Conversation Piece, October 29, 2017
A weekly series.
Enjoy our Sunday series, Conversation Piece, a NUVO–curated digest of things on the Internet we think you’ll want to talk about.
Canada gets baked. No one could have predicted the success The Great British Bake Off, a U.K. television program in which amateur bakers politely jostle to make the best focaccia or citrus-meringue tart, watched by around 10 million each week. But something about its respectful competition and inherent sweetness coheres to make a program so exciting that 23 countries have created their own versions, including (as of November 1) Canada. Eater Montreal’s Tim Forster shares the details (though does not satisfactorily answer our most pressing question of whether butter tarts will feature prominently). Read more, here.
The secret literary history of colour. In her book, The Secret Lives of Color, author Kassia St. Clair explores the unexpected and always fascinating backstories and historic associations of familiar hues. In this excerpt, Lit Hub exposes the literary connotations of certain colours—scandalous yellow, glorious purple, and alluring emerald, in this case—linking them to everything from Roman emperor Nero’s sunglasses to the roofs of ancient Chinese royal palaces. Delve into the decoding of hues, here.
I hear she’s a real whistleblower. In this piece for The New Yorker, Toronto restauranteur Jen Agg pinpoints the particular, dismayingly macho, utterly sexiest atmosphere female chefs and kitchen staff commonly endure. In the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, Agg’s essay draws attention to misogyny and abuse experienced by those without the platform of celebrity to strike back from, deftly dissecting the culinary industry’s dirtiest secret, and exploring how to make the professional kitchen a place where all can feel respected. Read more, here.
Well, it is Halloween. The veil between our world and that of the spirits is thinning—yikes. Better stock up on candy and hunker down in front of season two of Stranger Things all weekend. But what candy, exactly? Well, Bon Appétit has compiled a list of retro sweets for foodies looking to double down on nostalgia—think toffees and taffys, things flavoured with walnut and nougat, wrappers that haven’t had a design update since 1957. Browse the digital candy aisle, here.
_________
Never miss a story, sign up for NUVO’s weekly newsletter, here.
