Tag: food

Russia warns of Black Sea risks after grain deal exit

KYIV, Ukraine, July 18, 2023 (AFP) – Russia on Tuesday issued a veiled warning over the future of grain exports via the Black Sea, after Moscow refused to extend a key agreement allowing safe passage for cargo ships from Ukrainian ports. The caution came hours after Ukraine said a Russian strike overnight had damaged facilities at the southern port of Odesa, one of the main transit hubs for grain under the pact signed with the […]

Climate change spells ‘terrifying’ future: UN rights chief

GENEVA, July 3, 2023 (AFP) – Climate change threatens to deliver a “truly terrifying” dystopian future of hunger and suffering, the United Nations’ human rights chief warned Monday. Volker Turk slammed world leaders for only thinking of the short term while dealing with the climate crisis. Turk told a UN Human Rights Council debate on the right to food that extreme weather events were wiping out crops, herds and ecosystems, making it impossible for communities […]

‘World’s best restaurant’ to reopen in Spain as museum

By Rosa SULLEIRO Agence France-Presse ROSES, Spain, June 7, 2023 (AFP) — Spain’s elBulli, repeatedly voted the world’s best restaurant before it closed over a decade ago, is set to reopen as a museum dedicated to the culinary revolution it sparked. Nestled in an isolated cove on Spain’s northeastern tip, the museum is dubbed “elBulli1846” — a reference to the 1,846 dishes ground-breaking chef Ferran Adria says were developed at the eatery. “It’s not about […]

South Africa presses for recognition of its high-end olive oil

By Julie BOURDIN Agence France-Presse STELLENBOSCH, South Africa, May 24, 2023 (AFP) — South Africa is famous for its wines but not necessarily for olive oil, where Greece, Italy and Spain are the undisputed kings. But the country’s farmers are undeterred, eyeing a potential share of the lucrative market for top-quality extra virgin oils. At Tokara, a farm about an hour’s drive from Cape Town, workers pull rakes through branches to make the ripening olives […]

Foreign chefs conquer Paris with childhood flavors for French cuisine

By Olga NEDBAEVA Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — “My mum doesn’t agree with what I do here: at home, we don’t eat like this,” laughs Alan Geaam, the first Lebanese chef to earn a Michelin star in Paris. The self-taught chef, who fled his country’s civil war in 1999, nonetheless believes that promoting Lebanon’s culinary riches means combining them with some of “the elegance and refinement” of French cuisine. At his self-titled restaurant in […]

Steam cuisine: cooking in Japan’s hot springs

BEPPU, Japan (AFP) — Using geothermal resources to generate electricity is a divisive prospect in Japan, but there is little disagreement about another use for it: natural steam for cooking. The geothermal sources that make Japan a haven for hot springs or onsen are also used to produce a range of delicacies. There’s the “onsen tamago” — eggs cooked in geothermally heated water at around 65 degrees (149 degrees Fahrenheit) to produce a relatively firm […]

Sushi conveyor belt pranks spark outrage in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A handful of unhygienic pranks at sushi conveyor belt restaurants in Japan have sparked stock slumps, venue overhauls and legal action, along with furious social media commentary. Several videos dubbed “sushi terrorism” have emerged on social media including Twitter and TikTok in recent days, some of them apparently weeks or even years old. In one, viewed nearly 40 million times on Twitter, an apparently teenaged customer licks the top of a […]

Fears for French baguettes as power prices burn bakers

by Adam PLOWRIGHT — Recently described as “250 grams of magic and perfection” by President Emmanuel Macron, the French baguette is at risk from surging energy prices, with some bakers warning they can no longer afford to fire up their ovens. Already struggling with sharp hikes in the price of butter, flour and sugar over the last year and a half, the prized industry is now alarmed by astronomical electricity bills looming in 2023. “It […]

US announces $2.5 billion in food assistance to Africa

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –The United States on Thursday committed another $2.5 billion in food assistance to Africa, pledging to help the continent cope with rising prices blamed in part on Russia’s invasion of breadbasket Ukraine. President Joe Biden laid out the new commitment at the close of a three-day summit that brought nearly 50 African leaders to Washington. Biden told leaders that the United States was concerned about rising hunger triggered “in part due […]

Egg shortage lays UK low

London, United Kingdom | AFP | by Valentine GRAVELEAU A “full English breakfast” is not full without eggs. Whether fried or scrambled, they round out the calorific mainstay of traditional British cafes. But on top of inflationary pressures which have sent the price of ingredients soaring — including bacon, sausages and baked beans — Britain is also contending with a devastating outbreak of avian influenza. The result is a shortage of eggs, which has forced two […]

Homegrown superheroes: Meet the US Robin Hoods battling inflation

Atlanta, United States | AFP | by Camille CAMDESSUS There is no such thing as a free lunch, economists chide, but one alternative store in the southern US city of Atlanta is offering the next best thing to those struggling with spiraling prices. Locals load up on plantains, frozen meat and other ingredients free of charge at The Grocery Spot, a small, neon-lit outlet in the Georgia state capital. In three weeks, Americans get to […]

World food prices fall for sixth straight month: UN

Paris, France | AFP | World food prices have fallen for a sixth month in a row in September, UN data showed Friday, as they continued to decline since a record reached following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Food and Agriculture Organization said its price index, which tracks the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 136.3 points in September, a 1.1 percent drop from August. The index, however, was […]