Killer Flank Steak with a side of mandolin

Fans gather for Killer Flank Steak June 17 at the 37th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado Photo: Hans Lehndorff

Dear Nibbles Readers: For a few days I’m wearing a completely different hat as I blog about the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and event I’ve attended and covered for 30 years.
You can follow the music at:

http://fridayallweek.com/2010/06/17/telluride-preparing-for-alison-lyle-and-del/

2010 Dining Trends: Pepperoni robots; Kefir rising; less food safety anxiety

Reported by John Lehndorff:

Two things I love – salume and robots - come together in this video that manages to be simultaneously appetizing and mesmerizing and has a great soundtrack. Pizza anyone?
PS: The best pepperoni I’ve ever tasted is made by Denver’s Il Mondo Vecchio.

http://gizmodo.com/5528743/salami-sorting-robot-automation-at-its-most-delicious

Reported by Natural Foods Merchandiser:

The Sterling Rice Group, a Boulder, Colo-based “food centric strategy and innovation firm” has compiled a proprietary list of “culinary shifts” affecting Americans and the way we eat today: Community connected; More with less; Dr. Me; Always on; Luxury revalued; Simple refuge; and, Break free.
Details at:

http://naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/blogs/tabid/84/EntryId/269/Take-advantage-of-8-hot-culinary-trends-in-your-store.aspx

Reported by Progressive Grocer:
As more consumers are cooking more meals at home, sales of beans, grain and rice, and shelf-stable pastas each rose 30 percent since 2007. Yogurt and kefir is the fastest-growing specialty food category; sales jumped 38.9 percent in 2009 to $830 million.

Reported by Supermarket News:
Deloitte’s 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey found a 17% decrease in the number of consumers who say they are concerned about food quality, even as 90% perceive that recalls are on the rise. Also, half of the survey participants said that recently required country-of-origin labels would influence their purchases.

Huffingtonpost.com recently iterviewd Jody Adams, James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Rialto in Cambridge, Mass:
“When I was studying anthropology at Brown I hadn’t a clue as to what I would be doing today. But I was cooking then and loving it and traveling as much as I could. I guess my path was already set, I just couldn’t see it. At 24, I was recently divorced, unhappy in my job and uncertain about my direction. After some soul searching I realized that I was happiest in a kitchen. So with lots of cooking hours logged, but no restaurant experience, I started knocking on doors. Fortunately, someone took a chance on me. Three years ago – that’s 30 years later – I became sole owner of Rialto. It was time.”

John Lehndorff is a Boulder, Co.-based food trend researcher, food writer and consultant. He is a former newspaper food editor and restaurant critic, author of a restaurant guide book, and pie expert.

Who’s a foodie?: http://yellowscene.com/2010/04/14/who%E2%80%99s-a-true-foodie/

Complaints, tirades, comments, critiques? lehndorffj@aol.com

Visit: www.johnlehndorff.com