"without the Culinary Arts, the crudeness of reality would be unbearable"
A hundred bucks might buy you more
than six dozen burgers from McDonald's, but
the swanky Old Homestead Steakhouse in
A seafood industry organization encouraging Experts with the It’s part of an effort to establish a collective brand identity for WASI-affiliated shrimp fishermen, processors and wholesalers in eight states, Otwell said. The organization was founded to help the industry rebound from problems with
hurricanes, rising fuel costs and slumping demand, he said. Officials hope
that by educating consumers they can persuade seafood lovers to select
WASI-certified products at grocery stores and restaurants. Read Article.
Next time your favorite leading man pours a pinot or syrah, take note. You may be looking at a product placement. Whether it's as a background set decoration or a starring role in a white tablecloth dinner, winemakers are increasingly finding ways to send viewers an advertising message on a bottle. "Product placement is here and it's here to stay," says Jenny
Turnbull, a Wine has paired with movies for decades -- James Bond baffled a villain or
two with his vintage know-how. But the connection between
Italian farmers and wine producers
are calling on the government to take action to keep so-called 'Pinocchio
wine' out of the country. Wine producers say the use of wood
chips to speed up the aging process will lower standards and threaten Italy`s lead in the sector. New European Union
regulations cancel any distinction on labels between wines aged artificially
and those produced with traditional techniques. 'Accepting this regulation would be a betrayal of our wine`s identity,' said Roberto Della Seta, the president of the Legambiente environmental association. 'It would lead to the standardization of wines at the lowest level to the detriment of the consumer.”  A
hundred bucks might buy you more than six dozen burgers from McDonald's, but
the swanky Old Homestead Steakhouse in Boca
Raton Mayor Steven Abrams could barely speak between bites as he devoured the
20-ounce, $100 hamburger billed as the "beluga caviar of
sandwiches." "Heaven
on a bun," restaurant owner Marc Sherry said. The
burger debuted Tuesday at the restaurant in the Boca Raton Resort and Club,
where a membership costs $40,000 and an additional $3,600 a year. "We've
never had a hamburger on our menu here so we really wanted to go to the
extreme," Sherry said, calling it "the most decadent burger in the
world." At about 5 1/2 inches across and 2 1/2 inches thick, the mound
of meat is comprised of beef from three continents — American prime beef,
Japanese Kobe and Argentine cattle. The
bill for one burger, with garnishing that includes organic greens, exotic
mushrooms and tomatoes, comes out to $124.50 with tax and an 18 percent tip
included. The restaurant will donate $10 from each sale to the Make-A-Wish
Foundation. Back to top. A seafood industry organization encouraging Experts with the It’s part of an effort to establish a collective brand identity for WASI-affiliated shrimp fishermen, processors and wholesalers in eight states, Otwell said. The organization was founded to help the industry rebound from problems with hurricanes, rising fuel costs and slumping demand, he said. Officials hope that by educating consumers they can persuade seafood lovers to select WASI-certified products at grocery stores and restaurants. “Just like you’ve got choices of wine, you’ve got choices of shrimp, and that’s what makes the romance of seafood so much fun,” said Otwell, who is also an extension seafood technology specialist with Florida Sea Grant, a state and federal partnership dedicated to creating a sustainable coastal economy and environment. Shrimp is the most popular seafood item in the WASI has begun a nationwide marketing campaign emphasizing that not all
shrimp sold in the “We really want to raise the standards and raise consumers’ expectations,” Otwell said. “One way we do that is through a strong certification program.” For the past 18 months, WASI has offered certification for raw shrimp, using U.S. Department of Commerce inspectors. But beginning in September, inspection duties will be handled by WASI. “This is a big step forward for WASI, and the organization will begin using its own personnel to conduct the inspections,” said Otwell, a member of WASI’s quality advisory board. “That’s where the training program comes in.” UF seafood extension experts are leading the effort to develop the program, which consists of textbook study, lectures and hands-on training. Inspectors must learn to evaluate shrimp for freshness and condition, and recognize numerous species of the crustaceans, he said. Other institutions involved are WASI sought academic experts to develop the training program because they
bring credibility, said Mario Piccinin, WASI’s director of certification and quality assurance,
based in “We wanted experts who understand the science behind food inspection practices,” Piccinin said. “Steve Otwell has a great deal of experience training people to evaluate shrimp, from his involvement in UF extension programs for industry professionals.” The WASI inspection program includes different criteria for each type of shrimp – whole, headless and peeled – and requires each shrimp inspected to get a passing grade on each criterion, Piccinin said. Perhaps the biggest challenge WASI faces is making consumers aware that
most shrimp sold in the “I see that every day,” said Versaggi, who is also vice president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a nonprofit industry organization. “We’re primarily a harvesting company but we keep some (shrimp) around to sell to tourists who stop by. People always come back for more. They ask me, ‘why can’t I get these at the supermarket?’ I say, ‘if you ask for it, they’ll carry it.’” Back to top. Next time your favorite leading man pours a pinot or syrah, take note. You may be looking at a product placement. Whether it's as a background set decoration or a starring role in a white tablecloth dinner, winemakers are increasingly finding ways to send viewers an advertising message on a bottle. "Product placement is here and it's here to stay," says Jenny
Turnbull, a Wine has paired with movies for decades -- James Bond baffled a villain or
two with his vintage know-how. But the connection between Unlike some other industries, wineries don't generally pay for product placement. Instead, they try to get attention by donating cases of their wine to show-biz events and celebrity parties and hiring agents like Turnbull who look for opportunities by reading scripts and keeping in touch with studios. Picking the right wine for a scene requires close attention, says Turnbull, who spent 10 years with Fox, most recently doing product placement for 20th Century Fox, before founding her own business, the Placement Agency. So, when a prop master called asking for wine for a family dinner scene in
HBO's "Six Feet Under," she sent over a case of cabernet sauvignon
from Turnbull Wine Cellars, a "We don't say, 'You want a red wine? Here's a red wine,'" says Turnbull, no relation to the winery. "We try to make it really appropriate for the setting." There are no guarantees. Weeks of negotiations can go for naught if a scene gets cut. On the other hand, a bottle intended to be in the background of a scene can shoot to "hero placement," if it ends up in an actor's hands. Even when all goes well, it may be hard to identify wine bottles, since they don't have the iconic recognition of, say, a Coca-Cola can. Still, proponents say the expo sure is worth the effort. At the Clos du Val
winery in Like other wineries, Clos du Val doesn't pay for play, but has do nated wine for a number of show- biz bashes and works with a marketing agency, Set Resources. A successful placing was in the movie "The Terminal," in which Tom Hanks orders a Clos du Val cabernet sauvignon for a romantic dinner. "It's not something where we're on a major TV show Thursday night and Friday morning our phones are ringing off the hook," Myers said. "For us, it's there as a process, getting your wine into the hands of the right people. Word will kind of spread." Interestingly, the big story re cently on wine and movies wasn't a classic case of product placement. The 2004 grape caper movie "Sideways," is credited with boosting sales nationwide of the pinot noir beloved by main character Miles. But in that case, the filmmakers sought out products and places they liked rather than being pitched. Not everyone is thrilled winemakers have joined the rush to get their brands on screen. Matthew Soar, an assistant professor of communications at Soar's Web site, www.brandhy pe.org, allows users to search for and report brand sightings in movies. "My sense is there's this lack of debate and lack of awareness," he said. Jenny Turnbull counters that "you're not really forcing viewers to go out and make a purchase." There are some types of product placement Turnbull's not crazy about, such as reality shows where participants overenthusiastically consume name-brand products. She steers clients away from such heavy-handed endorsements, say ing the most effective hits are where the product is "noticed, yet not blatantly obvious." With gizmos available that can hop, skip and jump past conventional TV advertising, product placement offers a brand new world of opportunities. "People aren't even watching commercials any more, so at least you know you have that audience who are watching the show," says Turnbull. "The product appears within the frame and they see it." WINE
ON THE BIG SCREEN "Notorious," 1946. Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant take a suspense-filled trip to a wine cellar and discover Nazis have hidden uranium in some of the bottles. "Diamonds Are Forever," 1971, James Bond unmasks a fake waiter by tripping him up with a question about whether Mouton Rothschild is a claret. It is. "The Jerk," 1979. In a vain effort to impress, Steve Martin
waves away some classic "Disclosure," 1994, Demi Moore's
businesswoman character uses a Pahlmeyer 1991
chardonnay in an attempt at seduction. The relationship doesn't work out so
well on screen, but real-life interest in the high-end "Four Rooms," 1995. Quentin Tarantino's character declares his love for Cristal champagne. "Sideways," 2004. College buddies Miles and Jack drink their way
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