In the mid 70’s, after the Dude of Food was done with his paper route he’d come home to mom getting ready for work. She would always put an album on the turn table and spin a side while I ate. Roberta’s album ‘First Take’ and I shared many breakfasts together and I loved her smooth voice and control. She was one of the first singers that shaped my ears. Thank you mom, Roberta and Atlantic records for a proper up-bringing.
This is the true story of a family that cared a lot about people. Find out how the Cadbury family chocolate business made life better for many folks.
https://www.cadbury.co.uk/about/history/our-story
Visit the Cadbury web address above and you’ll find the following statement;
“From a grocery shop, to a factory, to the Cadbury we know today. This is the story of a father and two sons and how their generosity inspired generations to come. They poured a ‘glass and a half’ into their Dairy Milk and into their workers and communities too. At Cadbury, people always have been and will be at the heart of everything we do.”
Quaker John Cadbury was first apprenticed to a tea dealer in Leeds in 1818. In 1824, John opened a grocery shop at 93 Bull Street, Birmingham, England. He sold tea, coffee, hops and mustard along with cocoa and drinking chocolate. John prepared the drinking chocolate himself by using a mortar and pestle and crushing the cocoa. The treat became quite popular and eventually John decided to start commercial manufacturing. He opened a warehouse on Crooked Lane in 1831 where he started his drinking chocolate operations with the help of his 2 sons, Richard and George. By 1842, the Cadbury’s were selling 16 varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 varieties of cocoa. In 1850, John’s oldest son, Richard and his brother George were learning to handle operations and 11 years later John Cadbury retired from the business and Richard and George took over.
George heard about a Dutch chocolate maker, Coenraad van Houten, who had devised a method of extracting most of the fat from cocoa, which made it a more appealing drink. George went to Holland to see Van Houten and returned with a cocoa fat removal machine which proved successful. By using the cocoa press, Richard and George found they were able to make their cocoa 100% pure. They focused on making totally pure cocoa and in 1866 the Cadbury’s launched their “Absolutely Pure Therefore Best” cocoa product. This product line enabled the Cadbury’s to grow their company into a successful enterprise with a reputation for quality products and for treating its employees well.
George had big ideas. He asked, ‘Why should an industrial area be squalid and depressing? If the country is a good place to live in, then why not work in it?’. George wanted to build a place full of green spaces, where Cadbury workers could leave the crowded, dirty city behind and enjoy a better quality of life. He began to draw up plans for his new country factory with Birmingham architect George H. Gadd.
In 1878, Cadbury acquired 14.5 acres of open land, four miles (6 km) south-west of Birmingham. In January 1879, Cadbury, his architect and their construction team building began the factory, along with the first 16 houses for some of his 200 plus employees. September 1879, 230 workers by train to begin their lives in the new town and facility.
The name of this new town would be Bournville. This new country live/work concept was a significant upgrade from the poor living conditions of the urban environment. In Bournville, families had houses and could enjoy yards, gardens, parks, schools, medical care and fresh air. Children enjoyed new playgrounds, country outings and summer camps. The men played football, hockey and cricket in the open park spaces. Tennis and squash courts were built, along with a bowling green and swimming pools with heated changing rooms an kitchens for heating up food. All employees were encouraged to become good swimmers. There were no pubs and no alcohol was sold in Bournville and none is sold there still to this day.
For workers to have facilities and a home life like this was unheard of in Victorian times. Cadbury became one of the first firms to introduce a 1/2 day of work Saturday. “People told us it would mean ruin, but I don’t think any men could have been happier.” said George.
By 1899 the company had 2,600 employees and was incorporated as a limited company on June 16, 1899. Richard and George owned all of the ordinary shares in their business.
By 1900 George Cadbury renounced his proprietorship of the estate and set up the Bournville Village Trust. There were 313 houses for various social classes.
In 1902, 30% of Cadbury’s capital expenditure was spent on the welfare of its workers.
By 1960 the Bournville Village Trust held 1,000 acres with 3,500 houses and to this date, the town still offers affordable housing. After Richard passed, George opened a works committee for each gender to discuss proposals for improving the company. He also pressed ahead with other ideas, like a deposit account and education facilities for every employee.
The site also states, “We’ve come a long way in 200 years but one thing that will never change is the generous spirit we bring to everything we do. Another exciting opportunity came along in 2010, when we found a new home alongside the Kraft Foods family. Kraft created a new division in 2012, called ‘Mondelez International’ which we are still proud to be a part of today.”
Many lives have been touched by the sweet philanthropic gestures of the Cadbury family and to this day 10% of the company profits are still donated to charity.
Thank you very much Cadbury family.
In 1989 Project Angel Food was founded by a woman named Marianne Williamson. She was joined by David Kessler, Ed Rada, Howard Rosenman, Freddie Webber and dozens of volunteers who bonded to create a program that prepared and delivered food to folks living their lives with HIV/AIDS.
Their Mission Statement:
‘Project Angel Food nourishes the health and spirit of vulnerable people facing critical and life-threatening illness, by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals with love, care and dignity.’
Their service is an outreach of the Los Angeles Center for Living which helps people with life-threatening illnesses. The Center for Living provides numerous programs such as The Clean Team, Project Night Life and hospice care. They would also prepare lunch for drop-in clients, but as fewer and fewer were able to leave their homes, lunch was delivered to them.
It was then that Project Angel Food was born and 36 years later the program is still cooking and delivering.
After running a red light in a scam supported by disgraced, racist idiot and former LA City Council member Kevin de Leon at the 1st street bridge, I was ordered to do community service. Being interested in food I chose to help out at Project Angel Food. Their operation is set up in the old Otto Nemenz camera rental store on Vine St. in Hollywood which I was familiar with.
Upon entering I noticed the place is organized and very clean.
In the kitchen the first thing you notice is a huge banner announcing the million meals prepared in 2020 spread across the wall. Their brochure claims they produce 2700 daily meals or 1.5 million meals a year. Once you see how this place operates you’ll see how they’re able achieve these big numbers. Project Angel Food can produce large amounts of food and they have technology helping the pro-active staff to package the numerous nutritious meals. There is a huge amount of kitchen activity and the team keeps this place extremely clean.
Project Angel Food operates by an extremely efficient kitchen staff led by Chef Juan who sees all and keeps all the meals rolling out on time.
The people here worked really well together and everyone seemed genuinely happy. This operation is doing so well in their Hollywood location that they are expanding.
Check out their page https://www.angelfood.org
Thank you Chef Juan and the Project Angel Food supporters for all the good things you do for US.
Keep up the great work Chef Juan and Project Angel Food.
Sincerely, the Dude of Food
Cooking With Grandma Gina.
The Dude of Food grew up as an only child with a working mom who disliked cooking. Her 3 motto’s in life were:
The refrigerator to me was something to go look in at someone else’s house. That is how I learned about food, by looking in other peoples fridges and lunch boxes to see what they ate like. It took me years to get over just casually opening and looking inside of someones fridge. Sometimes I still do.
On special Saturday mornings as a kid I used to make a can of Spaghettios or Franco American Macaroni with cheese sauce as a treat.
One of the places I would wander over to visit was the house of the Italian family down the street. They had 3 older girls and a boy my age and they always had food on the stove. Their kitchen was the best. Homemade pastas, sauces, pizzas, rapini and as we got older their mother made everything with red onions so our lungs would stay healthier. This Italian mother even made liver taste good. She used thin slices of liver and loads of onions.
When we would go back east to visit their Italian relatives I would be blown away that every Italian kitchen was the same, warm and full of food. We couldn’t go anywhere without eating a plate of food and sipping some homemade wine. By the third or fourth visit you’d be pretty full but the hosts would get offended if you didn’t eat their food and thought you liked the other family better so you had to eat, drink and be merry. It was great and nothing but love.
When I went to visit the youthful home of my Italian buddies father in Italy I was blown away at the genuine love, hospitality and meals shared with me.
I am forever grateful and extremely thankful. This love of family and sharing food has never left me. Recently I began preparing homemade pasta noodles after lessons from my friends uncle’s wife, Aunt Mary, whom I’ve known since I was in 5th grade. I’m now 56 years old. In researching how to make a better noodle I was directed to YouTube and discovered the next best thing since beer was created. The name of this Youtube Angel is Grandma Gina Petitti.
Grandma Gina is precious and I instantly fell in love with her. She speaks just like everyone in my buddies family and reminds me of the best of my childhood. If you are still reading this then you must go to visit Gina https://www.youtube.com/c/BuonAPetitti/videos and see for yourself.
Watch and learn to make noodles, ravioli or any other quality Italian dish you might be interested in preparing. You will learn to cook properly and have your heart warmed at the same time. She’s awesome.
You can also purchase Gina’s cookbook online as well. It’s titled, ‘Cooking With Grandma Gina’.
Grazie Nonna Gina. May the Lord God continue to bless you.
According to Buzzfeed Pasta Facts, https://www.buzzfeed.com/jesseszewczyk/pasta-facts , the average Italian eats 60 pounds of pasta a year while Americans average eating just 26 pounds per year.
“Now I’ma gunna maykeh a pasta carbonarra.” the Dude of Food. 
While visiting good friends in Munich, Munchen or Minga, depending on whom you speak with, the Dude of Food can work up an appetite as there is much need for fuel to keep a body in motion while taking in all the culturally glorious things this beautiful Bavarian city has to offer.
There are quite a few good places to eat in the Sendling area of Munich and one lunch spot that stands out to me is called Dillinger Chicago Bar & Grill on Passauer Strasse. The Dude of Food has eaten many lunches here and is always satisfied at the meals presented. The staff is friendly and efficient. The prices are reasonable. The food is made fresh and always prepared with care. The soups are always really good and prompted me to request to meet the chef of Dillinger.
The chef is a nice, interesting and caring guy named Harjit Signh. He welcomed the Dude of Food into his extremely clean and organized kitchen. In his kitchen chef Harjit was very transparent about his passion for doing food preparation right. The Dude of Food loved Harjit’s drive for making his opportunity to create quality food work out right.
Feel free to visit Dillinger’s web page http://www.dillinger-bar.de/ or email them at dillingerobersendling (at) gmail and tell them hello for me and that you heard about them at the Dude of Food web page. Veiling danke Harjit und Dillinger.
Hofmann Strasse 19
81379 Munchen
089-787-490-22
Enjoy und prost!
It seems, as the Dude of Food continues to gain weight driving around Los Angeles eating at various pizza places in search of the ‘Greatest LA Pizza’. The list has room to grow. If you make pizza and think it’s good enough to be on a top 10 Pizza’s in LA list then please hit me up and let me know when to come in.
Instagram @p3_stuff – look for the blue party cup
The Dude of Food had just left Munich. It was with a painful heart that he dragged himself away from Minga, a city that he loves. He had prepared for the long flight back to LA by staying up all night on his last visit in town before he left. He knew he had a 1 1/2 hour layover in Dusseldorf Airport’s Terminal ‘C’. Upon arrival to Gate 32 Terminal C a vision similar to an oasis housing a food mermaid revealed itself to this hungry traveler. A restaurant at the next gate (34 Terminal B) had a sign announcing food and beer that read Zigolini.
This small restaurant named Zigolini offered some good looking pastas and pizza for a reasonable price. The Dude of Food asked for a large beer. The guy next to me received a veggie pizza and that was it. I took one look and needed a pizza also. I asked for a sausage and bacon pizza. There is no exaggeration in saying that this may be one of the best pizzas ever!
The next time I flew through Dusseldorf it was a no brainer to go back. Zigolini was still there waiting for me in all her delicious glory. The only thing that was different was the sign now reads Marche. You can read more about Marche at http://www.marche-restaurants.com.
Muhamad Ali, the head chef and designer, personally told the Dude of Food that the restaurant is still called Zigolini even though the sign has changed. The receipt still reads Zigolini. Chef Ali has one of the best secret recipes ever and is a sweet guy that loves sharing with his customers. His pizzas are simply amazing and he will happily add the ingredients you may want if you don’t see the combination you like on the menu.
This pizza was better than nearly all I’ve ever had in Firenze, Rome, Germany, New York, Chicago, LA or maybe even ever! Certainly this is the Best Valued and Best Tasting Airport Food that the Dude of Food has ever encountered. If you are ever near the Dusseldorf airport and have some time to kill, the Dude of Food highly recommends that you go see for yourself about the pizza at Zigolini Italian Food and chef Muhammad Ali.
Veilen danke Muhammad Ali und Zigolini. Keep up the great work Dr. Ali.
Oktoberfest approaches again and the Dude of Food can barely wait!The original Oktoberfest celebration began as a wedding party in Munich on October 12th, 1810 when Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. All of Munich and the surrounding areas were invited to enjoy the joining of these 2 love birds. It’s been written that approximately 40,000 folks attended the party. The celebrating included a large feast, jousting and a horse race in the Sendlinger part of town at the current Oktoberfest party grounds. The wedding party lasted for many days. Everyone partied and good times were had by all.
There was entertainment at the Marienplatz, the Promenadenplatz and other spots about the city. 32,065 buns, 3,992 pounds of Swiss cheese, 400 kilos of mutton, 8,120 sausages and 13,300 pairs of smoked sausages were distributed for free. 6,125 gallons of beer and 98 gallons of Austrian white wine were also served. 150 musicians entertained the fun loving crowd.
The actual wedding took place in the Court Chapel of the Munich Residenz.
I worked for Heidi Klum for 9 years on Germany’s Next Top Model and fell in love with the awesome crew, German people and their culture overall. Oida! Ish liebe Bavaria und Germany. Vielen danke und prost.
There was a time when the Dude of Food was wandering around the streets of Barcelona with his Bavarian brother Dominic asking folks where they could find the best paella in the city and there was 1 name that kept popping up. Located on a corner in the easily accessible Barcelonetta district, sits this highly recommended restaurant named Cheriff.
Cheriff opens for dinner at 8p and there were 3 parties waiting to come in when the doors opened. Dominic and the Dude began with a bottle of local dry white wine and salads.
Both items were satisfying for both of us. When it came time to order I had a last minute change of mind and instead of ordering the normal seafood paella, I decided to try the black ink squid paella. We both asked for that dish.
The choice turned out to be a good one and the black ink paella with fresh squeezed lemon was delicious.
The Cheriff is a family run place, where mama is running the kitchen and papa is managing the finances. They are great people who make awesome food. Muchas gracias Mrs. and Mr. Cheriff.
The Dude of Food advises you to go here!
If you are staying at the Marriott hotel at the north end of the Diagonal St. you can easily walk or get off the Poblenou exit of the metro in Barcelona, like the Dude of Food did, and make your way to the cities newest quality restaurant, El Mar-Amor.
The place is newly opened, mid May 2015, and was already doing a decent morning and evening business 4 days into it. Owner, manager and great host Hamid has put together a really great place to get to know. Hamid knows how to create and entertain. His hospitality is top notch and genuine. Let me give you some examples,
“Come in. If you don’t like it you don’t pay.” I heard an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I came in and asked for a beer. They had cold Estrelle Damm on tap.
When I told him I only had 20 euros on me and the paella was going to be 18 euros he said “no problem”. “but I already spent the other 2 euros on this beer and I want to drink more” the Dude of Food replied. Again Hamid replied, “no problem” and filled my empty beer glass. He then explained that “the paella is made fresh to order and will take at least 20 minutes but is only made for 2 people. It’s 9 euros each and the chef makes it for 2 people.” “No problem” said the Dude of Food. I reached in my pocket and gave Hamid the last 20 euro bill i had in my pocket.
Hamid took my bill and smiled, “we will take care of you” and he was true to his word. Hamid’s team prepared an awesome paella for 2 and filled my beer glass 4 times. The paella was served in a giant 14″ hot dish and was devoured by the Dude as soon as it had cooled enough to eat.
Hamid and his team took great care of me again when I returned for breakfast. They made me fried eggs with ham/bacon with some fried potatoes and coffee with milk. Hamid even left his bicycle for me to borrow. They offered to stay open past their normal 12:30a close if our crew wanted to stay and drink until 2am. The hospitality of Hamid just didn’t stop. Love that guy.
Located at Carrer Jonaquera 4 in Barcelona, and only a long block from the ocean near the Poblenou metro exit, The Dude of Food returned 6 times in the next few days and tried nearly everything on the menu, all being fresh and delicious. The future is bright for this rising restaurant star and if you are in the area you need to have a meal at El Mar-Amor of Barcelona.
(the sausage is made local and is delicious with eggs)
Thank you very, very much Hamid. You’re awesome my friend.