• TasteTO has scoured Little Italy and a few other neighbourhoods to find cannoli that best Café Diplomatico’s. The results are inconclusive, with the Dip part of a three-way stalemate in cannoli quality, along with Riviera and Caldense Bakery. Perhaps the most shocking part of the article is that eating cannoli for a living is not all it’s cracked up to be. [TasteTO]
• Kraft Foods has retaliated against Stephen Colbert’s recent bashing of one of its products by running with the gag. Miracle Whip told the TV host in a newspaper ad, “We will own you,” and proceeded to buy four commercial spots on Thursday’s show. The ads consisted of the same footage parodied by Colbert on his show. Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. [Chicago Tribune]
• Slashfood compiles a reader-generated list of horror stories about the desperate cost-cutting measures that can occur at restaurants. Even a quick perusal of this list is sure to arouse squeamishness: one writer recalls how her place of work would save leftover bread from customers’ plates to use as stuffing. Another writes about combining instant potatoes with the real deal. [Slashfood]
• A group of Colombian student chefs have come up with an aphrodisiac dessert containing passion fruit and Viagra. Those who eat the dessert feel “their bodies’ need to quench that desire,” the chefs say. The dessert was given to two groups: one was aware of what the food contained, and the other was not. Both groups reportedly experienced aphrodisiac effects, with women giving the most enthusiastic response. [Straights Times]
• On the day that probably best showcases the ludicrousness of humanity, the fifth annual Guinness World Records Day saw plenty of new feats on Thursday, including many from the culinary world. The largest gingerbread man was baked in Oslo; in Denmark, a man peeled and ate three lemons in 28.5 seconds; in Milan, the record for the largest one-minute pizza dough stretch was set, and a gentleman ate a bowl of pasta in 90 seconds; also, in NYC, the world’s largest cup of hot chocolate clocked in at 15 litres. [AFP]
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