Our tour began in the Globe Lobby of the Los Angeles Times, aptly named for the 5½ foot diameter globe slowly spinning in the center of the lobby. On the floor is a marble mosaic compass with 13 types of marble from all over the world. Hugo Ballin’s 10 foot high murals soar overhead. They are original to the 1935 building, and rediscovered during the 1990 renovations of the lobby. Ballin also painted the murals for Griffith Observatory (reopened on 11/3/06 after its 5 year renovation), and many other public buildings in Southern California. These depict Los Angeles: Native Indians, the early missions, orange groves, and the movie industry. The lobby is undergoing another facelift for the 125th anniversary of the newspaper.
Darrell Kunitomi, LA Times Public Affairs representative, was our official guide. Once we left the lobby the Times looked much like any other downtown LA office building: Cubicles, computer monitors, worn carpet, people eating at their desks, and stacks of paper and books. The notable exception is the artwork lining the hallways. Most offices favor nondescript art that might have been purchased for less than one can buy a frame at an Aaron Brothers sale, not here. The artwork here consists of framed pieces highlighting the many Pulitzer Prize Winners, memorable photographs and stories from the pages of The Times (very interesting, and not at all like any other office). I could share some of the comments by Darrell about the paper: why the number of subscribers is down, the politically correct “style book” each editor must refer to, or how “balanced” their editorials are – but today’s focus is the Food Section of the paper, not politics.
With us on today’s tour is Rose Dosti. Rose is our teacher for a course titled “Foods Around the World”. She was with The Times for over 30 years, well known for her Dear S.O.S. column and many articles and cookbooks. Based on the warmth shown her by current employees I’d say she is still missed. Most tours of the Times include a walk past the Test Kitchen. We got to spend time inside this wonderful space and ask questions of Donna Deane, Test Kitchen Director and Times Staff Writer.
The Test Kitchen is divided into separate work spaces. There are two working kitchens: one traditional with dark cherry cabinetry and granite, the other modern in birch with a black granite composite counter. The rest of the space holds the pantry, storage for the many props for food photographs, staging areas, a computer work station, and everything else you might need. The Test Kitchen does not use commercial/professional equipment. The goal according to Donna Deane was “for the home cook to be able to replicate every recipe in the LA Times”. They were able to get everything on their wish list for this kitchen. I noted that the ovens were electric and the cooktops gas. When asked, Donna stated that there is no discernable difference between gas and electric cooking with today’s cooktop technology. However, she did not recommend their electric built-in grill (not enough control). One of the kitchen areas also had a large marble inset for pastry work. I would call this a Dream Kitchen rather than Test Kitchen. While every recipe printed in the Times is tested, they didn’t always have such a grand space. In fact, they didn’t always have a kitchen. When Rose started with the LA Times in 1964 she would test recipes at home and bring in her results. Then there was “The Turkey” story. Apparently the budget for the Food Department was so low that the same turkey was used year after year. Once the Thanksgiving article went to press the old bird would be thrown back into the freezer for another year. Finally, Rose felt she could no longer hide the wear and tear and years of abuse, she threw the dear thing into the trash (after that year’s Thanksgiving photo of course). When it was discovered that “something” was missing from the freezer, for it had been there for years, Rose was questioned. After confessing to her crime she was told to replace the turkey (out of her own pocket!), she did. We were pleased to hear that they now buy fresh turkeys each year for their Thanksgiving articles – this year there are to be four.
We all noticed a sign on the counter that read “No Touch No Way” – of course we could not let that go without explanation. One day, after several attempts to bake a pie that looked as good as it tasted, they finally had one to be photographed. The kitchen crew took a well deserved break prior to transferring the pie to the photo studio. Upon returning they discovered a huge slice had been taken out! The mystery didn’t take long to solve as Charles Perry still had a smile on his lips, as well as crumbs. “What are you doing? That was to be photographed!” exclaimed Donna, to which Charles replied, “How was I to know?, There was no sign.” The next day he gave Donna a present, several signs to protect future delectable foods from the same fate as the pie. I could use those myself!
Charles shared his upcoming story on LA barbeque, the way it was done 100 years ago. It not only sounded like great fun to have participated in, but great fun to research. It was obvious that Charles really enjoys telling his tales, I for one enjoyed listening. Each person we encountered seemed to truly love their work and was gracious in sharing with us.
Table Talk 