Good morning. Last week, Devils Backbone Brewing in Virginia had teamed up with Jake Karamol, a tattoo artist who has become a TikTok phenomenon, to launch a "free year of beer giveaway." All you have to do is get one of the Jake’s specially designed tattoo. The first 100 people to present this tattoo before June 30th win the prize.
And while this newsletter is free for everyone, we would honored (and kind of freaked out) if you’ll got a Simmer tattoo. We may not have a TikTok superstar, but we have our very own Tarun who has designed the Simmer logo and according to him, it will look great on the arm!
Just for fun!: If you were held at gunpoint to get a brand tattoo, what would it be? Reply to this email with your answer. Here are ours:
Dhaval - Ferrari; Tarun - Patagonia
In the food world
Copycat!: Dunkin’ and Beyond Meat Are Being Sued Over Their Plant-Based Breakfast Sandwich Slogan. Philadelphia based Vegadelphia Foods (very innovative) sued both companies over the slogan "Great Taste, Plant-Based" used to launch Dunkin' plant-based Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich. Vegadelphia alleges the slogan is a copy of their slogan "Where Great Taste is Plant-Based", which has been trademarked in 2015.
Going gourmet: Emerging food and beverage brands are encouraged to apply for an opportunity to snag shelf space at 7-Eleven stores across the country. The slurpee and stale, 3:00am pizza making retailer is looking to discover up-and-coming brands, aligned with new food and beverage trends to diversify their product offerings.
Formula mayhem: Finding baby formula in the US right now is as difficult as assembling furniture without a manual. Almost 40% of formula brands were sold out during the last week of April (not because there were that many pandemic babies). Factors such as Covid-era supply chain issues and a top manufacturer’s recall in February have led to this situation.
Food delivery dynamics
A restaurant is a distillation of a city. When we think of our favorite restaurant, it’s not only the food that pops up in our minds. It’s the overall experience - who we were with, conversations we have, the smells and most importantly, eavesdropping on the gossip from fellow diners.
The pandemic changed this dynamic. While being locked at home, meal delivery services came to the forefront. Here we have a special two part series talking about these services and what their future looks like.
Ancient history
Collin Wallace is one of the grandfathers of modern food delivery. The concept started to solve a simple problem: how to order a sandwich to his classroom without the teacher noticing. Instead of asking a friend and stealthily eating it, he created a computer program to turn a text sent from his mobile phone into a fax delivered to a restaurant. This technology was eventually acquired by Grubhub. Today, Doordash, Ubereats, Postmates and Grubhub are the largest players in this industry.
The sweet
Instead of hoping to get featured by Guy Fieri on triple D, signing up on the delivery apps helped restaurants get discovered by new customers.
Small shops were able to deliver our favorite foods as the meal delivery companies took away the burden of logistics.
For people bored with the tiktok pasta and dalgona coffee, the vast variety of choices that was made available by these companies proved to be a lifeline.
The bitter
These services charge huge commissions (as high as 35%) eating into already narrow, restaurant margins.
Meal delivery companies often double dip by marking up the menu, making consumers pay a higher price.
Restaurants biggest profit puppies i.e. alcohol and impulse orders after alcohol (we have all been there) are lost as customers only order what they expect to eat.
What next?: The restaurant has always been a curious institution. Until now, it has been extraordinarily resilient, but these delivery apps are giving rise to a scary ghost. Let’s talk about that “Ghost” next week (hopefully we did enough to build the hype).
Recipe of the week: Strawberry delight
- by Camilla @dolcemente_milla
Americans on average eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus another 1.8 pounds frozen per capita. Instead of just covering it with chocolate or using it in a smoothie, we wanted to really celebrate the start of strawberry season. That is why we reached out to Camilla, who went all out creating this masterpiece.
This dish features a dome of soft white chocolate mousse with a liquid strawberry center (trust us, it’s there!) and a soft vanilla sponge cake, meringue and fresh strawberries to keep up with the average US consumption. Do try this recipe! It is like a bite of spring to celebrate the superman of fruit.
Meal plan
This week’s meal prep is dedicated to all the countless times when you have gone to the grocery store, spent $327 on stuff you did not want to buy and order pizza for dinner. Come to think of it, this sounds much cooler than planning your meals.
Creamed butter beans, with zucchini (Hannah: @hans.hungry)
Brothy white beans with radicchio (Kylie: @triedandtruerecipes)
Ratatouille over quinoa (Nancy: @nanceeatsplants)
Did you know?
Supposedly, waste from Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream company is given to local farmers to feed to their hogs. After-all, everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream!
Step aside Alexa, ‘Betty Crocker’ was the OG of fictional characters, created in 1921 by General Mills, to give a personal touch while replying to questions and comments.
In ancient times, black pepper, like living past 30, was considered a luxury. So much so that it was used to pay taxes and rent. The IRS was not too happy with this proposal.
Quiz
We have four random facts here. One of them is false, Can you guess that?
An average ear of corn has even number of rows
Taco Bell partnered with Forever 21 to release a clothing line
Bananas grow on trees
Radishes have more water content than watermelons
*Answer at the bottom
Cooking tips
Look for plump apricots with as much golden orange color as possible. Apricots that are soft-ripe have the best flavor and must be consumed immediately.
To check if baking powder is till fresh, go all mad scientist and stir 1/2 teaspoon baking powder into 1/4 cup of hot tap water, If it fizzes, then it’s okay, if not it’s still a fun experiment.
Asparagus does not store well! Use it within 3 days or spend your paycheck at Whole Foods for a jar of asparagus infused water.
Scan & go
Starbuck's new summer menu, which launched in stores this week. The headline is the Chocolate Cream Cold Brew.
The Oh, Honey! collection by Krispy Kreme, Inc. featuring three honey flavored donuts.
Kellogg Co. brand Cheez-It is launching Cheez-It Snap’d Scorchin’ Hot Cheddar snacking crackers for a limited time this summer.
Media watch
"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate that's my philosophy."
-Thornton Wilder, an American playwright and novelist
Not your average grandma’s ice-cream: Strawberry Kufli
If you ever wished for a Wordle but for Food, you are not alone: Phoodle
While this simmers…
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Answers
Like money, banana also doesn’t grow on trees. They grow from a root structure that produces a stem above the ground.