Food news antipasto

It’s almost physically impossible for me not to click on a social media post that touts a great new ‘kitchen hack’ video on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. Apparently I am not alone, as many of these posts go viral and get millions of clicks. However, some of them turn out to be duds, and a great number of them are not even meant to work, according to a recent BBC News video. According to food scientist Ann Reardon, many of these videos are the “fake news” of the baking world, and explains why people post them in the first place. Reardon tries many of these recipes on her YouTube channel, with hilarious results.

Most people associate The French Laundry in Yountville, California with Thomas Keller. The restaurant’s story begins nearly twenty years earlier, however. That is when Sally and Don Schmitt turned the former steam laundry, originally built as a saloon, into a space that combined French aesthetic with California produce. You can learn more about the Schmitts, and how they helped shape California’s restaurant scene, over at the L.A. Times Food section.

Samin Nosrat said there is not going to be a second season of her smash Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and it’s going to be some time before her next cookbook comes out. If you are one of those who is eagerly awaiting her next volume, head over to The New Yorker. Helen Rosner recently interviewed Nosrat on coming to terms with fame, veganism, failure, and a host of other topics – including hints about her upcoming book.

We are saddened to report that Barbara “B.” Smith, model turned restaurateur and lifestyle guru, has died at the age of 70 due to complications from early-onset Alzheimer’s. After being diagnosed with the disease in 2013, Smith closed her restaurants and became an advocate for those with Alzheimer’s, penning a book with her husband and caregiver Don Gatsby titled “Before I Forget.”