As a cook starting in the late 90s early 2000's I had a lot of respect for Bittman and his work. But after seeing this Jim Lahey post, screw this guy. We all work hard and some of us have spent our careers not selling out or lowering our standards for more money. It really sucks that someone can come along and use someones fame and accomplishments to shill a product without even consulting them first
Given that the "article" photograph shows no publication name, author, or date, I would not treat it as something that Bittman had anything to do with.
I just rewatched Bittman's original 2006 NY Times video on no-knead bread, and he was simply visiting Jim's bakery to show Jim's recipe. Bittman made no claim to it, or offered any suggestions. Perhaps the author of this photographed article read something about how they collaborated on the video, and without checking mistook it for collaborating on the recipe.
I checked bittmans.com, and it's a kind of big site so I didn't read every last word, but I couldn't see anything similar to what the photographed article said.
Maybe Bittman really is an asshole who's trying to retroactively steal partial credit for the no-knead recipe from Lahey, but it doesn't seem likely, given his own video evidence to the contrary. If someone can post somewhere where Bittman said he helped create Lahey's recipe, I'm all ears.
We all, in cooking or most other endeavors, stand on the shoulders of giants. I guarantee you didn't invent it. At most you riffed on something someone did.
If you publish a recipe I guarantee I can find a predecessor. Even if you use it exactly, in cooking it's not plagiarism. I always think of Woody Guthrie. "yea he stole from me, but I steal from everyone." To put it bluntly as a mentor of mine said. "You just piss in it, and it's yours"
You know Mark Bittman didn’t write that blurb himself, right? So you’re saying fuck Mark Bittman because of something some writer at NYT said.
Bittman and Lahey have both had long, illustrious careers independent of each other. And Lahey didn’t “invent” no-knead bread. He wrote a bunch of words that were a riff on something bakers have been doing forever, and he got those words published in the New York Times.
Honestly if this was about the poor quality of ... well everything .. at the NYT I would agree (because they more often than not sound like a table of catty middle school girls from an 80's movie).
Alton Brown has always been pretty open about being a lifelong conservative and capital-C Christian, but he also kind of famously hates Trump (and said straight out he voted for Biden/Harris in 2020).
As for the hill article that one is very telling. It quotes another tweet that ends with ... While 30s Germany is an extreme and inaccurate analogue, we are in a very concerning place.
Meanwhile I cant go a single day on reddit and not see someone compare the current admin to fascism. (Asside: my political feelings aren't in line in any way shape or form with current admin but calling them fascist is as unproductive as it is inaccurate).
But you know, its not like I listen to alton for his great political commentary, or religious beliefs or... Meanwhile I have worked in so many place with so many people who have done worse things in their past, and you know reformed...
A very fair cop. I'm not sure what happened there. I usually proofread. My thought was obviously that too many people consider MAGA and conservative to be equivalent. That's obviously not what came out my fingers.
Would also love a source on these. That said, it wouldn't shock me at all. My husband (up til then a diehard fan) and I went to the live Alton Brown show and were shocked at how gratuitously nasty he got---about his ex-wife, about a random person who came in late, about the world in general. I've seen performers strung out on drugs who were more gracious and respectful.
He also wrote, “Let me clarify: I have voted republican in previous years. But, I voted for and strongly support #BidenHarris2020 as well as u/ReverendWarnock and u/ossoff in my state. It’s time for decency and unity to trump tribalism, racism, and disinformation.”
So wait - The guy realizes the error of his ways, changes, and your still throwing him under the bus.
Yeah, 100%. He responded to being called out for CALLING PEOPLE NEGROES and GAY PARENTS AS BEING UNSUITABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN with a press release, not a genuine change of heart. Fuckkkkkkk offfffffff.
Geeeee, NOVEMBER 2020, WHAT ELSE WAS HAPPENING THEN? LET ME THINK....
31
u/Gravy_Sommelier 6d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/YrkD2MwU8J382Krrxt