Truffles to close, the KFC “float-thru,” 64,373 kilometres of Twinkie wrapper
• Truffles, one of Toronto’s most revered fine-dining institutions, will serve its last meal on September 5. Four Seasons executive Dimitrios Zarikos told Corey Mintz that while business had been declining at Truffles for years, it was the recession that retired them at age 37. Internationally acclaimed alumni include Jonathan Gushue of Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Lynn Crawford of the Four Seasons New York and Jason McLeod of Elysian in Chicago. Predictably, Truffles will be replaced by something “more casual.” [Toronto Star]
• Howstuffworks.com has just ruined a few more foods for us. Each year, 64,373 kilometres of plastic wrap are used to package Twinkies; worcestershire sauce is mainly anchovies; and most disgustingly of all, the U.S. FDA allows up to 19 maggots in each can of assembly line mushrooms. If the latter doesn’t make one a Tupperware-toting slow-food vegetarian, nothing ever will. [Howstuffworks.com]
• Cadbury plans to become Canada’s biggest supplier of fair-trade chocolate, although it will only account for about 11 per cent of the company’s sales. Cocoa growers who trade with the company in Ghana will now be guaranteed a fair wage, which will be verified by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International. Fair trade sales grew 67 per cent last year, making them even more recession-proof than the “evening snack” segment we mentioned yesterday. [Globe and Mail]
• Kentucky Fried Chicken is opening the world’s first “float-thru” restaurant, located on Lake Michigan. The Colonel’s latest publicity stunt will offer free meals to boaters and jet skiers on its first day of business. Let’s hope they planned this one better than the time when they gave away free chicken on Oprah. Hungry O-fans do not react well to crashing Web sites and rainchecks. [9 News]
• A second restaurateur in New York has learned that he may have committed a felony by selling kangaroo meat. Public’s owner, Adam Farmerie, was surprised to learn that in New York, the species in considered endangered; preparing the animals as dinner could theoretically earn jail time. He may get off with a fine as low as $250, but that still seems ironic. The Australian government calls kangaroos pests because of the damage they cause to crops and the injuries that result when they hop in front of cars. They also call kangaroo a “very good game meat.” [New York Magazine]
