Welcome to Food Week May 30, 2025. Back from vacation. A highlight was the meal at le Chalet de la Foret in Brussels. Also enjoyed several great cocktail bars, the most interesting of which was Dutch Courage in Amsterdam which focuses on Genever in their creations. Loads of info in our update as usual. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Inflation rate moderated in April.
- Make America Healthy Again? Maybe but without talking much about pesticides. What about food safety? Experts are worried.
- Is Coca Cola going to leave the US over tariffs? Tariffs put on hold due to courts asserting it represents Presidential overreach.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Big fight brewing between private label heavy Aldi and brand giant Mondelez over copied brands.
- Labor unrest in Kroger.
- Target learning that aligning with the anti-DEI crowd is bad for business.
- All sorts of weirdness in struggle for control of New England’s Market Basket chain.
- Costco bourbon comes from a historical bottler.
- You aren’t that tough: jalapenos are actually milder these days.7 vegetables that are cheaper to grow than buy.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- The healthiest and unhealthiest things to order in a Chinese restaurant. The unhealthy thing sound really delicious.
- If you heard about it, the Waffle House index is an indicator of how serious weather are. It tracks how many restaurants close/remain open. However Waffle House is not a fan.
- A pioneer in gourmet pizza – My Pi – closes after 50 years. Also, a convert to the Chicago hot dog.
- QSR using gift cards as core part of marketing strategy.
- Worst to best steakhouses in US.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- Of the six chemical necessary for life, phosphorous is the rarest. However modern farming is changing the way that it is introduced to the environment, but potentially catastrophic consequences. On the positive side, Chinese scientist using mushrooms to improve composting.
- Peruvian farmer tries suing German energy giant RWE over climate change for melting glaciers in Andean home.
- Perdue Foods hit with lawsuit over the discharge of PFAS (forever chemicals) into wastewater. Residents concerned about infertility and cancer associated with these chemicals. Brewers, particularly in Missouri, found to have PFAS in beer.
DRINKS
- No more tabs: Gen Z closes out with every drink.
- The Grape Eagle and what it means about German wines. About Ouzo.
- Guy who finds, opens and tastes century old whiskeys. Also, looking cool when tasting whisky in Scotland.
- The Singapore Sling. The Whiskey Smash. The Colorado Cool-Aid. The Pink Senorita. The Mind Eraser.
FOOD WEEK May 30 LAGNIAPPE
- I knew that bell peppers change color as they ripen but I didn’t know the nutrition changes as well.
- Coffee better than green tea for some metabolic function. Caffeine may – or may not – be good for the sleeping brain.
- Yes it’s a carb but sourdough bread is actually good for you.
- Taurine linked to cancer. Also, mounting information on the dangers of Ultra-processed Foods (UPF).
- Grow Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jolokia) at home.