Welcome to Food Week August 15, 2025. Notice: because of inflation we are doubling our price. Inflation is bad but you could be growing corn, soybeans or vegetables. Or work at the Tesla diner. A QSR. Or someone who eats a lot fries. Or if you are forced to drink the Dolly Parton Dirt Road Martini. Otherwise, enjoy!
MACRO
- Wholesale prices grew fasttest in 3 years. Tariffs and inflation worries are making consumers gloomy.
- For instance beef prices are at an all time high. And leading the way on the inflation front is Vegetables; up 38% versus a year ago.
- Make America Healthy Again apparently doesn’t include regulating pesticides, at least as far as RFK Jr. is concerned.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Big CPG trying to connect with MAHA moms.
- Coke and Dolly Parton team up for a new cola flavor at Dollywood.
- We live in the age of the QR code.
- More from those Market Basket maniacs.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- $1 sushi balls at a place called Bloop Bloop
- QSR chains struggling. Almost all of them.
- The Tesla Diner is the Cybertruck of restaurants: Nothing as promised, nothing works right.
- Starbucks wants you to have your coffee in less than four minutes.
- A restaurant that serves only Lasagna and Tiramisu.
- Millions in Texas told to avoid drive-thru lines because of air pollution.
- World’s biggest menu? Mother’s Comfort Food and Cocktails.
- Eating your face off in New Orleans.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- California has some of the strictest labor laws in the country but farmworkers still die from heat.
- Brazil happy to supply China with soybeans if the US wants to play tariff games.
- Bumper crop of corn just when export markets are getting trickier. Farmers are worried they are going to go broke.
- VIneyards in Southern France hit by wildfires.
- Chlormequat is a banned chemical that shows up in oat cereals..
- Who is the largest tomato producer in the world?
DRINKS
- The destruction of Irish whiskey industry via tariffs.
- The origins of the Pina Colada.
- Lager contest to determine the best.
- Umami getting to be a big deal in craft cocktails.
- Dolly Parton’s Dirt Road martini sounds horrible. Here are some better cocktails. The Transfusion. The Southside.The Amelia. The Green Tomato Martini (maybe).
FOOD WEEK August 15 LAGNIAPPE
- How to make an Italian upset? Add another ingredient to Cacio e Pepe.
- Fermenting unripe coffee beans works as well as waiting for the crop to come in.
- Don’t take food advice from a Large Language Model (AI). ChatGPT almost ends a guy.
- The impact of the high protein diet.
- Brussels sprouts are good for you but only if you don’t add bacon and sugary things and other stuff which means they probably aren’ good for you.
- You ‘ll be shocked to learn that french fries are really bad for diabetes too.