Food news antipasto

This week was filled to the brim with news about the food and publishing industries. We’ll start with the news of Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport resigning after a photo of him in brownface surfaced, and amidst allegations of discriminatory treatment of BA staff. The undated photo shows Rapoport wearing what appears to be a racist costume to a party. One of the magazine’s editors also alleges that people of color were not paid for video appearances on Bon Appétit’s popular Test Kitchen series although their white colleagues were. (The magazine denies those claims.) In an Instagram post, Rapoport said “I am stepping down as editor in chief of Bon Appétit to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and to allow Bon Appétit to get to a better place.” 

In a decidedly different type of affair that also resulted in someone stepping down from his role, it appears there is a food nexus in the “sugar daddy” scandal of Australian MP Andrew Broad. Broad allegedly used a “sugar baby” dating website to meet at least one young woman during the Asia Fruit Logistica convention held in Hong Kong. The Victorian federal Nationals MP will not contest the next election.

We’ve previously reported on the growth in online events for cookbook and kitchen stores, and now there’s another one to add to the list. NYC cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters is expanding their online offerings by starting a baking club. In connection with the 92nd St. Y, KAL is featuring four cookbooks, Cookies Are Magic by Maida Heatter, Posh Tarts by Phillippa Spence, Beatrix Bakes by Natalie Paull, and Dappled by Nicole Rucker. The online classes are led by KAL staffer Laura Jackson. She will provide context, tips, and tricks for aspiring home bakers from her perspective as a former restaurant pastry chef.  The fee for the classes includes all four cookbooks.

We’re just a few days away from Juneteenth, the holiday that remembers the day — June 19, 1865 — when enslaved Africans in Texas were told by Union soldiers that they were free. Considered by many as African Americans’ independence day, the day is celebrated across the United States and as is the case with many holidays, those gatherings include a lot of food. This year’s Juneteenth comes at a fraught time, with protests about police brutality coming on the heels of a pandemic that has hit African American communities hard. Despite the upheaval and uncertainty, millions will still celebrate this symbolic date. The New York Times interviewed several black chefs on how this Juneteenth will be different than previous celebrations.

Food & Wine magazine looked at a segment of the food industry that hasn’t received much press during the pandemic: the role of social media influencers on restaurants. Even before stay-at-home orders shuttered eateries around the world, starting and running a successful restaurant was challenging, and many cash-poor restaurateurs turned to influencers to get people through the doors. The F&W article ponders what role, if any, these people will have in the post-COVID restaurant world.

The University of Minnesota is located near the epicenter of the demonstrations and protests against the unjust killing of George Floyd. In response to the community’s search for answers, the publishing arm of the university has uploaded 22 books on racial justice from its catalog. These books are free to read online. One book that is likely to be of particular interest to EYB Members is Food Justice Now! Deepening the Roots of Social Struggle by Joshua Sbicca.

Food fraud is nothing new – counterfeit truffles, mislabeled seafood, adulterated olive oil, the list goes on – and scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Many food companies are turning to technology to combat this fraud, which economists say can cost companies from 2 to 15 per cent of annual revenue, says Professor Andy Lowe. He reports on the high tech race to win the food fraud fight.

At KCRW in Los Angeles, cookbook author and journalist Evan Kleiman revisits the 2014 controversy surrounding the bloggers behind the cookbook Thug Kitchen. In the podcast, Kleiman talks with Bryant Terry (author of highly-lauded cookbooks including Vegetable Kingdom), who wrote a CNN op-ed in 2014 about the cultural appropriation of Thug Kitchen’s authors. Together Kleiman and Terry explore this issue and problems with food publishing that continue today. In an Instagram post yesterday, Terry announced that the duo behind Thug Kitchen are changing the name of their blog.

Summertime in the US means state fairs – or at least it did until this year. Several have been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns, including the second-largest one, held in Minnesota. (Texas has the biggest state fair and as of now it is still scheduled to go forward.) Fair goers may have to miss out on the concerts, exhibit halls, and carnival rides, but they won’t have to skip the food. Many of the Minnesota State Fair’s food vendors plan to set up stands in parking lots across Wisconsin and Minnesota this summer. “Summer on a stick” (like the Corn dogs from Food Network pictured above) might be coming to a parking lot near you.

If you’ve ever been to an Asian supermarket and marveled at the huge variety of soy sauces available, you’ll be interested in an article by Palisa Anderson in which she explores the differences between different types of soy sauce, and which applications are appropriate for each type. Anderson looks at regional variations, focusing on Japanese, Chinese, and southeast Asian soy-based sauces.

The Smithsonian published a fascinating podcast about Lena Richards, who the museum has dubbed “America’s Unknown Celebrity Chef.” Richards beat Julia Child to the television screen by over a decade. During a period when African American cooks were not promoted or celebrated, Richard “claimed her place as a culinary authority, broadcasting in the living rooms of New Orleans’s elite white families.” The podcast explores Richards’ many achievements as entrepreneur, educator, and author.

Has the pandemic motivated you to start a garden? Judging from my social media feeds, interest in gardening has surged in recent months. Even if you haven’t planted a huge plot full of vegetables, you might have tried your hand at raising herbs in pots. If so, you may want to check out a post at the website Garden Mentor that provides a troubleshooting guide to raising indoor herbs.