Black Death-plagued tomatoes in Ontario, run a restaurant on Facebook, Alain Ducasse loves leftovers
• The rainy summer hasn’t just sucked for cottagers—it’s been bad for tomatoes, too. Many plants in the province have developed a fungus that flourishes in soggy fields. The blight, known as the Black Death, the same one that caused the Irish potato famine, has made tomatoes scarce across the province. [Globe and Mail]
• An invitation to dine out as a guest of the New York Times restaurant critic may sound like a good reason to grovel. But Frank Bruni, his last-ever review now behind him, dishes on how crazy invitees can get: food hoarding, pouting, and giving up the host’s true identity to the maître d’ are just a few common antics. [New York Times]
• Food lovers without the good luck of having a couple of hedge fund–managing friends can still become restaurateurs—on Facebook, that is, where the app Restaurant City has been rapidly gaining followers. Users choose the decor (including turrets and indoor rivers) and then buy and trade ingredients to make a menu. Just like at el Bulli. [LA Times]
• Visitors to the legendary Alain Ducasse’s new cooking school in Paris expected instructions on first-class, Michelin-star cooking. But they didn’t expect tips on what to do with leftovers, like turning fish trimmings into the much more spectacular-sounding sea bass tartare. Even top chefs appreciate the one-pot, five-minute meal. [Telegraph]
