Food news antipasto

Less than a week after Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff told a reporter that he did not anticipate further layoffs in the company, 15 Eater staff members were laid off, according to Vox Media union. In a post on Bluesky, one of my favorite writers on the site, Amy McCarthy, shared that she was one of the unlucky ones. The layoffs amount to one-third of the jobs held by union workers.

Salt and pepper are so connected to each other that it can be difficult to buy a solo shaker, as most come in sets for these two pantry items. Have you ever wondered why they are so inextricably linked? It all comes down to royalty, says Gabriella Hernandez at Foodie.com. Louis XIV of France, to be specific. Apparently he decreed that no spices should overwhelm the natural flavors of food, so his head chef, François Pierre La Varenne, came up with this combination as a way to add flavor without being overwhelming.

Restaurateur Paula Deen, known for her former Food Network shows and love of butter, abruptly closed her flagship restaurant The Lady & Sons. She ran the restaurant with her sons Jamie and Bobby Deen for nearly 30 years. The statement announcing the closure did not give a reason, and Savannah locals were shocked by the news. Deen’s four other restaurants, located in Nashville, Pigeon Forge, Myrtle Beach, and Branson, will remain open.

Generative AI is making inroads into almost every workplace, and it’s creeping into the kitchen as well, mainly via AI generated recipes. Entire sites have sprung up seemingly overnight, featuring a pretty but bland AI photograph of a smiling cook along with oodles of recipes. While the content may be getting somewhat better (fewer recipes for glue on pizza, for instance), it still lacks quality. A video posted to an article titled The AI Slop Overload Does Not Taste Good points out some wacky results, like a turkey melt sandwich with a crunchy M&M filling. The video includes results of testing a couple of AI recipes, and explores how Meta is promoting this kind of content by making its “inverse cooking” code available to developers. (Hat tip to an EYB Member who pointed us to this article and video.)

Harrods of London is saying goodbye to its relationships with high-profile chefs including Tom Kerridge, Gordon Ramsay, and Calum Franklin. The restaurants currently run by these chefs will close by early next year, the company announced. Harrods said it was reacting to “customers’ evolving preferences,” and said it plans to pivot to more in-house dining options.

In case you missed this weekend’s posts:

• In defense of ‘ugly’ cakes
• Finding joy in Baking and the Meaning of Life