Once in a while, when I see my file of oddball food-related new stories getting a little overweight, I decide to take action. Here are the best of the ‘savers’ I’ve tucked away over the past month or so…
Noma dining room: Voted ‘World’s Best Resto’ in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2021.
They may not rate a whole post each. But neither should they go unheralded altogether. Here are some notable food-related stories I’ve snagged off the wires recently…
ESPN couldn’t create just one
ESPN last year created a special spice blend for tour game-days snacks called Postseasoning. It was to celebrate the NFL post season, of course. This year, it’s going ‘whole snack’ and bringing you it’s own brand of ‘Postseasoning’ chips.Why not? According to a recent Smithsonian Magazine article, “Americans today consume about 1.85 billion pounds of potato chips annually, or around 6.6 pounds per person.”
Potato chips are a traditional feature of sports finals season parties and game-day munching in general. Who would say, ‘No, thanks,’ to a free bottle handed out free at post season NFL games? It was a limited edition treat, too – just 10,000 bottles made.
This year, bagged ships and bottled spice will both be handed out at pre-Super Bowl games. It will ‘premiere’ on January 16, with a matchup pitting the Dallas Cowboys against Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Again, it’s free, but available only at games and in limited quantities.
The custom-blended spice dust contains: blend of salt, onion, gochugaru, garlic, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne.
Popular Iranian Chef arrested
Celebrity chef and influencer Navab Ebrahimi was detained – apparently for political reasons – after posting a video detailing how to make Kotlets – a traditional Iranian meat patty. I don’t know if it was as a consciously told joke, or an act of political defiance. Or if Ebrahimi just didn’t make the connection. But Iranian officials didn’t find it funny.
‘Kotlet’ has been adopted as a nick name for a popularly despised Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, blown up by a U.S. drone attack during the Trump administration. It went viral when folks on the scene after the attack said the general’s remains looked like kotlets – minced meat. Such disrespect!
The timing of the post casts doubt that the post was entirely coincidental. It appeared on January 3, 2023, the anniversary of the drone attack. Ebrahimi’s online presence was taken down and his restaurant shuttered the same day he was arrested. His instagram account alone had more than 2.7 million followers.
Iranians have begun cooking kotlets on the anniversary of Soleimani’s death as a form of protest, dubbing it ‘Kotlet Day’.
‘World’s top resto closing’
Sounds like a stupid decision. Or a typo. Or maybe the entrepreneur behind it just decided, when you get to the top, you can’t do any more than that. So, it’s time to move on to something else and perfect it. But no.
René Redzepi (above, spotlighted second from right), head chef at Copenhagen, Denmark eatery Noma, has announced it will be closing idefinitely in 2024. The reason? He feels the concept is not working properly. At least not the way his vision would have it. In spite of the rave reviews, three Michelin Stars, a Michelin Green Star for sustainability, and being named ‘Word’s Best’ in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. After its previous re-branding, in 2021, it ranked No. 1 again.
Redzepi surprised – even shocked – fans by saying he’s planning to turn Noma into what he calls a giant food lab: “We are beginning a new chapter. […] In 2025, our restaurant is transforming into a pioneering test kitchen dedicated to the work of food innovation and the development of new flavours. One that will share the fruits of our efforts more widely than ever before.”
Diners will still be able to enjoy the occasional Noma meal. Redzepi says he’s planning to organise pop-up restaurants from time to time, in Copenhagen and abroad: “Serving guests will still be a part of who we are, but being a restaurant will no longer define us.”
Now you know
I’ll star stuffing the old oddities file again tomorrow. And bring you some more in another month or so…
~ Maggie J.