What We're Reading

 Obama signs Food Safety Bill

"On Tuesday [Jan. 4,2011]...President Obama signed into law H.R. 2751, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, a $1.4 billion measure that modernizes the Nation's food safety system to better prevent foodborne illness and better respond to disease outbreaks. The President signed the legislation at about 5:00 PM ET in the Oval Office, using fifteen different pens to enact the sweeping revamp of America's food safety system, the first since the 1930s."  read more on Obamafoodarama

From Marion Nestle: "Speakers said the new bill will give the FDA the tools and authority it needs to help prevent the CDC's new estimates of the annual burden of foodborne illness: 48 million cases,  180,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths.

"But they barely mentioned the elephant in the room: funding.  The estimated cost of the new provisions is $1.4 billion, which will certainly require new appropriations at a time when Republican lawmakers balk at the mere thought....

Marion Nestle's response here on her blog Food Politics.

"Obama Likely to Face Fight Over Cost of Food Safety Bill" in the NYTIMES

Please join chefs from Mezze Restaurant Group, The Red Lion Inn, John Andrews and Route 7 Grill for an evening of Berkshire-grown and Berkshire-raised deliciousness.

"Enjoy a true snout-to-tail experience at the Beard House created by a group of devoted farm-to-table chefs who all hail from the Berkshire region. These local food visionaries are going hog wild in their preparation of an entire Berkshire pig, raised specifically for this porcine dinner."

Reserve tickets now as this event is almost sold out! 

Call 212.627.2308 to reserve.

Berkshire Chefs:

Brian Alberg, The Red Lion Inn
Matthew Duley, The Red Lion Inn
Lester Blumenthal, Route 7 Grill
Dan Smith, John Andrews Restaurant
Nicholas Moulton, Mezze Bistro + Bar
Chris Amendola, Allium Restaurant + Bar
Wines by Dan Thomas, Sommelier, The Red Lion Inn

Dinner begins at 7 pm at the James Beard House | 167 West 12th Street, NYC

James Beard Foundation Members $130 | General Public $170

Organized by Brian J. Alberg, Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Director at The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, the Beard House event will present the cuisine of six chefs working in the verdant Berkshire region today. This event marks Alberg's eighth appearance at the Beard House. Alberg has been instrumental in galvanizing a Berkshire culinary movement - as a chef supporting local farms, as a farmer raising his own heritage breed pigs at his Bacon on the Side Farm, as a mentor for youth interested in culinary arts, and as a member of Berkshire Grown's Board of Directors. According to Alberg, "this food pays homage to the farmer, producer and grower, as well as the animal itself. This is my way of giving thanks and showing respect to those who provide our food and drink by preparing their harvests and products with love, care and skill. The whole animal is used as not to minimize the importance of any part of it and it is joined and complimented by the bounty that our region offers."

Read more on Mezze's blog here  and here on James Beard site