And the final word on Beard goes to…
Amongst our distinguished guests at the 2010 Beard events was Mimi Sheraton, a native Brooklyner and respected food critic whose authoritative voice has shaped the field of food writing. Her reportage held long-standing posts as critic at the New York Times and Time magazine reporter. A myriad of contributions have graced the pages of Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and The New Yorker just to name a few.
We caught up with Mimi once the entire team relocated back to Florence. Here she shares her opinion on the overall impression of Italy that she felt and tasted at the gala dinner, given that she has extensively traveled throughout the country and her husband Richard Falcone comes from an Italian background:
“What connected me and Richard to Italy given the Apicius menu at the James Beard House was not so much any particular dish, but rather a feeling for how authentic a new creation or interpretation can be when it reflects its roots even as it deviates. Although many of the ingredients are not generally used together, all were well understood elements of Italian cuisine and so new combinations or presentations did not seem in any way “un-Italian.” That is really the best form of creativity..the new arising from and respecting the tradition.”