Press pause

At 5:30 p.m. today, all U.S. Starbucks stores will close for three hours. During that time, the company will train its barsitas to create the “Starbucks experience” of excellent drinks and service. 

Starbucks saw its first decrease in customers last year.  The company acknowledges that service and quality slipped as Starbucks expanded.   

If you go to Starbucks tomorrow, comment here - let me know if you notice a difference. 

Update - Wednesday morning: After witnessing the training in action as I walked by my local Starbucks last night, I couldn’t resist going to the Franklin St. store this morning. I did notice a difference in both my drink (non-fat latte) and the service. There was a long line that moved quickly with the help of the headset guy taking orders and relaying them to the baristas, the counter staff was making an effort to interact with customers beyond “4.35 please, ” and my latte was just right.  I’m interested to see if this lasts.

The Gastronomer

Norwegian cook and food writer Andreas Viestad is now a monthly columnist for the Washington Post.

His column, The Gastronomer, is about the science of everyday cooking — accessible molecular gastronomy.

Look for Viestad on the new PBS series Perfect Day this fall. 

Culinary Olympics 2008

Not sure what made me think about the Culinary Olympics this morning, but since I did, here are links on the 2008 event:

Official Site

Team USA

And my favorite, the

Norwegian National Team (Norge! Norge! Norge!)

Welcome New Students!

As you get settled into your routine at CHIC, please be sure to stop by the LRC and say hello.

We look forward to meeting you!

Bitten - a new blog from the NY Times

Mark Bittman, otherwise known as The Minimalist, is blogging at Bitten.  Here’s how he describes his new blog:

Welcome to Bitten, a blog about food and cooking that will also use food as a window into the world. We’re going to look at great food made with everyday ingredients and readily achievable techniques — as The Minimalist has been doing for a decade — not food as something to be admired from afar, but as a part of daily life.