Stomachs on legs are proud to present

Abstract

Happiness is an elusive concept, it brings about ideas of ecstasy, contentment, delight but also health and strength, pouvoir and puissance ... a state of mind and body that is precarious and contingent. How to give form and substance to an idea that is otherwise difficult to conceive? What is happiness for a chicken? What is it like to be a chicken today? Free-range certification offers a powerful interpretation of animals' happiness in the context of farming, and it does so by providing a particular translation of the `natural' in the domesticated environment of farming. But it also offers a specific definition of materiality, in the form of the body of the animal, presented as an expression of her/his quality of life in the juiciness and other organoleptic qualities of her/his flesh or eggs. In this paper, I present the results of an on-farm assessment of the welfare of free-range chickens in the UK, carried out by adopting the Welfare Quality protocol. This is a new evaluation of the on-farm welfare of animals that encompasses many aspects of animals' lives, including animals' negative and positive emotions. It suggests that animals' `happiness' can be measured and can become part of an overall score of welfare, but it also addresses the complexities of the interpretation of the emotional states of animals. I propose that this case contributes to the debate on `material politics' and the invention of animals' happiness can be seen as a political technique that affects human ^ non-human
animal relations.

Miele M, 2011, "The taste of happiness: free-range chicken" Environment and Planning A 43(9) 2076 – 2090

It reminds me of the Posh Nosh episode. I can't help but feel that we've gotten our priorities all wrong.

"we should try one michelin star place while we are here" I said unpacking my suitcase in our tiny hotel room in Paris

Hock proceeds to rattle of a litany of choices and possibilities together with a description of the chef's culinary style as well as stating the impossibility of getting a booking at almost all but Joel Rubuchon's which does not take bookings.

"Ok well what is the number of the first one?" Arpege?" He quotes the number telling me there is no way we will get a table for lunch at the last minute.

I call. They have a table. Tomorrow 1 pm. Hock goes into a quiet stupor. His eye lids flutter while the reality settles. He blushes.

"I've taken the liberty of ordering us some tofu, some mushrooms and some duck tongues," said the western woman sitting across from me. "Do you trust me to keep ordering, or is there anything in particular you might like?" I looked at her thinking, "You whore!"

From David Sedaris's recent trip to China

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R. Stevie Moore - Popeye Song (live 2010) from robert moore on Vimeo.

Saw this erratic hero of lo-fi perform last night at the King Georg pub. The Pop Eye song was probably the highlight, but unfortunately this bad quality video doesn't include the bit where he whispered menacingly "olive oil (VIRGIN...) on spinach, tastes so great (FROZEN...)"

Talented young Montreal beatmaker Lunice Fermin Pierre II is a ball of fun on stage, mixing up hyphy and club bangers with cuts and spicy b-boy pantomimes.

In this clip he teaches the crowd how to do the Cooking Dance with some loose-jointed soup & burger techniques. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I've already documented my devotion to heavenly Japanese sponge cakes. I didn't think it could get any better - but it just did.

We had colleagues (or should I say 'alcoholleagues') visit from Japan, and they brought with them a bottle of sake and this wonderful alcohol-infused sponge as souvenirs. How could the sponge retain that dense, yet very fine and soft melt-in-your-mouth texture while stored indefinitely in foil, stewing in its own tipsy juices?

The taste was, like any good castella: lovely, light and a little eggy, with only a yeasty hint of methylated spirits from the booze.
(Note: I think the soaking alcohol may have been shochu, but would love if Nalika can provide insight here).

Each square of this palm-sized cake really packed a punch. I wish there was a way to mail-order it from Japan.

BSS | Breakfast Interrupted from Bruton Stroube Studios on Vimeo.

And that's just the environment....what about the social....so the question here is gotta be, how can and should a label symbolise a guarantee of complex environmental and social systems?

I'm not so sure it can or should?

David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee from David Lynch on Vimeo.

Via Thus Bakes Zarathustra

... in response to the recent disaster in Japan.

Kudos for Suntory for having put such cute things together in a very short amount of time, without even mentioning their beverage products.


Ue wo muite arukou (or better known as Sukiyaki song outside Japan) ver.D 60 secs
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/movie/d_s/900545459001.html

Miagete goran yoru no hoshi wo ver. B 60 secs
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/movie/d_s/901998713001.html

The German chapter of Sneaker Freaker magazine got together with our local burger joint Beef Brothers recently to make this sneaker-shaped mett cake.

With a greater than usual array of garnishes, this particular hunk of raw pork mince actually looks kind of kicking.

For a man like me that really likes his meat, there are few things better than pig for breakfast.

This is particularly true when the pig is roasted pork shoulder, pressed in a Panini with chipotle sauce and coriander and toasted to perfection, otherwise known as the Cuban from Lonsdale Street Roasters.

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There is an extensive range of panini here, spelled out on a charming blackboard with magnetic letters and a specials board to the side. ...Roasters also do dessert and a few other small and interesting things (muesli among them). And well there’s the main feature: the coffee. Served in those stylish old school brown cups, it’s rich, the milk isn’t overdone, and it’s sublime perfection really - so rare in this town. It’s got to be the best in the city. Or among the best. Harvest and Tonic are excellent too. But I’m going to say Roasters has an edge. A panini-themed edge at that

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I've been quiet on the blog front. Hock's been leaving the commentary to others while he focuses on improving the overall sandwich situation of Canberra in his first business venture.