Food Safety

WATCH: Every Whack-Job Montage From Last Night's MasterChef Auditions

by Mariella Mosthof

MasterChef Season 4 kicked off last night with a two-hour premiere, and, as we look forward to every summer, the kooks came out of the woodwork for the open audition rounds. Of course, those are way more entertaining than the tear-filled, moving stories of overcoming adversity or whatever, so we conveniently compiled all the Crazies Montages in one convenient space for your perusal. You're welcome.

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Lady Chef Stampede: Here's Why Amy Scherber Is The One Baker Ever To Be Profiled In This Column

by Tina Nguyen

This week, on the Lady Chef Stampede, we get baked with Amy Scherber, the woman behind Amy’s Bread. Normally I am deeply suspicious of bakers, regarding them as a mutant offshoot of pastry cooks (if you want to know about pastry cooks, I suggest trying reading some H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote about them in great detail).

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Amy Bouzgalo Served Time In Federal Prison For Social Security Fraud

by Tina Nguyen

In an Arizona Republic article, Jennifer McClellan reports that Bouzgalo formerly went by the name "Amanda Bossingham," and spent 14 months in federal prison in 2008.

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The Braiser Is Hiring Summer Interns!

by Laura Norkin

If you know your Blais from your Bourdain and are passionate about the culture surrounding food; if you can write in a compelling -- if sometimes sarcastic -- tone and wait with bated breath for the James Beards Award announcements and other foodie news, please apply.

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Last Call

Last Call: Bradley Cooper To Star As Yet Another Drug-Addled Chef

by Tina Nguyen 5:55 pm, May 3rd

PLUS: Technology rocks, flowers are tasty, and Seattle sucks for hogging two of the Din Tai Fungs in America.
Read on...

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Podcast

Alton Brown Settles An Unseemly Domestic Dispute, Judge Judy Style

by Tina Nguyen 4:02 pm, April 10th

Fancy a little middlebrow humor this afternoon? How about a podcast in which faux-historian and humorist John Hodgman puts on his best “People’s Court” robe and settles piddling domestic disputes? And let’s throw in Alton Brown as an expert witness, for good measure.
Read on...

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Health

Is The Porn Industry ‘More Responsible’ Than The Food Industry?

by Tina Nguyen 1:43 pm, April 3rd

Professor Doug Powell is apparently both an expert on food safety and porn, if his recent statements made to the Alberta Food Processors Association are any indication. Speaking about the lax nature of food safety culture, he came out with this pretty damning statement: “I would argue that the porn industry is more responsible than the food industry.” So basically, it could be safer to put penises in your mouth than food.
Read on...

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Health

Mario Batali’s Food Safety Director Disavows Any Talk Of A Health Inspector Alarm System

by Tina Nguyen 3:49 pm, January 29th

Health inspector alarm system secretly installed in all of Mario Batali’s restaurants? What health inspector alarm system secretly installed in all of Mario Batali’s restaurants?
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Health

WATCH: Tom Colicchio Speaks At Clinton Global Initiative; Argues That Our Food System Is ‘Broken’

by Tina Nguyen 10:00 am, January 25th

“Can we really be healthy,” he asks rhetorically, “when the system which we use to produce food is not healthy and is broken?” The answer is far more complex than a simple “no”.
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Food In Politics

WATCH: Romney Ad Blames Obama For Closure Of Bad Restaurant With Health Code Violations

by Tina Nguyen 3:09 pm, November 6th

A current Mitt Romney ad running in Virginia, which claims that a local barbecue chain was forced to shut down due to the downturn in economy (caused by Barack Obama, obvi), is completely inaccurate.
Read on...

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