I always end up with too many tabs open at the end of the work week, mostly because of my rampant ADHD, but also because there are so many exciting stories written on the internet about food culture. When I finally do read them, I often learn a lot about food and even more about the world out there-how America’s obsession with omakase reveals how we view wealth, which candy flavors abroad show us tastes across borders, how the elusive Thai noodle represents How the elusive Thai noodle represents our desire to connect.
These stories – all from publications outside of Bon Appétit – are also interesting. This year, our staff’s Slack was filled with recommendations for Big Hot Sauce, poop, AI-written recipes to read, and a wild investigation into which Santa Fe restaurant Trump’s lawyer was eating at when the FBI confiscated his phone. We read these stories with joy and admiration (and not a little jealousy). In no particular order, check out some of our staff’s favorite reads for 2022. -Life Editor Karen Yuan
Big Hot Sauce Wants More Hot Sauce
This Bloomberg Businessweek feature on spice giant McCormick’s foray into the world of hot sauce is a fascinating look at how a major grocery company is trying to innovate in modern food culture. As Austin Carr writes, the company known for its red-cap spices hopes to “move beyond ‘Herb McCormick,’ a reference to the company’s previously restrained approach and its extract business. The fun part of reading this article is all the details of the report. Sources told Carl’s that Flavors has helped other companies develop flavors, including Cool Ranch Doritos and Bud Light Lime. a “turmeric crisis” that forced the company to hire trucks for 1,000-mile overnight trips. I love reading about how sausage is made into the condiments, spices and many other flavors that have become the backbone of our kitchens. –Serena Dai, editorial director
Black Deserves a Place at the Seder
A New York Times feature examines how Black American Jews bring their identity to the food on the Passover table. As an Asian American Jew, I’m always looking for connections between my two identities, especially through food. It was great to read author Kayla Stewart’s descriptions of foodies like Michael Twitty and the additions or changes they make to the traditional Seder meal. instead of maror or bitter greens, Twitty serves collard greens. Other Afro-Jewish dishes at his table include unleavened pancake fried chicken and West African-style brisket. Stewart shares the voices of a wide range of black Jewish characters who point to the changing diversity of American Jewry and the importance of bringing one’s culture to Judaism. The article provokes reflection on what conversations can be had about Passover, a holiday that is tied to the historical theme, freedom, redemption. I love how Stewart and the featured voices do this through food. -Kate Kassin, Editorial Operations Assistant
Foreign Candy Puts American Candy to Shame
This Atlantic feature by contributing writer Amanda Mull delves into why you, me and everyone on TikTok is obsessed with imported candy: nutty, creamy matcha chocolates from Japan, chewy Haribo gummies from Germany and British Cadbury. The writing is fun and interesting to read – Mull describes Hi-Chew as “the Starburst of comebacks” – but what I like best are the reports that go beyond the obvious But what I liked most was the voyage beyond the obvious. Of course, the EU has much stricter regulations on food additives than the U.S., which results in a completely different end product. But the success of foreign candy is largely down to taste: imported candy relies heavily on flavors (such as melon, spicy or savory), and domestic companies fear this will alienate white Americans. Fortunately, buying international candy online has never been easier. — Ali Francis, Contributing Writer
Can Artificial Intelligence Write Recipes Better Than Humans?
This article has me buzzing with envy. Conceit is so good: New York Times food reporter (and BA contributor) Priya Krishna teamed up with technology to see if AI could write personalized Thanksgiving menus, including recipes and “photos” of dishes that have never been cooked. Can I be replaced by a robot? On the face of it, yes. Recipes based on Krishna’s prompts seem both creative and promising – pumpkin spice salad, roasted turkey with soy ginger dressing, and naan bread stuffing. Krishna cooks the meal her own way, and the result (also documented in a 25-minute video) mimics the fun you’d have watching a particularly tricky technical challenge at the Great British Bake Off. -MacKenzie Chung Fegan, Senior Business Editor
An Elegy for the Appetite
Longer than an essay, shorter than a novel, Elegy for Appetite is a reflection on craving, craving mastery, craving food, craving connection. Eclectically punctuated and sequenced, it is by far one of the more original reads on any subject I’ve tackled all year. The author is Shaina Loew-Banayan, chef and co-owner of Cafe Mutton, one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants of the Year, about her struggles with anorexia and bulimia and her early experiences as an aspiring chef. Sent through the humor of a professional kitchen, this short, poignant and unorthodox story will not soon be forgotten by me. -Dawn Davis, Editor-in-Chief
Jiro’s Dreams of Sushi and the American Omakase Craze
When Jiro Dreams of Sushi came out in 2013, omakase became a coveted meal for investment banking analysts everywhere. Nearly a decade later, Jaya Saxena astutely details how it happened. ” Jiro not only introduced most Americans to an unfamiliar cuisine; it also redefined what kind of dining was worthwhile,” she writes. “The sushi counter became the new steakhouse.” Saxena explains how a single strip of raw fish served at 12 bars became synonymous with exclusivity and wealth through America’s most popular $500 (or more!) course traces Jiro’s legacy. Then she looks forward to how the new restaurant will retain “Jiro’s dream sushi” while getting rid of the expensive menu really – the suspense, joy and transcendence that can arise when you trust a visionary chef. ” It’s a thoughtful, evocative read, interspersed with colorful outtakes, such as her own experience dining at Sushi Nakazawa with her loud-sake drinking brethren. Impeccable atmosphere. – Karen Yuan, Lifestyle Editor
Broti Gupta’s Grub Street Diet
I like the Grub Street Diet format first and foremost because I’m nosy. It makes me incredibly happy to know that someone is eating a crazy lunch consisting of five hard-boiled eggs or something. I love hearing that moderately well-known people eat toast in the morning, too – I do that, too! I bet if we met, they’d want to be my friend! When Simpsons writer and prolific trombonist Broti Gupta documented her week’s diet, though, she outdid the media. Using classically relevant lines such as “I like to sit in a place where someone gives them pureed fruit, just like babies,” Broti manages to walk readers through her week of eating, interspersed with some ridiculous jokes. I let out a few genuine chuckles while reading – a rarity in this day and age. broti, if you’re reading this, your love of empanadas inspires me as much as your determination to reveal intimate details about your boyfriend. – Sam Stone, Contributing Writer
Chasing the All-American Red Cotton Noodle Soup
This touching thriller follows Kat Thompson’s journey across America in search of kanom jeen nam ngiao (Thai red cotton noodle soup). The piece is nostalgic as it revisits the Thai-born writer’s first taste of the dish and then transitions to her desire to get the same flavor on American soil. Although the restaurants serving this seemingly niche northern Thai dish are hundreds of miles apart, each chef’s story echoes the other, and the take-out is as distinctive as the noodles’ signature red hue: the family ties, the
