Hasta La Ideas

Curator Hanne Mugaas dishes on the group exhibition of food-related works

Our relationship with food knows no end, as we elevate it to divine status, play with it, turn it into nonconventional formats and even demand that it entertains us. This intimacy provides the theme behind The Art of Cooking, a group art exhibition opening 27 April 2012 at Royal T in Los Angeles that features the work of 48 artists—including Olaf Bruenning and Kenny Scharf—alongside a schedule of performances. We spoke with curator Hanne Mugaas about the concept behind the show, which runs through 1 August.

Where did the concept for the show come from?

I guess that food is something that is very basic; it’s right in front of you several times a day. To me, the endless depictions of food and the explosion of food blogs seem to be about lifestyle. You are what you eat, right? While researching artists and artworks for the show, I realized that most artists have at least one work that has to do with food.

Can food ever move so far in art realm that it makes us forget what it is?

I don’t think so. At least not if you spend a lot of time with the artwork. This also depends on the intention of the artist, of course. Maybe the intention was to make us forget.

Can you highlight some of the artists and pieces in the show?

One group of artists who work primarily with food is White Zinfandel, which publishes a magazine about art and food. Each issue has a specific theme: TV dinners, food fights—and they organize conceptual dinners for the launch of each one. They invite artists to explore each theme, and the result is included in the magazine. Another artist is Viktor Kopp, who paints chocolate squares; although rather than exploring chocolate, he explores the grid of painting through chocolate.

Your family is involved in the restaurant business. Did you make a jump from this universe into art?

I didn’t really jump from food to art. My family are all working with, or did work with, food, but I was never interested in learning to cook. My dad owns restaurants, my brother is a chef, and my sister is the manager of a restaurant.

What did you learn from your personal background in restaurants and food that you brought into your work as a curator, and vice versa?

From food to art—I basically grew up in restaurants, so I learned the work ethic and the social aspect, which are both similar to the art world. From art to food—I’ve been consulting on creative aspects of my dad’s business, although he’s very creative himself so he doesn’t need much help.

What other unique angle to food did you discover while putting together this show that you’d like to explore in another exhibit one day?

I am planning to make a cookbook including the favorite recipes of the artists in the show. I would also like to do an art show in one of my dad’s restaurants in Norway, and bring in artists like Scott and Tyson Reeder to do a series of food-related performances, or White Zinfandel to do a conceptual dinner party.

Royal T

“The Art of Cooking”

Now-1 August 2012

8910 Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232

Stunning flavors from a purist bean-to-bar chocolate maker

The continued evolution of the bean-to-bar and new American chocolate movements seems to have spawned bars that range from tasty to grainy. A growing outfit out of the Bay Area has quickly gained a loyal following for their products, which are made with a purist philosophy that has yielded delightful flavor and texture. Dandelion Chocolate was founded by Cameron Ring and Todd Masonis as a venture out of their garage, selling their goods at the now defunct underground food markets of San Francisco. “We had to start by buying machines and we bought a few bags of beans and just started roasting them up,” says Masonis about their humble origins. “We sort of got lucky that our first couple of batches were really good.”

What sets Dandelion apart is the simple recipe informing their product—everything is left to the bean. “All of our bars are 70% beans, 30% sugar and nothing else,” says Masonis. “Our bars all have really distinct tastes because that’s what we look for in the beans. Our Madagascar bar this harvest tastes very fruity and tastes a lot like citrus and has some strawberry and cherry notes. We’ll go to farmer’s markets, people will try it and swear that there is fruit in the bar. In fact, it’s just the bean itself.”

Major chocolate makers are all about consistency. To achieve an even flavor profile and texture across the board, they throw in additives. This isn’t possible with bean-to-bar, which naturally bears the mark of particular seasons, geographies and harvest methods. Masonis and Ring embrace the idea of making pure chocolate without the help of additives, producing bars in limited batches that reflect a unique bean harvested from a single place at a given time.

The texture of Dandelion Chocolate’s bars is significantly more velvety than most bean-to-bar makers. Each bar has very distinct coloration, an artifact of the particular bean. We really enjoyed the Colombian bar, which had a dark coloration and deep, rich chocolate flavor—a purist’s dream. The Madagascar bar was marked by a bold flavor profile, bursting with cherry and a slight sourness. As for the Venezuelan option, the mellow smoothness was highlighted by moments of spice and fruitiness.

Masonis and Ring make it a point to visit the growers personally when possible to ensure they work with operations with sound labor practices. Not only does this cut out the middle man, it results in better beans that are harvested by well-treated workers. “Some of the cacao that we love the most comes from Madagascar because it has this really incredibly fruity flavor,” says Masonis, reflecting on a recent trip to the African island. “Some people find it too strong, almost overpowering, but we love it. We went to check it out and helped out on the farm for a couple days to make sure everything was on the up-and-up.”

Dandelion’s packaging is made from recycled paper from India’s garment industry, lending the paper a cottony feel. On the label is printed the bean origin, harvest date, batch number and tasting notes. On the reverse you find the initials of the batch maker and packager for the individual bar. Each creation is molded and packaged by hand, the chocolate made in small, well-tended batches.

The future of Dandelion Chocolate looks promising, and the pair are currently working on getting permits to open a factory and cafe on Valencia Street in the Mission District. “We still consider ourselves getting off the ground, but it seems that people have responded really well to the chocolate. Now we’re just scrambling to make as much as we can as quickly as we can,” explains Masonis.

For now, Dandelion Chocolate can be found online and at select retail locations.

The sweet shop warms up with Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Churning out a flavorful variety of portable ice cream, yogurt and sorbet snacks from their NYC shop, popbar has us hooked on a warmer sweet.

The newest addition to the brand’s all-natural, kosher-certified lineup (including vegan sorbet varieties) is Hot Chocolate on a Stick, a treat as simple and sweet as the name implies. To whip up an instant mug, dip a chunk of dark, milk or vanilla-white chocolate into hot milk, stir for a minute and sip. Popbar’s chocolate-bar consistency seems to blend more easily than typical powder cocoas and, most importantly, does so quickly. Add more milk to temper the sweetness, or split one between two cups for just a hint of flavor.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick is available at popbar’s West Village shop and, for those outside New York, on Amazon for $3 a piece or in gift sets of six for $18 and 12 for $36.

Ten tiny gifts from our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide

‘Tis the season of office swaps and knickknack-giving. Acting as an appetizer for the main feast, mini-gifts for a get-together or to stuff the old stocking can often be the most clever treasures of the lot. We’ve reveled in gathering charming, small and often affordable items to give by the bunch for our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide, with a selection of 10 below.

Zippo Handwarmer

The iconic handwarmer provides enough warmth on one fill to keep your digits toasty for up to 12 hours of fishing, hunting, skiing or even just strolling town around during the cold months. Measuring only four inches in length, the warmer fits nicely into your palm while still producing more than ten times the heat as a traditional shake-pack.

Hex Bottle Opener

Seattle’s Iacoli & McAllister perfectly execute industrial design on a small scale with this minimalist tool. Hand-cut from a solid brass hex rod, this bottle opener is one you won’t want to hide away in a drawer when not in use.

Snake Bite Staple Remover

Transforming the mundane office tool into a nicely designed little sculpture, the snake seems to personify what we’ve always imagined a staple remover’s evil alter ego would be. Plus, the weighty pewter accessory dresses up a desktop rather than being relegated to a drawer.

Midori Brass Pencil

Made in Japan with purposeful, sensible design, the brass pencil holder houses a miniature writing utensil and eraser. Though it seems like a complete novelty, it’s quite practical with an old-fashioned feel.

Air Quote Mittens

These ultra-soft merino wool mittens from Kate Spade allow you to communicate skepticism without freezing your fingers. One size fits all hands and quick-wit personalities.

Schluesselwurst im Glas

Roughly translated as sausage keychain in a jar, this cheeky accessory is the ultimate gag-gift or accoutrement for your forgetful friend. The wiener itself is made of lycra for a life-like look and feel.

Click Multi Tool

Seven tools, including five hex keys and two screw drivers, make this portable bike tool a must have for any cyclist. At less than two inches in length, this unbelievably tiny gadget can even be clipped to a key chain. Lightweight, compact and efficient, it’s everything one needs in a bike tool.

Bookman Bicycle Light

In the same fashion as the click tool, this smartly designedminiature lightis a must for city cyclists. With one LED per light—white in the front and red in the rear—the slimmed-down design allows the torch to be affixed to the handlebars or seat post easily using only a small elastic cord.

Monarch Playing Cards

This elegantdeck of cards, while affordable, is fit for a king—or a magician, for that matter. Even better, each deck is made in America.

Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co.

The beautiful packaging on these small-batch bars give proper presentation to the southern artisan chocolates within. The lucky recipient will have a hard time unwrapping the treats, but will surely be glad once they do.

Stone-ground chocolate from a bean-to-bar purveyor’s new shop

The recently opened sweets boutique ChocoVivo in Venice, CA exemplifies owner Patricia Tsai’s guiding mantra, “simple is better.” By grinding chocolate from direct-trade growers with lava stones, Tsai is committed to staying transparent in its production after growing concerned over the source and nature of our food. ChocoVivo’s products not only taste good, they’re thoughtfully derived, and each label is printed with information about the geographical origin, bean variety and fermentation period of the ingredients.

From the delightfully clean 75% cacao to special blends featuring limited-run flavors like blueberry and lavender, the chocolate’s simple ingredients create spectacular results. ChocoVivo avoids the temptation to over-process and doesn’t even temper its chocolate, which does result in a slight white film on the surface of its bars but makes for a more natural product. The brand sources its chocolate from a family-owned grower in Tabasco, Mexico, a region with a rich history in cacao production reaching back to ancient Mayan and Aztec times.

In addition to bars, the company also sells their own cacao nibs and novelty items like the Nutella-trumping almond chocolate butter and cacao powder for hot chocolate. The shop also sells assortments of the chocolate products in holiday gift sets.

ChocoVivo products are available from the e-shop, with prices for bars starting at $6.