What wine complements Thai food? How about sushi or chili? Can I serve red wine with chicken? A simple formula - white with fish and chicken, red with meat - once dictated all wine and food pairing, but times have changed. Rules like this don't fit the way people are eating today. Indeed, it is not unusual to find Mexican cuisine mixed with a hint of north Indian or French with some German influence. For the marriage of taste that we expect from food and wine, today's global village cuisine requires the fresh approach found in Wine with Food. In this beautifully illustrated book, Joanna Simon explores the relationship between wine and food with her hallmark unstuffy expertise. Rules can be followed for perfect partnerships, but they should occasionally be bent or broken. For instance, follow the rule of matching the weight of wine to the weight of food and you might serve a steamed chicken breast with a Sauvignon Blanc, but a dark coq au vin - also chicken but very different - calls for a full red Burgundy. An exception to that rule involves the intensity of flavor: fatty rich foods are best paired not with a heavy wine but with a light, crisp one that provides contrast. Wines should not be matched to ingredients alone, however, and so Simon explains the impact of various cooking methods and sauces on the character of foods and recommends the consequent wine choices. A steamed salmon steak has a much more delicate flavor than one that is charbroiled, and the difference suggests a Chablis with the former but a Pinot Noir with the latter. [+]

When you watch a professional magic act, you may find yourself awed by the trick. You are a willing believer in the illusion created by the magician. If, however, you are a magician, you are no longer in awe of the trick itself. You are astonished by the skill and finesse of the magician–the ease, the apparent effortlessness of motion. Chefs are a great deal like magicians. To the novice, the transformation of a carrot to a pile of perfectly even julienne is almost miraculous. To the seasoned chef, the miracle is the skill, the coordination, and rhythm of the right tool in an accomplished hand. Founded in 1946, THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelors and associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. Courses for foodservice professionals are offered at the colleges main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and at its additional campus for continuing education, The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, California.

Food is an attraction - just like a museum. Had it occurred to you, however, that food and drink are the most overlooked components of the visitor experience? Every traveler eats and drinks, and consequently, the ubiquity of that behavior is something that travel industry and food and beverage marketers usually overlook. The reason is because we all take eating for granted - we do it three times per day. Culinary Tourism is an important new industry that weds two related but distant hospitality cousins foodservice and tourism. Hospitality businesses have an enormous underexplored opportunity to make a significant impression on visitors with unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. Culinary Tourism: The Hidden Harvest introduces professionals to the concept of Culinary Tourism and presents ideas how to best promote food and drink as a primary visitor lure. Relevant examples from all over the world help illustrate the importance of this new industry.