Food news antipasto

Consumers are one step closer to getting lab-grown meat, as US regulators approved two California companies to make chicken from cultivated cells. Upside Foods and Good Meat were both vying to be the first company to get the go-ahead for lab-grown meat products. “Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.

Ina Garten is a beloved cookbook author and television presenter, followed by millions on social media. Last week her Facebook fans got a surprise, as a hacker took over her account. They changed her profile picture and posted a bunch of un-Ina-like recipes. “How you know Ina Garten’s Facebook account has been hacked: instead of being her Hamptons-dwelling, Cosmo-sipping, ‘good olive oil’ using self, she’s suddenly become your Jell-o salad-making great-aunt from Iowa who’s always posting Olive Garden copycat recipes,” joked one one of her fans. Ina was able to recover her account, and the unauthorized posts have been removed.

Sean Sherman, aka the Sioux Chef, added another prestigious award to his shelf as he was named the recipient of the 9th Annual Julia Child Award. The chef runs Owamni, a Minneapolis restaurant that was named the best restaurant in the country by the James Beard Foundation last year. The Julia Child Award comes on the heels of Sherman being named as one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of 2023 earlier this spring.

Have you noticed the trend amongst art galleries and museums of having food that is inspired by or resembles the works on display? Jelena Sofronijevic discusses this trend in a piece at The New European, and spoiler alert: she’s not a fan. Jelena shares her impressions of the menu at Tate Eats that is inspired by the exhibition featuring Piet Mondrian and Hilma af Klint, along with the broader trend of marrying art and food.

Tasting menus have long divided restaurant critics and dining patrons alike: some people enjoyed having a specific menu curated by the chef while others lamented the high price tags and long mealtimes they often demanded. While the popularity of tasting menus has waxed and waned over the past couple of decades, a slimmed-down version might just be the ticket for restaurants to come out of the doldrums. The Guardian’s Tony Naylor writes about how shorter, less expensive, and more inviting tasting menus could help restaurants through challenging times.