Food news antipasto

We'll start this week's roundup of food news with two Member favorites: LeCreuset and Staub. LeCreuset launched its latest color, a deep blue called Nuit. Exclusive to this color are shiny chrome knobs. Get it while you can - some items are already sold out on the LC website. Turning to Staub, they just released a Williams-Sonoma exclusive pan. The… read more

The PSL turns 21

If you think that pumpkin spice latte returned to Starbucks' menu earlier than ever, you are not wrong. The coffee retailer brought back its signature autumn drink on August 22, two days earlier than in the past couple of years. Maybe it's because they are excited that the PSL is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, making it officially old… read more

Think twice before eating that berry – or buying that foraging guide

Alicia Silverstone, star of the popular 90s comedy Clueless, almost lived up to the name of the movie last week. She posted a video of herself taking a bite out of an unknown red fruit, which online sleuths determined was Jerusalem cherry, a mildly toxic plant. While some people were worried because she didn't post anything for over 48 hours… read more

Jane Dunn’s golden rules of baking

Author of the popular blog Jane's Patisserie, UK baker Jane Dunn has written four bestselling cookbooks, and her blog was voted the top baking blog of 2020. Her recipes have been featured in Cosmopolitan and Baking Heaven Magazine, and she judged the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum Pudding alongside Mary Berry. Her first three cookbooks enjoy high ratings from EYB Members. The… read more

The publishing path less traveled

The number of cookbooks published every year through traditional channels is astonishing. No one person could keep up with each and every book that comes out (although Jenny diligently reviews as many as possible). However, there are more books that don't even hit most people's radar because they are self-published. The world of self-publishing is growing, and the books can… read more

Food news antipasto

Every year my garden has at least one item that grows prolifically. This year it is cucumbers, and I've been running out of ideas to use them before they get limp. I guess I need to follow Logan Moffatt, aka TikTok’s ‘Cucumber Boy’, who has posted myriad ways to enjoy a cucumber salad. Armed with nothing more than a cucumber,… read more

Striking the balance between vagueness and detail in cookbooks

As someone who does a lot of baking, I prefer my recipes to be precise. Don't tell me to use 'half an onion', instead please give me a measurement (ideally weight, in grams). Restaurant critic Jay Rayner is the opposite: he prefers instructions like 'a glug of this' or 'a splash of that'. However, recently he had to become a… read more

IACP 2024 Award Finalists

The finalists for the 2024 IACP Cookbook and Media Awards were announced last evening. The Awards honor the authors, publishers, and other contributors behind the best cookbooks published each year. Their program requires multi-step, rigorous recipe testing in all relevant awards categories. Awards are given in 16 categories, and one cookbook will be selected by the IACP Executive Committee Members as the… read more

Why washing your produce may not be good enough

Most of us wash our produce before prepping it for eating or cooking. We've been told that not only does it protect us from foodborne illness, but that it also helps remove residual pesticide residue. While the former may be true, a new study reveals that the latter is almost certainly false. We might want to dig out the good… read more

Why the UK is katsu crazy

Food trends are often cyclical - one era's craze spawns a multitude of copycats, dies down, and then gets resurrected years or even decades later. This happened with the Cosmopolitan cocktail, and as chef and cookbook author Tim Anderson writes in an article for Vittles, it is currently happening with katsu curry in the UK, which he is calling the "Katsuification"… read more

Food news antipasto

Here is a sentence I never thought I would write: Pamela Anderson is coming out with a cookbook later this year. You might say that is no surprise, but this is not the wonderful Pam Anderson who has several well-regarded books to her name. This is blonde bombshell and former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. The cookbook is titled I Love… read more

When only the worst will do

I've been a confessed coffee snob for years, seeking out the best coffee shops near my work, ordering luxe brands to be delivered to my house, and investing in a high-quality espresso machine and grinder setup for my home. Despite this, I still have a soft spot in my heart for instant coffee. I don't mean the new offerings that… read more

Foods that fuel Olympians (but maybe not in the way you think)

While most of the buzz about food and the Olympics revolves around what's happening in the Olympic Village restaurants, there is another food nexus to the Games. That connection comes in the form of sponsorships for athletes. Making it to the Olympics takes a ton of time, training and effort, and all of that requires a lot of money. While… read more

Saveur’s Q&A with Sara Moulton

Sara Moulton's culinary career is long and storied. After graduating top of her class at the Culinary Institute of America, Sara worked in fine dining restaurants, cooked for Julia Child, and was the food editor of ABC’s Good Morning America and was Gourmet magazine’s executive chef before the magazine shuttered. She's also written several successful cookbooks. Somehow I missed an… read more

Honoring the man who invented tiramisu

Today I learned that I might be older than tiramisu. The most widely agreed upon origin story for this popular Italian dessert is that it was invented in Treviso, Italy in the early 1970s at restaurant Le Beccherie by pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto. Linguanotto died last week at the age of 81. Pastry chefs around the world offered their condolences,… read more

Food news antipasto

The notion of eating something stuffed between pieces of bread predates the 4th Earl of Sandwich, but it is he for whom the food was named in the mid-1700s. Since then countless sandwiches have been eaten, but only a few of them are iconic. Writing for Vittles, Hester van Hensbergen gives us a timeline of iconic London sandwiches from the… read more

What kind of grocery shopper are you?

When you go grocery shopping, you probably follow the same steps each time you go. Some people like to make lists and menu plans, others wing it and decide what to make by seeing what's looking good in the produce and meat aisles. There are careful label readers who evaluate the nutritional value and others who never look at the… read more

How to care for wooden kitchen tools

One of my favorite kitchen items is a hefty Boos cutting board I received as a gift over 15 years ago. It has seen nearly daily use and even, if I'm being honest, some abuse. Despite being in constant use next to my cooktop, it is still going strong while a few plastic cutting boards have come and gone during… read more

Celebrate National Avocado Day

Today was National Avocado Day, and a few companies in the US were celebrating by offering things like free avocado toast (Panera) or free guacamole (Chipotle). I didn't get the news in time to snag any of those deals, but I was able to crack open some store-bought guac (please picture Ina Garten saying store bought is fine) to enjoy… read more

The growing world of Substack newsletters

As the world continues its shift to digital publishing, new media crop up to replace the old guard, and that is especially true with newspapers and magazines. Long-form online stories reminiscent of the early days of blogging are rapidly replacing printed media (thankfully with the exception of cookbooks!) via newsletter tools like Substack, Ghost, Medium, Buttondown, and Beehiiv. Of these,… read more

Food news antipasto

Although we reported on food issues plaguing the Paris Olympics, the news from the Games is not all bad. For starters, Simone Biles shook off an apparent injury to qualify for the all-around gymnastics competition - not too shabby for the oldest American gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since 1952. Then there is cookbook author extraordinaire Ina Garten, who… read more

Olympic food venues face problems

The 2024 Olympics are underway in Paris, and there is already controversy over the food being served to the athletes, or rather, the lack of food. Teams are saying that the four restaurants serving the athletes' village are running out of food, especially high protein items like eggs and chicken. There are also reports that some of the meat being… read more

Catching up with Asma Khan

Asma Khan is the creator of Darjeeling Express, a London restaurant that began fifteen years ago as a dinner for 12 guests at home - Indian food, lovingly cooked from family recipes going back generations. The restaurant is run by an all-female staff, and Khan eschews the traditional authoritarian style of kitchen brigades, opting instead for a quieter, more collaborative… read more

Some good news about coffee

It can seem like every article about climate change and agriculture is doom and gloom about the effects of severe weather events like droughts, floods, extreme heat, insect infestations, diseases, and so on. However, among the negativity there exist a few bright spots. Recently that happened with reports of a new experiment on how it may be possible to "climate-proof"… read more

Could Kamala be the best food candidate?

In case you've been vacationing in an internet-free zone and didn't hear the news, here it is: on Sunday Joe Biden exited the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris. She has since secured enough pledged convention delegates to lock in the nomination, so it looks like Kamala (she prefers to use her first name) will be on the… read more
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