A photograph and a quote - Picnics .......

rosemary
Sep 20
7 min read

"The main principle of all outdoor eating stays the same: Logistics trump almost everything else" Yotam Ottolenghi on picnics

Originally I thought of writing about crispy chilli oil - and I will - but I started browsing through my various idea nudgers and found this photograph and the above quote, which paired nicely with it.

Now I know I have done picnics at least once before and knowing me, probably more than once, but nevertheless as spring and summer come into view, and thoughts of outside eating begin to be an actual possibility I thought I might try to find another angle to the topic.

However, as I started on this journey I was distracted by other slightly unrelated things, so it's become a sort of ramble.

The quote came from an Ottolenghi newsletter which was all about how to cook things when camping - sort of anyway - and a featured recipe - there are always two - was this Old Bay chicken and pea salad. Unfortunately this is the recipe that is not accessible unless you're a paid subscriber - and I am not, so I don't really know how it is made. However I was intrigued by Old Bay. What's that I wondered, so I decided to ramble a bit and found that it's a very famous American seasoning - mostly used for seafood.

Enter my first diversion. Old Bay is American - somehow that name has a distinctively American twang to it does it not? And yet it's sort of not American, as it was invented by the Jewish Gustav Brunn, a German spice merchant of Wertheim, who had been rounded up by the Nazis on Kristelnacht and sent to Buchenwald. His wife managed to get him released - his son says by paying a large amount of money to a lawyer - and the family then managed to escape to America.

They settled eventually in Baltimore and Gustav opened a wholesale spice business opposite the fish market.

He noticed the popularity of crab in Maryland, and decided to develop a spice mix specifically designed to enhance the crab, initially called Delicious Brand Shrimp and Crab Seasoning, but later changed to Old Bay after a passenger line which plied the waters of Chesapeake Bay, which I guess made it even more authentically 'local'. It was a great success. The company was family owned until 1985 when it was sold to Smith Corona Machines, and in 1990 the recipe was acquired by McCormick, which is mildly ironic because Gustav Brunn's first job in Baltimore had been at McCormick's where he was sacked after three days because he didn't speak English.

McCormick has expanded the Old Bay range of products - for example:

"In 2020, McCormick created Old Bay Hot Sauce in advance of the Super Bowl, which initially sold out within 30 minutes of its launch and caused the Old Bay website to crash temporarily. Some customers resold the 10-US-fluid-ounce (300 ml) bottles, retailing for $3.49, online for between $50 and $200. In 2022, the company collaborated with Pepperidge Farm to produce Old Bay-flavored Goldfish crackers. The crackers sold out online within nine hours."

The New York Times describes the mix as 'Maryland's magical fairy dust', but of course, nobody really knows what it's made of because all the label says is "celery salt, spices (including red pepper and black pepper), and paprika." Also of course, lots of people have had a red hot go. This version, as an example, of Old Bay seasoning - is from Nicole Rufus of The Kitchn. But even I would suggest that for this kind of thing, why would you bother? You wouldn't try to make your own HP sauce would you? Moreover you can buy Old Bay seasoning in Coles and Woolworths anyway.

Second diversion which is connected to the first - a 'Crabby Boh', which is National Bohemian beer where the lip of the glass or mug - or the can as shown here - being used is moistened and dipped into a container of Old Bay seasoning. And served with some crabmeat.

National Bohemian Beer (Natty Boh) - in brief - is a Maryland lager kind of beer, first brewed in 1885 by the National Brewing Company but now owned by Pabst. I'm sure there's a story there as well, but I really ought to get back to planning picnics. Suffice to say that perhaps the most distinctive thing about this beer is it's mascot - Mr. Boh whose one-eyed face appears on all of their products. And nobody seems to know why he has one eye.

So to end all of this Old Bay related stuff - a big detour - I just need to say (a) how there always seems to be an origin story about food companies - even the major, major ones and (b) how something that, in America, is inextricably linked to seafood - especially crab, has in today's global foodie world turned up on our supermarket shelves, and has been appropriated for chicken by Ottolenghi as something you can take on a picnic or a camping trip because:

"the best dishes are often the ones that improve while they sit (in a Tupperware in a cool box). This chicken salad is exactly that - better on day two, and absolutely perfect for when you need something immediate yet substantial."

"Logistics trump almost everything else" he says, and when you come to think about picnics, he's right. In more ways than one.

Because it's not just about the food is it? I mean look at that picnic on the beach at the top of the page. There's an almost tent - OK it's just a fancy tarpaulin, some sticks to hold it up, some pegs and some string, but still. There's a relatively solid base, and very solid looking cushions, and a substantial deck chair. Not to mention all the unseen cutlery, plates, glasses, cups, food and drink. Think of the planning that would go into a picnic like that. You're not going to travel on a bus are you?

Obviously my opening photo is also not a 'real' picnic - it's a photo shoot advertising something I guess - but nevertheless you do see people on beaches here with a similar amount of equipment. I think this is an ad as well, so not quite real, but nevertheless relatively simple. Other than that you need to pack it, set it all up, take it down and pack it back into the car. Bean bags - they don't collapse all that much and never mind the problem with sand if you are picnicking on the beach. Somehow it just gets into everything. This kind of shelter is increasingly common on Australian beaches.

Of course you could do without any kind of shelter, and just use a blanket - even more problem with sand here, and what about the seagulls or the encroaching tide if you've picked your spot without thinking that through?

So yes, even the simplest picnics require a lot of planning. Something to sit on, something to pack all the food into, something to eat it with and from, somewhere to park the car ... Maybe it's all so difficult that here in Australia we tend to gather in parks instead where there are barbecues and tables to use for free. If you manage to grab one! Beaches have them as well - or rather they tend to be on the foreshore overlooking the beach which does eliminate the sand - and usually the shade problem.

Or you can pay someone to do it all for you. Many years ago now our family gave us the gift of a picnic in the Montalto vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula. And if you want to lash out on a bit of luxury this is the way to go. You get your own private spot, a bottle of wine, a three-course meal and a free tasting of their wines beforehand. It was a memorable experience - no clearing up or setting up either. And sculptures in the ground to observe.

Perhaps the best picnic we have actually had, catered for by ourselves, was the one after my son's wedding in one of Melbourne's beautiful parks - Treasury Gardens. It was just the immediate family from both sides - which included all but one of our grandchildren - the last was not yet born - and we only had blankets to sit on. Of course the food had been carefully chosen and prepared - I can't quite remember what it all was now, but yes indeed logistics were important, of which the most important factor was where to park the cars - nearby enough to not require carrying a heavy esky and various other equipment, a long way, and with a long enough parking time to ensure that we didn't have to keep moving the cars. Not to mention who was going to bring what and carry it to the destination as well. There are photographs but I cannot find them alas.

And then, when looking for a famous picnic painting with which to conclude I found on the Christie's website a selection of ten including a photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson Sunday on the Banks of the Marne, Paris, 1936-8 which I love, and which reminded me of a picnic I had in Paris with my exchange friend Simone, who took the photograph of me, with her parents on the left, and her aunt and uncle on the right - also in Paris. Blurry but evocative. Not much equipment there - a basket or two and a blanket or something - maybe a tablecloth - to sit on. Not much equipment for Cartier-Bresson's subjects either. Maybe these are the perfect picnics.