Our Favorite Food Stories From The Week
Our favorite food stories from the week
Hunker down for the long (and potentially frigid, depending on where you live) weekend with some of the best food articles from the week. Here are eight of our favorites:
Grub Street's interview with Johnathan Adler, the longtime chef at Franny's in Brooklyn who is leaving to work at Blue Apron, sheds light on the trials of having a family while working in the kitchen, the grueling demands of the job and the expectations of new chefs, and the power of 24/7 media scrutiny. The unforgiving life of a restaurant chef in today's world isn't news, but Adler's firsthand account is another example of chefs turning to new opportunities outside the traditional restaurant space.
In a deeper dive on insatiable internet culture and how it affects the food industry, Thrillist's Kevin Alexander traces the rise and fall of Huy Fong Sriracha, which was "uniquely positioned to be embraced (or hijacked, or appropriated, depending on your point of view) by the growing hipster foodie culture."
Speaking of co-opting trends, in the New York Times' "Winter Tomatoes Are Deliciously Out of Season," Dirt Candy's Amanda Cohen shares her aversion to the words "seasonal and local"—particularly how they "slam the door" on those without access to local produce. "People will embrace vegetables if they're fun and inclusive, not complicated and exclusive."
Lucky Peach's "This Is Your Brain on Faux Foods," by Noah Charney, explores our draw to deception ("Both pleasant and averse stimuli can elicit arousal and attention, and their salience and intensity increases when they occur by surprise.") and how chefs can be the "culinary magicians" to meet this desire.
In more a succinct and straightforward look at presentation, Tom Sietsema in the Washington Post points out that "the lesson is not that you have to have a gimmick, but rather that one of the simplest ways to make a dish sparkle is to give it a distinctive frame." Whether it's a cast-iron skillet or handcrafted pottery, "In restaurants of every stripe, the medium has become the message."
In Eater's "Hot Sauce in Her Bag," writer Mikki Kendall describes the powerful messages in Beyoncé's new song and social anthem, "Formation." When Queen Bey sings, "I got hot sauce in my bag. Swag," it's more symbolic than what may meet the ear. It's "a reference to a cultural connection, one that spans the diaspora of Black American identity." This poignant post reminds us of the uniting potential of music and food, and the need for it.
Vox answers a question we've always wondered in Julia Belluz's article, "Why Fruits and Vegetables Taste Better in Europe." Yes, America is "raising a whole generation of people who don't know what a tomato is supposed to taste like."
Finally, however you feel about Valentine's Day, thinking about it from the perspective of chefs, servers and restaurant owners may put the holiday in a whole new light. Munchies spoke to Sarah Obraitis and Hugue Dufour, owners of M. Wells Steakhouse and M. Wells Dinette, to find out "How to Survive Running a Restaurant When Your Life Partner Is Your Business Partner."
Find Franny's here, or in our DINE app.
Find Dirt Candy here, or in our DINE app.