Food news antipasto

A group of people who are squatting in an unoccupied London building formerly occupied by a Gordon Ramsey restaurant have announced that they will remain in place despite a court order telling them to leave. The squatters, who identified themselves as the Anarchist Association London Branch, locked themselves in the York & Albany hotel and gastropub, situated just outside Regent’s Park last week. Their goal was to open a community restaurant serving free food. “It seems only fitting that £13 million properties that most locals would never be able to afford to visit should be opened up to all,” the group said.

Various recipes have the name “marry me” in their titles, ranging from chicken to tofu. The story usually goes that when the creator of the dish served it to a significant other, they received a marriage proposal. Whether any of these stories are true isn’t the point, of course. Regardless, these recipe titles don’t sit well with Eater’s Jaya Saxena, who says that “marry me” foods are “a reminder that marriage is and should be the end goal.” Saxena wonders why this is still the case when “the evidence that the institution of marriage has little to do with supporting healthy relationships.”

Here’s a mashup you didn’t know you needed (and you might still not need after seeing the photo): ‘Barbiecue’ sauce. The bright pink concoction is what happened when Heinz teamed up with Mattel to do some cross-promotion. It’s a mix of vegan mayonnaise and barbecue sauce, so it might not be that bad. But the Pepto-Bismol color in not appetizing. Heinz UK teased the Barbiecue sauce in an Instagram post last August, alongside a bottle of ‘Tomato Kenchup’. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Cooking can leave your kitchen smelling like a dream, but sometimes the odor left in appliances or on utensils is closer to a nightmare. Odd smells can occur in items such as ice cube trays, silicone bakeware, dishwashers, and cutting boards. The folks at America’s Test Kitchen have tried-and-true methods for getting rid of funky odors left behind on various items to get them smelling fresh and clean once again.

Speaking of utensils, which ones do you consider indispensable? I think a good knife, a whisk, silicone spatula, and a wooden spoon are non-negotiable. I also frequently reach for a few items that others might not view as vital. These include a mesh tea ball (it can double as a small strainer), metal binder clips (which can both clamp bags shut and be used to hold parchment in place in the oven), and a canning funnel, which makes decanting almost anything much less messy. Elizabeth Quinn has a list of unsung kitchen tools as well, which she says you will wonder what you did without once you realize their virtues.

The famous snow egg dessert from Australian restaurant Quay was a sensation for years until the dish was retired in 2018. Chef Peter Gilmore is bringing the dish back for a limited engagement during VIVID Sydney. The flavor will be crowd-sourced via social media and will be served at the Green Room at Quay from Saturday, May 25 to Saturday, June 15.

Finally, take a trip down memory lane at Saveur, which is displaying every cover of the magazine in its 30 year history. You can see the evolution of food photography by viewing the images that date back to its 1994 inception to the recent issue that went into print (No. 202) following the magazine’s hiatus. A reminder that we have indexed every issue of Saveur since #99 from Jan/Feb 2007. And if members want to index earlier editions they can add them to the Library using Member Added Books and then request to index them.