The enduring appeal of cookbooks

February 3, 2023 by
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This will come as no surprise to our Members, but the popularity of cookbooks shows no signs of slowing down. It's one bright spot in the struggling print publishing industry, with consistent sales of several million volumes annually (about 20 million cookbooks are sold in the US each year). Why do cookbooks buck the trend to digital? Because they are… read more

Just give it a rest

February 2, 2023 by
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Whether it's a need to shorten meal prep due to physical limitations, hectic work schedules, or just to avoid spending all day in the kitchen, people often look for ways to minimize the time spent in preparing foods. One of the biggest lessons I've learned in my quest to reduce kitchen time due to a medical issue is that time… read more

Is this the next kitchen fashion?

January 30, 2023 by
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A few years ago, we asked EYB Members if they wore aprons while cooking, and many responded with a resounding yes. The latest sartorial suggestion from Epicurious might not get as many people replying in the same way, however. Wilder Davis recently posited that wearing a jumpsuit in the kitchen is even better than wearing an apron. Davis suggests that… read more

Food news antipasto

January 29, 2023 by
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carton of eggs
After three years of having only virtual events, Michelin will launch its 2023 guide for Great Britain and Ireland at an in-person celebration on 27 March 2023. The ceremony will be held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northampton. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides said: "After two years without being able to organise a physical event in Great… read more

Keeping it real

January 28, 2023 by
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I've seen a lot of promoted posts in recent days informing me that I could write blog content faster and easier by using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools. While it was tempting to see what the automated system would gin up with only a slight prompt, I didn't want to give my information to these companies nor do I want… read more

JBF announces 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists

January 26, 2023 by
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Yesterday the James Beard Foundation announced its slate of semifinalists for the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards. Nominees will be announced on March 29, with the winners feted at a gala event in Chicago on June 5. (The cookbook award winners will be announced on June 3.) If you live in the US, chances are you within driving distance of… read more

Pastry chefs find a new home – at home

January 24, 2023 by
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Even before Covid-19 hit, US restaurants were undergoing change. One of the most notable shifts was in the dessert menu, or perhaps more accurately, the lack of such in many locations. Pastry chef jobs were on the decline, and the number of retail bakeries was likewise dwindling. Then the pandemic significantly disrupted restaurants even further. Despite these setbacks, a growing… read more

Food news antipasto

January 22, 2023 by
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Vox Media, the parent company of a string of websites including Eater and Grub Street, recently laid off 130 employees (seven percent of its workforce). One of those getting the ax was Eater senior correspondent Meghan McCarron, whose work we have linked to many times. Jim Bankoff informed employees of the cuts in a memo Friday, citing “the challenging economic… read more

Dishes to celebrate the lunar new year

January 21, 2023 by
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The Lunar New Year falls on January 22 this year, and ushers in the Chinese New Year as well as celebrations in other Asian countries including Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The holiday begins on the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. For Chinese celebrants, 2023 heralds… read more

Tips for being vegan in 2023

January 19, 2023 by
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The number of people embracing vegan or vegan-adjacent diets continues to grow. Whether you are participating in Veganuary, are moving toward being vegan, or just want to eat more plant-based meals, Tasting Table has an article that might interest you. They have assembled their top 15 tips for being vegan, and these tips go beyond merely substituting tofu for meat.… read more

How DIY are you?

January 17, 2023 by
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It stands to reason that people who are cookbook lovers have at least a modicum do-it-yourself tendency, because few things in this modern era are more DIY than cooking foods from scratch. We've discussed this before in the context of making your own pantry staples like ketchup or mayonnaise, but for some the DIY concept goes even farther. For instance,… read more

Food news antipasto

January 15, 2023 by
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Finally, a piece of good news we can pass along regarding restaurants: menu prices slowed substantially in December. While year-over-year numbers had climbed about 8.3%, the monthly figure was down to a range of .1% to .4% depending on the type of eatery. Inflation as a whole slowed too, giving hope that the relentless prices increases we have been experiencing… read more

Best practices vs. reality

January 14, 2023 by
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As I made a chocolate Bundt cake today for a friend's birthday (the Chocolate ganache bundt cake from Zoë Bakes Cakes), I couldn't help but think of how many ways I was not adhering to best practices when baking. According to the experts, you shouldn't separate eggs using the shells (I did), and you should crack each into a separate… read more

Gas stoves aren’t going anywhere soon

January 12, 2023 by
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If you live in the United States, you might have seen a lot of posts about gas stoves in the past few days. That's because a commissioner with the U.S. Product Safety Commission, Richard Trumka Jr., mentioned them as a potential health hazard in an interview he gave a few days ago. He suggested that one day they might be… read more

René Redzepi is closing Noma

January 10, 2023 by
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Award-winning restaurant Noma, which sat atop the list of World's 50 Best five times since its debut nearly 20 years ago, is slated to close at the end of 2024, according to a statement posted on the restaurant's website. But the restaurant, its pioneering owner, and unique team of fermenting researchers and avantgarde chefs, are not disappearing altogether. Rather, they… read more

Food news antipasto

January 8, 2023 by
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Sometimes it is easy to identify when a food has passed its ideal ripeness and has become a food safety concern as the food gets dried out, moldy, or has other telltale signs of spoilage. For some items it isn't that easy - take pickles for example. How can you tell if your pickles are going bad? Epicurious has the… read more

Celebrity chefs take branding to the next level

January 7, 2023 by
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Celebrity chefs and lifestyle gurus like Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray have created vast empires of branded products that include cookware and food products sold at various retailers ranging from K-Mart to Williams-Sonoma. More recently, this concept has expanded to include entire stores dedicated to a single chef's curated product selection. This allows these celebrities to become a presence not… read more

Best sleeper books of 2022

January 5, 2023 by
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Last year was a tremendous year for cookbooks so there are a lot of books to be excited about. Between Jenny's monthly new cookbook reviews, our Best Cookbooks by the Experts, Best of the Best cookbooks, and the forthcoming bestselling books of 2022, we pretty much have our Members covered for the top books. As with anything, however, sometimes there… read more

Quality cookware can’t make bad food taste good

January 4, 2023 by
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We've frequently posted swoon-inducing photos of the latest offerings from cookware manufacturers like Le Creuset and Staub. They make tremendous products that can make cooking easier and help you create better meals. However, the mere presence of a gorgeous enameled cast iron pot is not sufficient to conjure deliciousness from bad ingredients or a bad recipe. Case in point: my… read more

Idris Elba is working on a cooking show

January 3, 2023 by
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It's not every day that a bona fide movie star decides to do a cooking show, but Idris Elba is not your everyday actor. Apparently he is working on a program that will explore his roots as well as African cuisine. What's more, the show has sparked a bidding war between streaming services who are all vying to produce it.… read more

Food news antipasto

January 1, 2023 by
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As one year rolls over into another, looking back is a natural inclination. Not content to just review the past year, Food and Wine ambitiously gazed back at the past 45 years and made a list of the biggest food trends that happened since the magazine launched in 1978. Grab a fondue pot, knock back a Tequila Sunrise, and read… read more

New Year’s food resolutions

December 31, 2022 by
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Another year has flown by and here we are standing on the precipice of 2023 (our Australia and New Zealand Members are already there!). That means it's again time to consider resolutions for the new year. The Washington Post's Aaron Hutcherson is here to help us with ten simple ways we can start fresh in the kitchen (this is a… read more

I keep forgettin’

December 28, 2022 by
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There's a 1980s song by Donald Fagan about him "forgetting" that he is no longer in a relationship with his ex. The lyrics of the chorus are "I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore \ I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again." I am reminded of this song every time I visit certain food websites that… read more

Bestselling Canadian cookbook author Jean Paré dies at 95

December 27, 2022 by
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One of Canada's most prolific and beloved cookbook authors, Jean Paré, passed away in Edmonton, Alberta this week at the age of 95. Beginning in 1981 with the publication of 150 Delicious Squares (Company's Coming) through 2018, when she co-authored Instant One-Pot Cooking (New Original), Paré wrote 200 cookbooks. Paré ran the three-generation publishing business called Company's Coming. "My grandma… read more

Playing the leftover game

December 26, 2022 by
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What to do with the leftovers is the question of the day for everyone who has hosted a large gathering, so we are here with the compulsory answers to this perennial issue. We might have a few go-to favorites, but sometimes it's nice to venture outside of our comfort zone. That's what the experts at The Guardian offer with their… read more
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