Food news antipasto

I found a lot of interesting tidbits this week, so let’s just dive right in. First up is an edited excerpt in The Washington Post from a new book (not a cookbook) called Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright. In the Wapo excerpt, Albright discusses how eating with others nourishes us in more ways than one. (Gift link; no subscription required.)

Earlier this week we reported on vegetable shortages in the UK, but that isn’t the only worrying trend there. Food costs are also an ongoing concern, as prices have shot up on a variety of items, included dried pasta. The Independent explains that the cost of pasta has doubled in just two years, putting a pinch on shoppers’ budgets.

Good Food (Aus) recently made an announcement that big changes would be coming soon. In a few weeks, the site is going to be integrated into The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday websites. Good Food promises that the change “will make finding recipe inspiration, cooking tips and restaurant reviews easier than ever before.”

One of the UK’s only black female-owned members’ clubs will host two culinary events on the eve of International Women’s Day next month. On March 7, Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond will host an afternoon panel discussion. Following this event, a supper club hosted by chefs from top restaurants will take place, celebrating each chef’s cooking style.

There are few things I enjoy more than a drizzle of dark, rich, pure maple syrup on a stack of fluffy diner-style pancakes. This treat is probably going to get more expensive in coming years as climate change wreaks havoc on the sap flow of maple trees. This year, producers had to start the taps a full month early, and experts predict this will occur more frequently as global temperatures continue to rise. The sugar percentage of the sap has been lower as well, often leading to reduced supplies and subsequent price hikes.

The Splendid Table’s Francis Lam has a fascinating discussion this week with BBC food journalist Dan Saladino, who joined Lam to talk about his award-winning 2021 book Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them. According to the Lam, the book is “a treasure trove of stories about dozens of foods, plants, animals, and culinary traditions, that are on the verge of being lost.”

Amidst all of the heated discussion about the health and environmental concerns regarding gas stoves, a different but nonetheless pressing issue was overlooked: the increasing cost of natural gas and propane. The LA Times reports on the shockingly high gas bills that restaurants are facing, which is quickly becoming an existential crises for these small businesses.

Fans of the STARZ series Party Down, which follows a hapless catering crew in the Los Angeles area, were happy to hear that a new season of the comedy is now available on the streaming service. The original program aired in 2009, and the new series picks up on the crew over 10 years later. According to Eater, the reboot “serves up unflinching hospitality industry humor,” as sharp and bleak as ever.