Food news antipasto

As we become immersed in the new season of the Great British Bake Off, it’s tempting to do armchair quarterbacking on strategies or ideas the contestants have chosen. It is easy to opine from the comfort of our living room, but a former contestant on the US version of the show reminds us that baking in that iconic tent is quite a bit different than baking in a home kitchen. Martin Sorge, the winner of last season’s Great American Baking Show, takes us behind the scenes to explain what it is like baking for Paul and Prue.

Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book, released in 1987, remains one of my favorite cookbooks and is probably a “desert island” book for me. The waffle recipes are terrific, but there are plenty of other great dishes for the morning meal inside this unassuming title. Eater’s Aimee Levitt provides an excellent review of this classic tome, adding some insights about the author’s upbringing and her unlikely ascent to culinary stardom.

When the UK café chain Patisserie Valerie abruptly closed 70 stores in October 2018 due to financial irregularities, it came as a shock to customers and employees alike. This week four people including Christopher Marsh, 49, a former director of Patisserie Holdings, the company behind Patisserie Valerie, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh, 55, appeared on charges brought by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in connection with the company’s collapse.

The number of people who identify as vegetarian has been growing in the past few decades, although it’s still a minority of the population in most Western countries. Some people try to maintain a meat-free diet but can’t make the transition to become fully vegetarian. A recent study indicates that for those who find it difficult to eliminate meat, their genetic makeup may play a role. “It seems there are more people who would like to be vegetarian than actually are, and we think it’s because there is something hard-wired here that people may be missing,” study co-author Nabeel Yaseen said. The study identified three genes linked with vegetarianism and 31 more that are potentially associated.

Autumn’s familiar flavors center around apples and pumpkin spice, but that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to what people enjoy eating during this season. Gastro Obscura found some offbeat and lesser known fall treats and entertains us with maple leaf tempura and Jersey black butter, and a unique white wine.