Half of all food wasted post-production

Reports now say that half of all food is wasted post-production. Among the main culprits of this ugly fact are Great Britain ($40bn wasted per year) and the United States (one third of all food thrown away in this county per year). Living in America, I think we often take advantage of the immediate and varied access to high quality food and water; most people around the world do not have that same luxury. 

I am no saint when it comes to food consumption. I can think of so many instances where I let something go to waste in the fridge or don't finish my plate at a restaurant, and the thought of exactly how much food I have personally wasted is slightly sickening. There is no excuse for food left in the fridge -- what a clumsy error! My biggest sin: the cartons of cream-on-top yogurt that get shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten until way past the expiration date. Such a waste. 

Yet another case in point: I had lunch at Ruby's Diner, a SoCal favorite, on Friday with a girlfriend. I ordered the veggie tacos and she ordered a salad with chicken -- standard fare at Ruby's. The plates arrive, and our eyes go round: my two little tacos are stuffed to the brim and even spilling out, and Rachelle's salad bowl is a half foot tall and packed with food. Neither of us can finish, and are forced to send a half the salad back as well as an unfinished taco.

I try not to blame myself for not finishing food at restaurants. I think portions have increased exponentially at American restaurants, resulting in our cultural obesity epidemic. I'm certainly not talking about foodie restaurants such as the French Laundry or my favorite taco stand in Laguna Beach, but the places a vast majority of middle America frequent with veracity. Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, Panera, and steakhouses like Ruth's Chris and Morton's that serve giant portions that often go unfinished. It's a chicken-and-egg dilemma: would restaurants be serving such large portions if consumers didn't demand them? Would consumers be so obese if not offered gigantic portions? 

Food for thought today. 

Anthony Bourdain on Quimet Quimet!!

Love him or hate him, Anthony Bourdain gets around. His current show, "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel, sends the chef around the world with open mind and excited palette.

I happen to be a major Bourdain fan; he has attitude, yes, but I've worked with chefs with half the talent and charisma and twice the vitriol. He reminds me of all my favorite chefs: unwavering desire to taste the authentic and local; the will to try anything once; and an unapologetic need for the best food around, whether it be foie gras or fried chicken. 

Spain is one of those amazing places in the world where the entire country serves as a culinary mecca, and has been doing so for ages. Chefs have always flocked there for the varied cuisine across the small country, and it is Spain that Bourdain chooses for his next round of culinary adventures. 

I personally have not had the pleasure of exploring a large majority of this fascinating country and its storied food, but I did get the opportunity to jet in and out of Barcelona last year. A group of jet-setting girlfriends decided Barcelona would be the perfect backdrop for a 30th birthday party. Quimet Quimet was on my short list of must stops, and I dragged my sleepy friends there one afternoon for an amazing tapas experience. 

I mention this because my culinary hero hits up Quimet Quimet while in Barcelona, and his coverage of the city is said to make foodies drool in their living rooms. 

So call me a nerd, but I know exactly where I'll be on Monday afternoon: in my living room, munching up Manchego and roasted red pepper toasts and sipping a Spanish rose, devouring Spain through Mr. Bourdain. The re-run of "Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations: Spain" is on the Travel Channel at 4pm.