Food news antipasto

Famed NYC chef André Soltner whose restaurant Lutèce set the standard for Manhattan fine dining, died this week at the age of 92. Lutèce was awarded four Michelin stars and was ranked as the best restaurant in the US by Zagat for six years in the 1980s. After he sold the restaurant Soltner remained activity in the culinary world, teaching classes aboard cruise ships and through the French Culinary Institute, now known as the International Culinary Center.

You might have been taught that snacking is bad for your health, but that is not necessarily the case, according to recent research. With the right kinds of snacks, you might actually be doing your body good, say the scientists who analyzed data from the nutrition app Zoe. Eating between meals can be beneficial if you choose healthy items like nuts, cottage cheese and fruit, vegetables and hummus, or hardboiled eggs. Darn, I was hoping they would say a mid-morning doughnut was actually good for me.

If your snacking also isn’t up to par and is filled with unhealthy foods, a recent article from The Independent might be helpful. It offers advice on how to cut back on ultra-processed foods. You might think you have successfully avoided them but common items fall into that category that you might not realize, like stock cubes, prepared pie crusts, commercial mayonnaise, and packaged bread. Nutritionist Delicia Bale provides these tips and her new cookbook, Unprocessed Made Easy: Quick, Healthy Family-friendly Meals goes into more detail on the subject.

We’re going for a trifecta on healthy eating with one more article, this one diving into the concept of mindful eating. You may have heard the phrase, but was does is actually mean? Mindful eating is “the practice of being fully present and attentive to the food you consume,” instead of just grabbing what’s convenient in the cupboard. Implementing this practice can set you on a path to eating better foods.

Celebrated chef Jacques Pépin is turning 90 this year, and he recently sat down for an interview with the Connecticut Examiner (the chef has called Connecticut his home for 50 years). Pépin discusses his 90 chefs/90 dinners fundraising campaign to support his foundation, his early days in the US when he befriended Julia Child, and provides insight into his upcoming cookbook.

Yesterday we posted a story about food writer Kat Thompson’s evacuations from the LA County wildfires. In addition to that story, Eater has posted several articles dealing with the intersection between the fires and the culinary industry, including one that explains which food-related brands are contributing to the relief effort for one of the most costly natural disasters every recorded. This list includes olive oil brand Graza, which in addition to contributing $10,000 to World Central Kitchen, is providing olive oil to local LA organizations that are supporting first responders and fire victims. Apron brand Hedley & Bennett and cookware brands Great Jones and HexClad, plus other companies are also providing items to those who have lost homes to the blazes.