TV chefs attacked for wastefulness, the dangers of at-work eating, Toronto restaurants raise money for HIV/AIDS

TV chefs attacked for wastefulness, the dangers of at-work eating, Toronto restaurants raise money for HIV/AIDS

Local farmers will benefit from new provincial government funding (Photo by Bill Barber)

• Cash-strapped diners can eat out without feeling guilty on April 29, when 50 Toronto restaurants will team up with Fife House for an HIV/AIDS fundraiser. Participating businesses—including hot spots Sassafraz and Crush Wine Bar—will donate part of the day’s proceeds to the cause. Talk about win-win. [Martini Boys]

• The provincial government jumps on the locavore train, giving farming another big-brotherly boost. Ontario will spend over $700,000 on local food projects in an effort to strengthen agribusiness. [Country Guide]

• The rule of thumb is no tip on tax, and, as Corey Mintz explains, it may be no tax on tip, too. The Star food critic takes a look at the legal—and moral—issues that govern gratuities earned by servers, and the cut taken by their employers. [Toronto Star]

• Home cooking may be all the rage for recession-bitten foodies, but one fan is up in arms about the bad habits of such small-screen celebrity chefs as Guy Fieri (Guy’s Big Bite) and Giada De Laurentiis (Everyday Italian), who she says make more garbage and food waste than they do delicacies. [Huffington Post]

• Dig the Transformers lunch box out of the basement: new research from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that bad at-work habits are a leading cause of obesity. The remedy? A return to brown bagging, for better options than easy-access fast foods. [National Post]