san francisco

The James Beard Foundation named Cecilia Chiang the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award today. The award is bestowed annually to someone whose lifetime body of work has had a positive and long-lasting impact on the way we eat, cook and think about food in the United States. Chiang is most well known for introducing American people to real Chinese food.

In this short documentary from Thrash Lab, the much-written-about “hipster butcher” phenomenon is given some un-sarcastic ( loving) attention. San Francisco is a hotbed for independent meat men and women, and this artfully shot film profiles the folks behind three of the best-known: 4505 Meats, Avedano's Holly Park Market and The Local Butchershop.

Chefs love to travel — for inspiration, to experience the cuisines of other cultures or just to get away from the heat of their own kitchens. When they return, we hit them with some questions — where'd they stay, what'd they do and WHAT DID THEY EAT?!  Chris Cosentino. Meat master. Cooking show champion. World traveler. That’s some multi-tasting, man. We asked him to write in about his first trip to Japan, 10 days spent soaking in the food culture — like eating blowfish sperm.