Life Imitates Art?
Monday, December 18, 2006 | posted by Mike
Now that I'm home, I'm unwinding from the trip and trying to get caught up on the various things I missed while away. E-mails, visits to blogs and taped television shows are all on my "to do" list. So, it was funny when two of the items managed to converge in a particularly strange way.I was watching The Office (the best comedy on television for my money, by the way) and in walks Dwight Schrute, resident oddball, with a dead goose of undetermined origin. Despite protests from Toby, the HR representative, Dwight wants to roast the goose and serve it to his coworkers.
As I was watching the scene, I thought to myself, "Hey, wait a minute..."
A story on Irish Examiner.com has some info about Jamie Oliver's latest foray into television. No, he doesn't have a new show. Instead, his production company is behind a show starring Oliver's colleague, Fergus Drennan. Of course, any show like this needs a hook. I'll let the folks at the Examiner fill you in.
In the show, Road Kill Café, Drennan goes to Sandwich in Kent to persuade locals to forage for the first time and discover the delights of road-kill meat.
But, lest you think that this sort of thing might be a bit unsanitary:
I'm certainly aware that farm-raised animals aren't slaughtered with buttercups and jellybeans. And there is no logical problem with getting your meat courtesy of the front fender of a Nissan Altima. But I'm guessing this show will be a curiosity at best. Most people don't like even thinking about roadkill, so the thought of grilling up that deer who didn't quite make it across all six lanes of the highway isn't particularly appealing.“The animal must be fresh. If rigor mortis has set in it’s not eaten. Otherwise it’s immediately back to his kitchen.
“He firmly believes that road-kill is better than processed meat.”
Note: If you are interested in abattoirs (and who isn't?), be sure to search out the fascinating episode of Errol Morris' First Person series called "Stairway to Heaven." It's about slaughterhouses in the sense that Citizen Kane is about news reporting, so don't let the topic turn you off.
Labels: Jamie Oliver
