Food superstars Mario Batali and Martha Stewart blew into town last week for the Atlantic’s Food Summit, where attendees were treated to typical Batali blustering about “skinny little actresses from a show called ‘The O.C.” judging his food and Stewart musing about artisanal mustard.
Batali got a little political during his remarks, discussing food stamps and his family’s decision to live off the standard benefit of $31 per person per week. It wasn’t done to prove that one could or could not live on food assistance, Batali said, but to “walk a mile in another person’s shoes.”
“That there is hunger in a place where we have so much is just perplexing to me,” the chef said. “We’re trying to figure out what big government means,” he added, saying that the U.S. would have to decide if it wanted to make sure its kids had full bellies.
“If we don’t, we’re going to become all of those other countries who don’t invest in their citizens,” he said. Batali stated earlier this month that the food stamp challenge had left him “starving.” Stewart stayed away from governmental theories and spent her interview time explaining chicken care. “Put Vicks in hot water in the chicken coop,” she instructed. “Drop hot rocks in the water to create a steam bath.” Thanks, Martha.
