Food News

• Jacques Pépin on burgers and the gender politics of grilling — The Braiser
• Was the Sazerac America's first cocktail? — HuffPost Taste
• Restaurant pulls sexist dress code after backlash — Eater
• The always dapper Geoffrey Zakarian talks food and fashion — Zagat
• Creative food-centric wedding gifts you'll be proud to give — Grub Street
• The best electric waffle iron, hands down — America's Test Kitchen
• Which fast-food burger chain is launching a food truck? — Delish
• How to keep pesky cheese from sticking to the grater — Food Republic

• At the Classic, chefs predict the next big culinary trends — Grub Street
• Does Top Chef winner Kristen Kish plan to go back on TV? — Zagat
• Catching up with Grant Achatz, David Chang, and Wylie Dufresne — Eater
• Richard Blais makes a horror Vine in the Aspen mountains — The Braiser
• Your guide for shopping and cooking for one — HuffPost Taste
• Mayor Bloomberg wants compost bins in NYC — America's Test Kitchen
• Italian inmates make high-quality olive oil, cheese, and wine — Delish

Chef Amanda Freitag of Food Network'sChopped and Iron Chef America had a lot to say about pork during her cooking demonstration at the San Francisco Chipotle Cultivate Festival. Bacon lovers cheered as she drew a fat roll of pancetta out of the fridge. She made a pork chop topped with crispy pancetta, and along the way shared her best practices for buying, prepping, and cooking pancetta. Seasoned pancetta cooks and newbies alike should keep reading for some key pancetta-cooking tips.

For the past two and a half years, Nate Appleman has been Chipotle's culinary manager, working on recipe developing for the burrito chain and its new Asian eatery ShopHouse, sourcing ingredients, and streamlining kitchen and restaurant operations. After his chef demo at the San Francisco Chipotle Cultivate Food Festival we discussed his nontraditional workdays at Chipotle, the challenges of using fresh ingredients, and the importance of thinking beyond the food being served.

POPSUGAR: What does your typical day look like?
Nate Appleman: My day changes every day. I work a lot on developing ShopHouse and seeing it to market. I'm personally involved in hiring the crew, the managers, looking at the food cost numbers, and developing the menu. I spend a lot of time on that. But I spend a lot of time on Chipotle. It's constantly changing, because we use real ingredients, and real ingredients change. It's not like other restaurants or companies that have a formula. We don't cook by formula; we cook by ingredients. We're constantly evaluating tomatoes, seeing how they change, and if there is a problem, fixing it.

PS: What's your favorite aspect of your job?
NA: There is no monotony to it. I never know what the day will bring, because it changes all the time. I love that. In a restaurant, when you become a chef, you stand on the line and expedite tickets every single day. I don't like that and don't want to do that. I want something new, exciting, and fresh. I want to be cooking, creating, and doing. I get that opportunity.

PS: What unusual challenges have come up?
NA: The big challenge with Chipotle and ShopHouse is we're a big company. We have really strong beliefs about the ingredients that we're using and the accessibility and availability of those ingredients is hard. For a small, independent restaurant it's easy. You go to the farmers market, you pick up the food, and you're using great stuff. Well, we try to do that on a large scale. We have almost 1,500 restaurants.

Nate talks about Chipotle lessons, restaurant trends, and more.

"Sandwich King" Jeff Mauro knows a thing or two about great cheeses. In particular, the Food Network star, who's partnered with Cracker Barrel Cheese, has a soft spot for cheddar, specifically domestic varieties. "We're turning out great cheese and beating a lot of imported cheeses," he said. "Go America, right?"

Since we're always on the hunt for affordable cheese plate ideas, a punchy sandwich, or great pairing ideas, we asked Jeff to share his cheese expertise. Here are his thoughts on all things cheddar.

• Showcase cheddar on a cheese plate: "Use a good, affordable cheese as the bulk, then indulge in the more expensive imported cheeses," Jeff advises. Cracker Barrel's version is just under $4.
• Splurge on a domestic aged cheddar: Jeff loves old cheddars, which are strong and slightly crunchy from salt and aged enzymes. "I have gotten an 18-year-old cheddar [from an Amish village] that cost me $24 for a small block. It is so indulgent."

Keep reading for more of Jeff's cheddar tips.

Chipotle's not just making burritos; for a couple of years now, it's also been serving Asian-inspired meals with sustainable ingredients under the Washington DC-based concept known as ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, and at this past week's Cultivate Festival, Chipotle offered San Franciscans a taste. The concept, which currently has one location only, offers build-your-own bowls with a variety of elements, from noodles and rice to stir-fried vegetables and crushed peanuts. To learn more about the ShopHouse philosophy, expansion plans, and our tasting notes, keep reading.

Last year, Girl Scouts and Nestlé team up to do the unthinkable: combine a beloved American cookie with the classic Crunch chocolate bar. We loved the partnership. But when the two companies teamed up again to create new limited-edition Coffee-Mate creamers ($3) for Summer in Thin Mints and caramel and coconut flavors, that's when we started to scratch our heads. But alas, tempted by all things Thin Mint, we called the products in for a taste test.

Thin Mints Coffee-Mate

Taste-testers agreed that the fudgy and minty coffee creamer both smells and tastes like Thin Mints, and possesses a cooling effect that would be refreshing during the warm Summer months. Detractors complained that the flavor was a little artificial-tasting and more subtle than they would've liked in taste. Still, the stars speak for themselves: most enjoyed the flavor enough to give it a high rating.

Keep reading for the Samoa flavored coffee creamer.

• The best liquor store picks under $20 — HuffPost Taste
• Michael Chiarello's latest TV venture — Zagat
• Canadian Pizza Huts unleash the ultimate indulgence: poutine pizza — Eater
• Andrew Zimmern talks meat glue and its place in cuisine — The Braiser
• Maine takes an official stand against GMOs — Grub Street
• Must make: tender, flaky whole-wheat buttermilk biscuits — America's Test Kitchen
• Yes, Wendy's T-Rex burger is real — Delish
• Indispensable tips for better travel food photography — The Kitchn