As the global food supply, restaurants, and everyday folks around the world adjust to pandemic catastrophes, a 1-year-old in the kitchen is helping to bring smiles to people’s faces. “Chef Kobe” has an infectious, outsized personality and his parents began sharing their cooking sessions on Instagram near the end February. While the pandemic dragged on, their account quickly amassed over a million followers. Kobe’s parents, Ashley and Kyle Wian, say they are “all about hands on learning,” and that cooking teaches basic skills. “He investigates new ingredients, feels new textures, learns practical skills like pouring, scooping and measuring,” says Ashley. “That is why this all started…He has fine tuned so many motor skills just by helping me.” The Wians are thrilled that Kobe’s explorations in the kitchen can help people all over the world smile during a time when it’s needed most.
Documentary Reveals Salty Side of Mexican Food Icon Diana Kennedy
Diana Kennedy, widely regarded as one of the greatest living documenters of Mexican cuisine, now has her own documentary. The food icon is nearing a century of life at 97 years old, and has only now shown signs of slowing down. The documentary may be the last glimpse of Diana Kennedy in her true element, driving her stick-shift around Mexico and tending to her gardens. “I have planned only five [more] years, and nobody can say no,” Kennedy says in the film. “There’s a time, it’s like the caducidad, the date on your ingredients you buy, OK? They last so long.” The cookbook author has shaped the way Americans think about Mexican cooking throughout her entire life.
Hot Dogs Take Flight Under Quarantine
Hot dogs sales skyrocketed in March, according to data from data analytics firm IRI. Hot dog sales increased 123% in the week ending March 15, compared to the same week last year. Then sales increased 127% in the week ending March 22. As general consumer stockpiling slowed in April, sales fell slightly, but 2020 remains a banner year for hot dogs. Since early March at the start of the pandemic, sales have been at least 29% higher every week compared to the same weeks in 2019, according to IRI. Founder of 210 Analytics, Anne-Marie Roerink, explains that hot dogs offer several advantages to unemployed, cash-strapped consumers concerned with meat shortages: they are inexpensive, have a long shelf life, and make quick and easy meals, particularly for children no longer getting meals from school.
Plant-Based “Meat” Sales Are Soaring
U.S. consumers continue to develop a taste for plant-based proteins. During the four-week period from April 12 to May 9, sales of all plant-based meat substitutes were 35% higher than the four-week period ending January 18, according to consumer-analytics company Nielsen. The companies with the biggest increases are Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, manufacturers of a new generation of meat-like products made with plant proteins. Why are consumers buying more of these products? Nineteen-year-old William Thomas of Brookline, New Hampshire, says he’s eating plant-based foods because “I’d always been trying to block out a lot of what was going on behind the scenes of the meat industry, but I can’t ignore it forever.” Faizal Karmali, 45, of Brooklyn, turned to plant-based meat because “it uses much less water to grow a bunch of peas than it does to grow a cow,” and because he doesn’t want to stress the meat industry further.
The coronavirus has been hard on the U.S. meat industry, forcing dozens of slaughterhouses to close temporarily, but the plant-based food industry had already been growing prior to the pandemic. Consumers were seeking alternatives in both fast food restaurants and in grocery stores, and manufacturers of plant-based meat substitutes had already been ramping up production for increased sales this year. Impossible Foods products are now sold in more than 3,000 stores, up from fewer than 200 in January, and the company has increased its workforce to 653 full-time employees, up from 587 in January. Beyond Meat also reported net revenue of $97.1 million in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 141 percent over last year. Its products are now in 25,000 grocery stores nationwide, and the company recently expanded into China. “We were saying that by 2030, Beyond Meat could have a $1 billion in sales,” said Alexia Howard, senior analyst at food equity research firm Bernstein. “Now, we’re saying by the end of 2020.”
Like Restaurants, Some Food Retailers Now Require Reservations
With retail outlets reopening this summer, reservation platforms are offering new services to ease overcrowding and wait lines. The high-end restaurant reservation platform Tock will be enrolling several retailers in the coming weeks. Tock’s new tool lets customers reserve 15-minute increment slots for receiving or picking up retail products. This feature helped Tock enroll over 1,100 international restaurants since March, and Tock CEO Nick Kokonas said the platform currently handles about $2 million a day in sales for takeout and pickup orders. According to Kokonas, Tock has been contacted by “everyone from automobile dealerships to grocery stores to farms” to help with reopenings. One of its newest clients is a women’s apparel chain using the service for styling appointments.
OpenTable also unveiled their grocery tech solution, aiming to help businesses reduce wait lines and mitigate crowd control issues in stores. The company says the tool is available for grocery stores, major retailers and “restaurants turned pop-up markets.” At Resy, chief marketing officer Victoria Vaynberg says the company is rolling out front and backend tools such as its Automated Capacity Monitor, which allows restaurant managers to set an online limit on capacity in dining rooms to comply with local occupancy regulations. Another feature, the Open Date Alert, allows restaurants to notify subscribers of reopening dates for particular regions and restaurants. The Mobile Waitlist feature also lets guests join a live queue when in close proximity to a restaurant, which helps reduce crowding.
Survey Reveals What Global Home Cooks Are Buying Under Quarantine
Researchers from the University of Antwerp surveyed 11,000 shoppers in 11 countries to find out how the pandemic has reshaped their cooking and eating habits. Customers in almost half of the countries surveyed reported buying fewer salty and sweet snacks, despite the fact that stress can increase cravings for these foods. The surveyed revealed that many home cooks are satisfying their cravings by baking more at home. Mostly women responded, stating that they have tried several new recipes and have been making more creative use of leftovers. Some reported that once they regain confidence in the food supply at their local supermarkets, they may go back to their old cooking and eating habits.
Consumption of meat, fish and alcohol remained largely unchanged during the pandemic, according to the survey. However, every country reported a higher consumption of fresh, canned and/or frozen fruit and vegetables, likely spurred on by health concerns related to the coronavirus. Countries surveyed included Australia, Belgium, Chile, Uganda, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Greece, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. The ongoing survey is currently expanding its reach to 25 countries, and new research results will be released at the end of June.
Want More Eggs? A Primer On Raising Backyard Chickens
If your local grocery store is rationing eggs or you just want to save some money, raising chickens could be a good move. Food writer Tamar Haspel has been raising backyard chickens for 10 years and shares some tips. First, consider the climate where you live. Chicken breeds that do well in cold weather usually don’t like the heat, and vice versa. Next, plan out a chicken coop. If your area gets cold in winter, consider putting it near a source of electricity so you can run a water heater. Above all, the coop should keep your chickens safe. Baby chicks grow quickly in six months, then begin competing for food, so the coop should give them ample space to keep squabbles to a minimum. Varmint-proof walls are also a necessity (1-inch chicken wire works), but don’t forget to the floor: sturdy wire mesh will prevent predators from digging into the coop from below.
The coop should also be convenient for you, so eggs can be collected and the feeder refilled quickly. Chicken poop breaks down easily, and if you use plenty of litter, you’ll only need to shovel out the coop about once a year.
Chickens typically lay eggs for about two years, but they can live for ten years. Keep in mind that at some point, your chickens may become dinner. But they are worthwhile for the eggs alone. A laying hen can lay a dozen eggs in about two weeks, and during that time hens will eat about three pounds or 80 cents’ worth of feed. So a dozen eggs is worth at least twice the cost of the feed. In places like Brooklyn, where egg prices are even higher, the eggs can be worth even more.
Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation by Jeremy Umansky and Rich Shih
Chef Jeremy Umansky, owner of the acclaimed Larder deli and bakery in Cleveland, Ohio, has been aging meat and curing food with koji for years. Likewise, co-author Rich Shih has extensive food preservation experience and is Exhibit Engineer for the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) in New York City. In Koji Alche_my, the two preservations explorers demystify the science and techniques behind using koji to ferment and culture a wide variety of umami-rich foods from soy sauce and miso to sake, cheese, and charcuterie. They explain how to cultivate this fungus, Aspergillus oryzae_, as well as how to harness it in applications such as speeding up the curing, brining, and aging of meat with improved flavor.
Koji Alchemy includes an introduction by celebrated fermentation expert Sandor Katz as well as 35 recipes for various ferments, pastes, and foods like Popcorn Koji, Roasted Entire Squash Miso, Korean Makgeolli, and Amazake Rye Bread. In this primer, both home cooks and professional chefs should find plenty of inspiration and all the information needed to create all kinds of new and interesting cultured preparations.
Stocking Up On Canned Goods? Chefs Name Their Top Picks
With more people cooking at home during the coronavirus lockdown, shelf-stable foods are more popular than ever. Sales of Goya’s canned foods have increased by 400 percent. If you’re looking for the best-quality pantry items you can find, professional chefs have some recommendations, including everything from top-notch tuna to shelf-stable asparagus. Michael Schall, co-owner of Bar Camillo and Locanda Vini e Olii in Brooklyn, says his restaurant chefs are “addicted” to the oil-packed anchovies from Agostino Recca, which are so good they often snack on the fish right out of the jar. Connecticut chef and farmer Phoebe Cole-Smith is also a fan of the Agostino Recca anchovies, while Nick Perkins, partner at Hart’s, Cervo’s, and The Fly restaurants says that Cabo de Penas is his restaurant’s go-to when it comes to tinned fish. “They’re just old school and really solid,” said Perkins, calling out his favorites, the Cabo de Penas’ sardines.
If you’re looking for fruit preserves, you may want to take the advice of Annie Shi, co-owner of Manhattan’s King restaurant, and get some Kayanoya Yuzu Fruit Preserves. Shi likes to mix these high-quality preserves into a variety of cakes and desserts. Among other sweets, Smitten Kitchen founder Deb Perelman suggests Lyle’s Golden Syrup from the U.K., especially drizzled over pancakes or hot cereal. Julie Cole, chef at Nom Wah Nolita, even recommends her favorite canned soup: Campbell’s Cream of Celery. Cole claims it is “the Ferrari of canned soups.” To see more than 50 pantry staples preferred by chefs, read more here at Eater. Or see the full story here at New York Magazine.
Online Grocery And Delivery Sales Up More Than 100%
In the past month, more than one-third of Americans ordered groceries online for the first time ever. Online grocery spending has also increased nearly 50% each week since coronavirus lockdowns began in mid-March. To capitalize on shifting buying habits, online retailing giants Amazon, Walmart, and Target have all invested more in grocery sales. Walmart been slower to grow than Amazon and Target, despite being an established competitor in online retail. But Instacart has emerged as the online grocery leader. Instacart’s chief advantage has been partnering with numerous grocery chains, while its competitors mostly sell their own grocery products.
FreshDirect and Peapod have not had as much success, according to Earnest Research, a firm that tracks credit and debit card transactions. FreshDirect operates primarily in large cities like New York, and the company has suffered from staffing shortages due to COVID-19. Peapod also had to make untimely cutbacks just prior to the outbreak, which has proved to be poor timing in the continuing online grocery race.
