Welcome to Food Week February 13. Valentine’s week and the food biz is in love with raising prices This week we learned about fake Bordeaux, farm hedgerows, McDonald’s plans for veg nuggets, the grind of catering and how amazingly lazy people are regarding food choices. And much more. Enjoy.
MACRO
Inflation slowing but not not enough. Groceries are one of the biggest problems. And misperceptions don’t help
Hiring is strong but the headlines are all about about tech layoffs
Remote work is here to stay and nowhere is this more evident than New York.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
COVID proved sugar remains the ultimate comfort food.
Erehwon, the SoCal supermarket where you can pay $22 for a smoothie.
Didn’t think IHOP coffee was anything special but apparently the folks at Kraft Heinz do. Of course when you just keep raising prices, you can do whatever you want.
People are deeply, resiliently lazy: peeled or unwrapped food is more appealing.
Ben & Jerry’s & the Palestinian question.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
Restaurant inflation was not as bad as retail but still higher than that of the overall economy.
Mickey D’s doin’ plant-based nuggs.
A new Jersey restaurant bans children under 10.
An older story I found this week about the world of catering. A fascinating and grueling business.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
In California at least, eggs cost more than ground beef. But there are no easy substitutes for the essential egg.
I don’t know why this has to be pointed out but boneless wings don’t contain any wing meat.
The return of the hedgerow to farms.
Prices for grapes, mangoes and blueberries will be going up as the protests in Peru have cut exports in half.
FOOD WEEK FEBRUARY 13 LAGNIAPPE
Rescue operation as workers fall into a vat of M&M’s chocolate
Ancient Mediterranean types thought the eating of butter was barbaric. The barbarians disagreed.
FRAUD! 380,000 cases of bulk wine labelled as Bordeaux. Relatedly, how importers built the wine industry.
A compendium of tips from chefs.
Why white bread makes you fat.