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Backstage Demands

YumSugar — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:35:55 -0800

Everyone has their favorite foods and beverages, including pop stars. Only, unlike the rest of us, pop stars can demand to have these items waiting for them in their dressing rooms. Whether it's Oreos, 10 pounds of carrots or Cristal, the stars get what they ask for. You think your ritual of one cup of strawberry yogurt each day is weird, wait until you read some of the demands the stars ask for. To check out some of my favorite pop star food demands, read more

When preparing for her next gig, Christina Aguilera needs to have her dressing room stocked with Flintstones chewable vitamins, Oreos, Nesquick and an assortment of organic foods.

Country pop diva, and juice fiend, Shania Twain insists on 10 pounds of carrots, six lemons, three papayas, one watermelon and then some. To balance out all of that juice she insists on chomping down orange colored cheese popcorn.

But my favorite demand comes from 50 Cent. His demands include KFC, Boston Market and a cold bottle of Cristal. Now that's what I call classy!

How about you? If you were a pop star, what food would you demand?!

To learn more about other wacky star demands, check out this great list compiled by the folks at eDiets.

This Football Season, It'll Be Harder to Score Chicken Wings

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:50:34 -0800

St. Louis Rams fans: if you think a winning touchdown has been impossible this season, just wait until you try to score some buffalo chicken wings.

Wing demand is on the rise, but due to this year's waning need for chicken breast, poultry producers have cut chicken production for the first time in 36 years. Broiler chicken production is forecast to be down 3.5 percent this year - and, with only two wings per chicken, wholesale wing costs are poised to increase dramatically.

So, much like Super Bowl Sunday last year, on game day other spicy chicken dishes will just have to fly. Since what I really want to eat is buffalo chicken cheese dip, that's fine with me. Will you miss this year's wings? Or are you willing to pay a higher price for them?

KFC Braves Another Grilled Chicken Giveaway

YumSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:50:23 -0700

Now that KFC's finally named a winner in its search for the right grilled chicken spokesperson, the chain is ready for yet another Kentucky Grilled Chicken giveaway. Declaring next Monday, Oct. 26 "UNFry Day," KFC will be handing out one free piece of grilled chicken to customers at more than 5,000 restaurants across the US.

The fast food company's last grilled chicken giveaway, which was backed by none other than Oprah Winfrey, caused quite a stir when KFC, faced with overwhelming demand, was forced to issue an apology and staggered rainchecks to customers who were turned away.

Considering what happened during the last giveaway, I'm not sure I'm ready to show up for this one. Did you have a bad experience with the last promotion? Would you be willing give KFC another try?

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Chipotle Goes Solar

YumSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:50:50 -0700

Looks like Chipotle has seen the light. Yesterday, the fast-casual Mexican chain announced plans to install solar paneling on 75 of its locations in the next year. The move will make the company the largest direct producer of solar energy in the restaurant industry to date. Chipotle wants to reduce energy consumption during its peak hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., when the energy grid experiences the highest level of demand. With solar panels, it could eliminate as much as 41 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. The Mexican fast-casual chain has partnered with Standard Renewable Energy to begin installing panels on restaurants in Denver, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. Along with the company's desire to educate diners about food sustainability and use environmentally conscious building materials, this move is yet another case for why customers should support the brand. But let's be honest: the best reason to hit up Chipotle is still for its insanely good burritos. Are you impressed that the company is making more socially conscious strides?

Source: Flickr User bpende

Food Section Sampler - Aug. 19, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:30:00 -0700

When prepared right, okra can taste reminiscent of asparagus and eggplant, with none of the slime. - San Francisco Chronicle
The hottest table in town, Restaurant City, is a virtual eatery that can only be accessed through Facebook. - Los Angeles Times
Pay attention to the story behind cheap food prices. - Washington Post
Dates are in serious demand during the Islamic month of Ramadan. - Boston Globe
To taste some of the world's most exquisite fruit, you'll have to fly to Asia. - Wall Street Journal
With Portuguese delights, the secret is in the piri-piri pepper sauce. - Chicago Tribune
If you're missing out on this season's tomatoes, make a BLT with plums instead. - New York Times

Food Section Sampler - July 22, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:30:55 -0700

There are still plenty of bargains to be found in the French wine aisle. - Wall Street Journal
San Francisco is becoming an epicenter of winemaking in its own right. - San Francisco Chronicle
Top Chef Stephanie Izard offers locals a preview of her new restaurant's menu. - Chicago Tribune
A large-scale fungus outbreak has threatened to destroy Northeast and mid-Atlantic tomato crops. - New York Times
With the onset of open restaurant kitchens, chefs have begun sporting snazzier kitchen attire. - Boston Globe
One venture has taken advantage of exploding demand for local produce with an online delivery service. - Washington Post
Now that name-brand food trucks have spurred a slew of imitators, will the street food trend continue to turn a profit? - Los Angeles Times

Burger King Battles Controversy, Contemplates Menu Changes

YumSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:24 -0700

Burger King has found itself in the spotlight again after offending a religious group and most recently contemplating major menu changes. The number two fast food chain has upset Hindus worldwide with a new Spanish print campaign that features the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi, sitting atop a meat sandwich with the caption, "A snack that's sacred," in Spanish.

The Hindu religion, which has the highest proportion of vegetarians among major denominations, frowns upon showing meat with a revered goddess, as well as exploiting one of its sacred symbols. Although the Hindu American Foundation has demanded that Burger King pull the ad, so far, BK has declined to comment. Perhaps the chain's executives were focused on other developments. Today, Burger King store operators are voting on a measure to slash the price of its double cheeseburger to $1 this Summer, in an effort to win over competitors' customers - and at a time when top rival McDonald's has been focusing on premium offerings. Last year, rising costs forced the world's biggest burger chain to remove its trademark Double Cheeseburger from its Dollar Menu.

Do you feel that Burger King has made two major missteps, by offending members of a religious community, and focusing on low-end items? Should the advertisement be withdrawn, and an apology issued? Would you be more likely to eat at Burger King than McDonald's if the company offered a $1 double cheeseburger?

Photo by flickr user Neubie

National Geographic's Portrait of the Global Food Crisis

YumSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:00:14 -0700

While it's unlikely that there'll be any shortage of food at Memorial Day grill-outs across the country this weekend, National Geographic has released a special report on the global food crisis that's occurring at the same time.

In "The End of Plenty," writer Joel K. Bourne, Jr., and photojournalist John Stanmeyer address the fact that agricultural productivity isn't keeping up with population growth, and humanity's looked the other way. "For most of the past decade, the world has been consuming more food than it has been producing," Bourne writes. Consequently, the cost of wheat, corn, rice, and other basic commodities has skyrocketed worldwide, hitting the world's poorest billion people the hardest. And the situation will only get worse: based on the world's booming population, we'll need to double our current food production by 2030 in order to keep up with demand. Simply stated: there isn't going to be enough food to go around.

Predictably, the root of the problem lies with agribusiness, and the synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and genetic engineering that come along with it. Overconsumption of meat is a problem, too: it takes up to 10 times more grain to get the same amount of calories from eating US grain-fed beef as it does from eating the grain itself. This alone is reason enough for a city to go meatless!

Check out the stunning photo slideshow, which profiles the world's interdependent food system. Do you feel the same urgency to address the world's food crisis?

Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act Means Free Candy For You

YumSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:30:38 -0700

Your Fridays just got a little sweeter. Mars Snackfood is giving away a quarter of a million full-size packages of chocolate on its Free Chocolate Fridays. As part of the brand's Real Chocolate Relief Act, customers are encouraged to visit RealChocolate.com, where, every Friday through the end of September, the first 250,000 consumers can download a coupon for a full-size package of Twix, Dove, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Milky Way, or M&Ms.

In response to overwhelming demand the first week, today the company is making an exception to give away free chocolate to the first 500,000 visitors. The Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act is part of a new campaign to highlight its chocolate made with 100 percent cocoa butter.

The strategy takes a jab at archrival Hershey's for having made the switch to cheaper ingredients: "Without cocoa butter, chocolate simply is not chocolate. Some companies use artificial ingredients to make their chocolate sweeter or because it's cheaper. Know that with Mars, there's no substitute for cocoa butter." The promotion even includes tips on how to spot "fake" chocolate.

I can think of a slew of people who will appreciate this "relief act." Did you sign up to get your free candy bar?

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KFC President Issues YouTube Apology, Offers Raincheck

YumSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:00:41 -0700

Oprah's KFC promotion for a free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal has not only caused a lot of controversy, but sky-high demand also has KFC stores across the country turning away customers. In response, KFC president Rogert Eaton has taken a strikingly similar approach to Domino's by issuing an apology to patrons via YouTube. In exchange for the inconvenience customers have gone through, Eaton offers a raincheck for a grilled chicken meal, plus a free Pepsi.

Do you think Eaton did the right thing? I question whether customers who've already redeemed the free chicken will simply cash in on more gratis grub. Will you redeem KFC's raincheck offer?

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