times in nineteen sixty nine, and this was long before 298 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: was common to cover immigrant cuisine in mainstream media. So 299 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: she was at the Times, at the La Times for 300 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: thirty seven years, and she crisscrossed La and she her 301 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: whole thing was shining a spotlight on immigrant food cultures. 302 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: She went to Mexican markets and Korean barbecue spots and 303 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: Armenian bakeries, Indian curry houses, Salvadoran pupus, ideas Thai noodle shops. 304 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 1: She was all over, basically traveling the world in the 305 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 1: city of La she was. 306 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 2: Like documenting the cultural heartbeat of La and more so 307 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 2: than just criticizing. 308 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:29,400 Speaker 1: Food, absolutely, and she changed the way this city thought 309 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: about eating and cooking and who got to tell those stories? 310 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: And so other food writers at the time were focusing 311 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:39,360 Speaker 1: on white tablecloth dining and she was writing about jahagen 312 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: and Korean barbecue and so with the same respect in 313 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: detail that you would give Michelin starred, you know, French restaurant. 314 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: She never actually held. 315 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,159 Speaker 3: The official title of food critic. She was. 316 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 1: She didn't have a big personality, and so her legacy 317 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: is often forgotten. 318 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 2: Wow, I pictures of her, and she looked like a 319 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:04,679 Speaker 2: cool chick. 320 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: She was in her nineties when she passed away, Like 321 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: she just looked like this real. 322 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:11,399 Speaker 3: But there's like a photo of her. 323 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 2: From like nineteen fifty something and she has like the 324 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 2: baufont And so then Jonathan Gold kind of stepped in 325 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 2: her footsteps, right. 326 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:26,200 Speaker 1: Jonathan Gold had a big personality. He credited Barbara Hanson 327 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: as a pioneer and her approach to food writing shaped 328 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: his own approach to food writing. And so he recognized 329 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: that she was doing what he did writing about hole 330 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: in the wall, you know, places before anybody else you 331 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: know did. 332 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,439 Speaker 2: He also said, like get out of Beverly Hills, Like 333 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 2: there's other places that are worth going to that are 334 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 2: not in Beverly Hills. 335 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 3: Yeah. 336 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: And he used food to tell deeper stories about migration, 337 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: about community, about identity, belonging, and how elevate cuisines that 338 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: had once been ignored and stereotyped or marginalized. And he 339 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: was such a beautiful writer, and he actually became the 340 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,160 Speaker 1: first food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. 341 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 3: What how did he do? 342 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: That he was writing was just so beautiful. It's just 343 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: this very descriptive but also personal insight. Everything was very 344 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: well researched. 345 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 2: I didn't even know you could submit yourself for the 346 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 2: Pulletzer being with just food criticism. 347 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 3: But I might be a Pulitzer Prize winning person. 348 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,239 Speaker 1: Hey my bad. I mean, come on, I didn't know 349 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:38,359 Speaker 1: we could do that. 350 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 3: I didn't know it was possible. 351 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,919 Speaker 1: You could add that to your list of pulletins. I 352 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: want to be winner. 353 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, they're gonna be like, oh my god, what 354 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 2: did you write? 355 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 3: I'm like nothing, I just I just criticized. I mean 356 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 3: I just reviewed. I just reviewed, but he reviewed, Yeah. 357 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: He reviewed, so he was a critic. His writing was 358 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:07,399 Speaker 1: part criticism, part memoir, part journalism, so he kind of 359 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: blurred the line between everything he just had. He was 360 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: an amazing storyteller. 361 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 2: Well, I do agree with that because food journalism goes 362 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 2: beyond reviews, because when you talk about food, you're talking 363 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,960 Speaker 2: about the people a culture, and so it's not just 364 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 2: about if the takos are good, who's woring the corn, 365 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 2: how's the chef changing the game? It's really food journalism 366 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 2: is about the big picture of the ecosystem of food. 367 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's the new critic of the New York Times. 368 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: It's two women now. Tajenrou is one of them, and 369 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: as of June twenty twenty five, it's her and another 370 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,640 Speaker 1: woman named Legaya Michem, their first women to hold the title. 371 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 1: And she had a recent review just this summer. It's 372 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: called it Taka makes Magic with Smoke and South Sound. 373 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: And she writes about that Gia front in Cypers Park 374 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: in LA and she writes that the sign. You know, 375 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: she's writing about the facos, and she's writing about the 376 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: how it tastes and all of this. It's a beautiful 377 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: you know review, but there's a sign in the that 378 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: says more tacos, less borders, and she ends the reviews 379 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: with the line that says a years since it was 380 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: put up. That sign reads differently to me, with more 381 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: distress and defiance, with more urgency to it reads like 382 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: a prayer. So it really shows sort of the evolving 383 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: role of the food critic. 384 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 2: You know, I don't know about you, but every I 385 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:35,959 Speaker 2: could be in the worst mood, but when I go 386 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,919 Speaker 2: eat a taco, it just makes me happy. 387 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: I'll take it. I agree with it. 388 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, I know. 389 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you read Mexican food. It just makes you happy. 390 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 2: There's a bad mood eating Mexican food. I want to 391 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 2: get a short that says tacos first, don't talk to 392 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:51,399 Speaker 2: me till I've had my morning taco. 393 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: Let's have those printed. AZAP. 394 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 3: We love hearing from y'all, so. 395 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: Don't forget to rate us and leave us your messages. Bye, 396 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: see you next week. 397 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 3: Hungary for History is a hyphen Media production in partnership 398 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 3: with Iheart's Michael Bura podcast network. 399 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 1: For more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app, 400 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.