Richard Blais says cooking with canned soup is the perfect way to explore new recipes and cultures with your family. (Photos: Getty)
With record-breaking inflation and talk of a future recession dominating headlines, it’s not uncommon for families to be on the hunt for ways to save a bit of money on their monthly grocery bills. Enter canned soup, an ingredient Top Chefs alum Richard Blais says is a perfect way to streamline dinnertime “for a reasonable price per person.”
“I don’t have any recession tips except that we’re all in the same situation together,” Blais tells Yahoo Life. “I just came back from overseas and it’s a global thing. [With canned soup]you can cook restaurant-quality meals at home and you can do it within a budget.”
Canned soups are for more than casseroles
“I put some cream of chicken soup in some mulligatawny soup last night and it was amazing,” says Blais. “I made a French onion soup quesadilla the other day. I made beans on toast and used tomato soup in the beans, so using the soup as a shortcut to get you restaurant-quality meals has been a lot of fun.”
Blais spoke with Yahoo Life as part of his recent partnership with Campbell’s, where he’s sharing canned soup-based recipes through the Yes Chef campaign. From a cauliflower curry with cream of celery soup to rigatoni alla vodka made with classic condensed tomato soup, Blais says coming up with each recipe in the campaign was a great time not only for himself, but also for his family.
“Outside of the recipes that I did [for Campbell’s]I made three dishes this week that are unrelated to those recipes,” he says. “I think a lot of times chefs get that rap of Oh, I’m sure when he’s home he’s shaving truffles on foie gras and eating caviarbut no: I have a family that’s busy and we’ve gotta get food on the table but we also want it to be delicious and we want to explore culture through it, because you can travel the world with food.”
Use canned soup for kitchen shortcuts
“Instead of a roux — pulling out the flour and the butter and spending 30 minutes — two spoons of cream of chicken is going to do the same thing that the roux would do,” says Blais. “It’s an ultimate shortcut when it comes to technique and flavor.”
“Sometimes when you are tasked with a challenge you wonder if you’re going to revamp the recipes you’ve always done or if there’s going to be inspiration that comes in the moment,” he continues. “For me, there were a couple of moments, like using cream of mushroom inside of an omelet — to make a creamy omelette with the soup — that were like a lightbulb moment. It was real inspiration. Braising pork in French onion soup was another moment like that.”
Travel the world from your kitchen … with soup
From Thailand to New Orleans, Blais says each of the 10 recipes he developed for Campbell’s were designed to highlight a different part of the world.
“Especially with my kids, during these times, maybe we can’t take a family trip somewhere but every day we can make a dish and talk about a place,” he says. “It’s such a great way to open up a conversation both about food and where that food is from.”
So does he have a favorite variety of canned soup? Although it’s “tough to pick a favorite,” there is one that stands out.
“The tostada recipe was with Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup, a product I wasn’t familiar with before the campaign,” he added. “It’s got this creamy cheesy texture and obviously it’s perfect for these tostadas that we made. Even as a drizzly cheese sauce over nachos? What a great utilization of that product. I love cheesy sauces and I love cheese. It’s a perfect element that gets people want to eat something.”
Blais recently announced plans to open California English, his newest concept restaurant, in San Diego, Calif. Last year, he opened Four Flamingos, a Florida-style restaurant in Orlando. The 50-year-old chef also just wrapped filming Season 2 of Next LevelChefthe cooking competition he hosts with fellow chefs Nyesha Arrington and Gordon Ramsay.
While Season 2 of Next LevelChef is set to air immediately following the Super Bowl on Fox, Blais says he’s also busy mentoring the Season 1 winner, Pyet DeSpain. “We went into Season 1 and didn’t quite know what was going to be like, but Pyet has made it easy because she’s fabulous,” he says. “It’s been inspiring for me and I hope Pyet’s enjoyed it as well — she’s just got a great story and her food is fantastic.”
Rising labor and commodity costs put a squeeze on restaurants in 2022.
These headwinds forced restaurants to adopt new technologies to thrive and survive.
Insider’s 2022 foodtech power players are helping restaurants elevate their digital business.
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The foodtech sector grew at a fast clip in the pandemic’s first year as restaurants turned to online-ordering tools, virtual brands, and ghost kitchens to reach consumers. But sunny skies turned stormy in 2022 as the restaurant industry faced headwinds tied to market volatility, a labor shortage, and record inflation.
Ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and online-ordering startups are now morphing to survive and stay relevant post-lockdown. Restaurant operators are looking for tech that improves profits through voice-ordering bots, kitchen automation, and tech that cracks the code of navigating third-party-delivery fees.
“The rising costs of supplies, labor, and rent, have put a squeeze on the food service industry’s already slim profit margins,” CB Insights wrote in a September industry report. “With these challenges, investing in solutions that can boost profit and increase efficiency is more important than ever.”
Insider’s 2022 list spotlights foodtech leaders who are helping restaurants take their digital business to the next level as they face a looming recession. They are working behind the scenes to help some of the industry’s most iconic companies, brands, and hospitality legends — such as José Andrés, Danny Meyer, Chipotle, Popeyes, DoorDash, Wendy’s, and Arby’s.
Like with last year’s inaugural list, Insider’s retail team selected winners based on nominations and our deep reporting on the sector. The editorial team focused on new nominees this year, so the list contains no repeats from the inaugural 2021 list, with the exception of two power players – authors Carl Orsbourn and Meredith Sandland. Both are being recognized this year for their roles in leading two separate tech endeavors.
Project hosts clash over the right of ‘boring’ employees to skip out on work drinks after a worker was sacked for not taking part in ‘fun’ office activities: ‘We should be paid!’
A French man was sacked for refusing to attend ‘fun’ work functions like drinks
He then took his employer to court and ‘won the right to be boring’
The Project panel was divided over the issue of compulsory work cocktails
By Brett Lackey For Daily Mail Australia
Published: | Updated:
The hosts of The Project have butted heads over the etiquette of attending after-work social functions and whether employees are still on the clock.
The debate on Sunday night’s program was sparked after a segment discussing a French citizen who took his employer to court after he was sacked for not taking part in ‘fun’ office activities.
A Paris court ruled the man, known only as ‘Mr T’, was within his rights to refuse invites to after-hours events including weekend drinks and he was rewarded $5,000 in compensation, though he also intended to sue.
The man’s mini-uprising caused The Project’s Hamish MacDonald to label him ‘an absolute bore’ but other panelists weren’t so quick to agree.
Hamish MacDonald (left) was all for the work drink tradition but Rachel Corbett (right) said they should be avoided at all costs
poll
Should careers hinge on work social functions?
Yes, it’s all part of the job don’t be boring5 votes
No way, keep work and social life separate203 votes
“It’s a win for those of us who don’t want to do these kinds of things…the drinks and the parties they’re just not my jam,” co-host Rachel Corbett said.
‘Yes they are… I’ve been to one of these things with you and you made us drive there in convoy,’ MacDonald said.
‘Only because then I make everyone get to the door at exactly the same time so I don’t have to go into the thing alone,’ Corbett fired back.
Celebrity Letters and Numbers hosted and occasional Project panelist Michael Hing then argued it was his ‘firm belief that work drinks count as work’.
‘We should be paid… It’s a labor-relations issue for me,’ Hing said.
‘If bosses think there is some team bonding experience that can happen at work drinks they should pay you and it should happen during lunch.’
The debate was sparked after a French national ‘won the right to be boring’ after he took his employer to court to fire him when he wouldn’t attend work drinks (stock image)
