I loved this article in the New York Times by Glenn Collins.. (http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/battle-of-the-butchers/?scp=1&sq=meat%20cutting&st=cse.) It might seem trivial to many but I always thought it was a major cultural difference: The Americans and The French do not cut the meat the same way! As a result, transatlantic recipes never work and the food does not look the same in your plate. Never seen a carré d’agneau this side of the Atlantic or a real “escalope de veau”. Well, now I know why: the French cut the meat along the nerves and muscles while the Americans cut pieces.“In America, we cut across everything, then cut the pieces off and sell them, whereas the French seam them out,” explains Tom Mylan, The Butcher of Brooklyn . On the other side is “The Meat Magician of Asnières” — Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec, a 42-year-old French butcher from Asnières. The moderator of this cutting edge contest called the The Meat hook was Ariane Daguin, daughter of famous French chef André Daguin and founder of Dartagnan, a place to buy your foie gras for Christmas in America. Ariane who will be honored next month at the gala of a franco-american philanthropic association, French Heritage. “In France, we have the best butchers in the world,” Mr. Le Bourdonnec said. “And Americans are the best breeders of pasture-raised beef. If we get together, it should be a paradise.” Yes this is the long story of the Franco-American love-hate relationship! A couteaux tirés!
Pascale Richard 