Food news antipasto

We covered the James Beard Media Awards over the weekend, but there were more honors given on Monday, when the JBF announced the winners of its Restaurant and Chef Awards, representing the best food and drink in the US. Fine dining establishments took home many of the honors, but there were plenty of casual restaurants in the mix. Take a look at the winners and see if there is a gem lurking in your backyard.

Football rivalries between Minnesota and Wisconsin are legendary – the Badgers vs. the Gophers in the “Battle for the Axe” and of course the Vikings vs. the Packers. Now we can add a food rivalry as well, as Minnesota’s Hormel is taking on Wisconsin’s Johnsonville in a feud over (allegedly) stolen sausage secrets. Hormel sued its rival, claiming that one of Hormel’s former employees took recipes and other information with him when he went to work for the Wisconsin company.

People who are not fans of chemical dyes like Red No. 40 and Blue No. 1 but do enjoy convenience foods take note: food conglomerate Kraft Heinz announced that it would remove all chemical dyes from its products by the end of 2027. This will mainly affect products like Jell-O, Crystal Light, and Kool-Aid, which the company says makes up about 10 percent of its portfolio. This should be an easy change because Kraft already did this in 2016 with its mac ‘n’ cheese when it substituted swapped paprika and turmeric for the artificial colors used previously.

With all of the articles about seed oils and beef tallow streaming across social media feeds, it is interesting to take a look backward at the way Americans have viewed different fats over the years. Food and Wine’s Kat Kinsman has done just that, explaining the different fat fads that have come and gone. She also provides a reading list of excellent books on the subject.

Paul Hollywood’s icy blue stare sends shivers of fear down the backs of contestants on the Great British Bake Off and the Great American Baking Show, but he saves his worst criticism for himself. We learn that and more about the legendary star in a recent interview at The Independent. You might think that with all that judging, he would be tired of eating baked goods, but he says that he bakes several times a week. “I put a bit of Coldplay on and then make a bit of bread. When it’s fully risen you knock it back and gently shake it. I find that extremely relaxing,” he says. To which I say: COLDPLAY?!

In case you missed this article: Strategies for when it’s too hot to cook.