Food news antipasto

It’s easy to get excited about cookbooks, so I never really thought about why so many titles included exclamation marks, like Dolci!, Galette!, and You Got This! Nina Moskowitz of Epicurious has thought about it and asked several authors and editors why they included exclamation marks in their titles. For Diane Morrisey, author of You Got This!, the exclamation point “signifies exuberance and emphasizes confidence,” while Rebecca Firkser thought it “conveys a playfulness.” The trend is similar to the “-ish” added to cookbook titles that seemed to peak last year.

ICYMI – Walmart recently had a huge recall of frozen shrimp because testing discovered Cesium-137, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear fission, in imported shrimp linked to the chain’s Great Value brand. According to the EPA, Cesium-137 is “produced by nuclear fission for use in medical devices and gauges. It is also one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing.” The products were sold in 13 U.S. states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.

Somehow I missed this news when it hit, but this week I learned that Gavin Rossdale, front man for the band Bush, has a cooking show. Titled Dinner With Gavin Rossdale, it is available for streaming on the VIZIO WatchFree+ service. The impetus for the show was simple: Rossdale wanted to spend more time at home with his children and he loved to cook, so why not invite people over, cook for them, and film it? Throw in celebrity appearances by Serena Williams, Jack McBrayer, and Common, and you have yourself a cooking show.

Americans have long prided themselves on knowing that they have one of the safest food supplies in the world. Recent events, however, have eroded that belief, and a recent Gallop poll shows that only 53% of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in food safety. That percentage began to decline sharply beginning in 2019 and is at its lowest point ever.

The number of canned fruits and vegetables might be dropping, but there is one area where cans are becoming more popular – in the fast-growing market for canned alcoholic drinks. Beer has long come in cans, but it is only recently that wine and cocktails have joined the fray. As The Guardian’s Hannah Crosbie reports, “everything from orange wine to English sparkling is getting tinnified.”

As the number of people on weight loss drugs like Ozempic continues to grow, restaurants are shifting their menus to accommodate guests with smaller appetites. This trend toward smaller bites “teeny-weeny mini” meals is paying off for restaurants that offer it, showing that even when people are taking drugs that make them want to eat less, they still want to have a restaurant experience.

In case you missed this weekend’s posts:

• Food festivals
• CookShelf app, GBBO returns, IACP 2025 Cookbook Award finalists, events and more