Michel Montignac, the French diet revolutionary who put red meat, foie gras, cheese and wine into slimming, is stirring the pot again. The latest wisdom from his kitchen is called the Montignac Method - Just For Women and it takes into account one of the world's most unfortunate imbalances: men lose weight more easily than women.
Montignac's credo, made infinitely more palatable by his recommended bacon, sausage and eggs breakfast, includes taking time to eat three meals a day, making them varied, introducing more fruit and vegetables, eating good fats (olive oil, goose and duck fat) and drinking wine regularly.
His diet disciples include designer Christian Lacroix, former French prime minister Edouard Balladur, former British Airways chairman Lord King, and, it is said, Sir John Gielgud.
Unlike pet food, which stresses nutritional values, he notes, food for humans stresses price, packaging and convenience. And that is where we have gone wrong. 'The pleasures of eating have been forgotten in favour of fast, cheap grazing,' he says.
On the beach The restaurant of the moment is a place in Quarry Bay. Joining the rush east is Mid-Levels restaurateur, Eric Kee, who has added to his stable a beach-style spot on Hoi Kwong Street. Like the garage-employee turned restaurant-owner himself, Kee's Thai Cafe grew out of a motor repair shop. 'Lots of garages are becoming eateries,' he says. 'I used to live and work down there. I know.' Kee was attracted to the area by one of his old motor-shop friends, and he remains separate from Swire Properties' orchestrated development of the area. His idea is to provide real Thai food, all day, for an average price per meal of $100.
Kangaroo to go The Tenderloin Meat company is marking its first birthday with free food parcels worth $310 for every order worth $450 or more. The year-old company prides itself on the variety of its products and its ability to deliver daily. The meat on offer runs from chicken legs to veal and Dutch, milk-fed calves. 'People don't really ask for crocodile,' says managing director Scott Fuller. 'But we do have kangaroo.' The special birthday offer is available until June 7.
The Magnificent Three Cream is out. Welcome the trendy new alternatives: creme fraiche, ricotta and mascarpone. These cheeses are being used everywhere for everything from salad dressings to custard toppings - although this is not so much for their healthy qualities as to open up the cook's options. In a world where the enemy is fat rather than calories, ricotta is the hero and double cream the villain. Mascarpone and creme fraiche both have 40 grams of fat per 100 ml, compared to the 47.5 grams of double cream. The same amount of single cream has 19 g of fat, half-fat creme fraiche has 15 g and 100 grams of ricotta has 11 g.
Home hints from Mongolia Kublai's has got wise to rotten chefs, wasted food and the advantages of no-smoking sections. In addition to the new no-smoking credo, the do-it-yourself Mongolian barbecue concept is being given a helping hand with recipe suggestions which double as place mats. 'Ogadai's Diet', for instance, combines one scoop each of oyster sauce, soy sauce, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, sesame oil and half a spoon of chilli oil. 'Tribal Eats' makes use of Kublai's own sauce, plus Mongolian tom yam, lemon and garlic water. There are eight recommendations in all. 'These are tried and tested recipes, some recommended by customers and some by us,' says general manager Lita Dela Cruz.
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