Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 29 > Entry
Scent-centric dinner aids library group
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A critic from The New York Times was busy nosing around Decatur’s Sage on Sycamore restaurant Thursday night but executive chef Wayne Hamilton wasn’t breaking a sweat.
Hamilton was even a collaborator in arranging the evening.
The six-course, $200-per person scent-centric dinner, a benefit for the DeKalb Library Foundation, was hosted by New York Times perfume critic Chandler Burr. The journalist is in town to conduct primers on gourmand perfumes.
“When we think about perfumes, most of us, for some reason, just think about it in terms of florals and woods,” Burr told Buzz Thursday. “But real food that we consume is a huge source of raw materials for perfume.”
Elements of pink peppercorns, for example, are utilized in Pleasures by Estee Lauder.
On his job as Scent Notes columnist for the Times, Burr allows: “It’s an extremely strange job.”
As far as Burr knows, he and biophysicist Luca Turin hold the world’s only two jobs as professional perfume critics.
But he says the fundamentals of perfume criticism are similar to any other arts critic’s job description.
“Perfume is a work of art just like a composition by Bach or a dish by Mario Batali,” explains Burr.
And NYT readers are no less ruthless when they disagree with a less-than-aromatic perfume review.
Take Burr’s recent assessment of Un Jardin Apres la Mousson by Hermes. Burr called it “a failure on every level … the olfactory equivalent of corn syrup.”
One online reader sniffed in response: “Perfume-making is not to be dissected like this. If you don’t like it, leave it at that. This reads like someone with his knickers in a twist.”
“You do have to endure some of the most stupid comments you’ve ever heard in your life,” Burr says laughing. “Essentially, I was just doing my job.”
Friday night and Saturday night at Sage, curious diners who missed Thursday’s Scent & Savor dinner can order a four-course version of it for $30 per person.
Burr will lecture and sign copies of his new book, “The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York” Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at the AJC Decatur Book Festival.
For more info: decaturbookfestival.com. To donate to the DeKalb Library Foundation: www.dekalblibrary.org/support/.
‘RAISING THE BAR’ ON TOLLS
The fictional lawyers of Steven Bochco’s new TNT drama, “Raising the Bar,” are offering you a little, well, financial incentive to tune into the new series Labor Day night at 10.
And let’s just say, if an actual attorney tried this, he or she might be staring at disbarment.
Commuters who hit Ga. 400 today, in either the north- or south-bound lanes between 4 and 6 p.m., will have their tolls paid for them, courtesy of the Atlanta-based cable network.
“With so many people on the roads Labor Day weekend, it’s a perfect time to get our message out about the premiere of this outstanding new drama series,” says Tricia Melton, senior vice president of marketing for TNT. “We are literally raising the bar by paying tolls on Labor Day weekend.”
We’re told that drivers will be greeted at the toll plaza with TNT signs informing them about who paid their toll. And yes, the toll bars will be automatically raised for the two-hour stunt …
SUNDAY NIGHT ‘TAKEOVER’
NBA fans will want to be in the house Sunday night at Opera nightclub in Midtown for the NBA Takeover. The Labor Day Eve bash will be hosted by Seattle Supersonics Damien Wilkins, Kevin Durant, Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson, Boston Celtic Ray Allen, Atlanta Hawk Acie Law, Orlando Magic man Rashard Lewis, 76er Royal Ivey and Indiana Pacer Jarret Jack. Oh, and organizers are promising a surprise appearance by “The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time,” which, the last time we checked, was one Michael Jordan. But again, no exact names are being bandied about. Buyer beware. Tickets: $40 and $15. Info: www.nbatakeover.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor-director Richard Attenborough is 85. Movie director William Friedkin is 73. Actor Elliott Gould is 70. Singer Michael Jackson is 50. Actress Rebecca De Mornay is 46. Bassist-singer Me’Shell NdegeOcello is 39. Guitarist Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty is 33. Actor John Hensley (“Nip/Tuck”) is 31. Bassist David Desrosiers of Simple Plan is 28.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Flags were waving and people shouting. It looked as if we had the whole city rocking. I hadn’t planned to start a revival meeting. They said later my singing seemed to bounce off the dome of the Capitol far down the Mall. I’ve always hoped it reached inside to where some of those congressmen were sitting!”
Late gospel great Mahalia Jackson reflecting in her 1966 autobiography on singing “I Been Buked” prior to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington 45 years ago Thursday.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Comments