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Andrew Hunt and I have something in common: we're both writing letters to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

But that's where our similarities stop.

Hunt is a devout vegan who, according to Ontario's The Record, has written Palin a letter extolling the virtues of a vegan lifestyle, which is a diet devoid of any and all animal products, including cheeses and milk. The Republican Party's 2008 Vice Presidential candidate is a very public hunting enthusiast.

But wait, there's more: A professor of history at the University of Waterloo, Hunt promises cordial, weekly letters to Palin about animal rights, vegan recipes, and his experiences as an ex-carnivore.

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]]>andrew hunt weekly letters to Sarah Palingovernor palingovernor sarah palinsarah palinsarah palin mooseJohn DevoreWed, 03 Feb 2010 16:30:00 ESTPutting Chips and Salsa to the Testhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/01/putting-salsa-and-chips-to-the-test/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/01/putting-salsa-and-chips-to-the-test/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/01/putting-salsa-and-chips-to-the-test/#commentsFiled under:

Rachel Been, AOL


When testing salsas, we set some rules. First of all, these are all store-bought, jarred salsas. While almost every supermarket has assorted fresh salsa choices, we felt this would be unfair, as there's just no comparing a freshly made salsa with one jarred months prior. Plus, there just aren't enough fresh salsas available that are also national brands. The best fresh salsas are made locally, and in some instances, on the spot. We didn't include any canned salsas, for similar reasons.

Find out the winners after the jump.

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]]>chips and salsachips and salsa taste testsalsasalsa and chipssalsa and chips taste testsuper bowltortilla chipsJohn DevoreMon, 01 Feb 2010 16:00:00 ESTThe 10 Hottest Women in the Food Industryhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/the-10-hottest-women-in-the-food-industry/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/the-10-hottest-women-in-the-food-industry/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/the-10-hottest-women-in-the-food-industry/#commentsFiled under: ,

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There is just something sexy about a woman who takes big, reckless, greedy bites out of life; a woman who isn't afraid of fire, or knives, or licking her fingers. And all ten of these female chefs, food critics, bloggers, and television personalities fit these criteria. They are all leaders in their field, accomplished professionals who also happen to be fantastically attractive. Each of these women vibrates with passion, style, and authority. And we love them for it.

The one name that is not on this list is Julia Child's, that peerless pioneer of television cooking who inspired entire generations of Americans to become homegrown gourmets. Her joyful sensuality was part of her allure: she set the mold for every woman on this list. We chose not to include her because sometimes genius stands apart. Julia Child's is sexy, just re-watch the way the woman eats a pastry, breaks down a chicken, or kneads a mound of dough.

And now, the heiresses to her throne ... these goddesses are so hot, they practically sizzle.

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]]>giada de laurentiishottest women in foodpadma lakshmitop chefwomen in foodJohn DevoreFri, 29 Jan 2010 18:00:00 ESTGordon Ramsay is one of the Greatest Television Chefshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/13/gordon-ramsay-is-one-of-the-greatest-television-chefs/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/13/gordon-ramsay-is-one-of-the-greatest-television-chefs/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/13/gordon-ramsay-is-one-of-the-greatest-television-chefs/#commentsFiled under:

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Gordon Ramsay's BBC show "Kitchen Nightmares" is a classic; permanent proof that Ramsay is one of the best chef-lebrities working and cooking on television. The UK version of "Kitchen Nightmares" might be old news, but it's good news to certain hack writers bedeviled with pestilence. So, if you're ever marooned on a couch because of the flu, re-watch any of the episodes of this show on BBC America On Demand. Ramsay is combustible, passionate, and a man clearly in control of his talents. He's the rare personality on air: a guy who obviously knows what he's doing, and is not afraid of showing that fact off. Rarely do we see experts on television who literally look like they can easily walk the talk.

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]]>gordon ramsayGordonRamsaykitchen nightmaresKitchenNightmaresJohn DevoreWed, 13 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST10 Food Trends of the Futurehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/31/future-food-trends/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/31/future-food-trends/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/31/future-food-trends/#commentsFiled under: ,

rainbow jell-o moldPhoto: m kasahara, Flickr.

Food is like fashion: full of trends that are hot plates one moment and cold leftovers the next.

Sure, there are fundamentals that will never go out of style, like a well-cooked steak or a creamy bisque. But then there are fads -- Chilean sea bass, sous vide, molecular gastronomy. Like fashion's flashes in the pan, some are gaudy extravaganzas meant to attract attention and instant gratification. On the other hand, some become classics passed down through generations to come. No one can truly predict what the public will embrace, either in the short or long term.

What does the future hold for food trends? What exciting, silly, over-the-top surprises await us tomorrow, besides jet-pack pizza delivery? Drool over these epicurean prognostications and tremble at our ability to peer into the unknown. Here are food trends that we 110 percent guarantee will be served at any point between this new year and 500 years from now.

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]]>futuristicgelatinNew YearrodentstoastJohn DevoreThu, 31 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST10 Greatest Cooking Shows of All Timehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/top-10-cooking-shows/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/top-10-cooking-shows/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/30/top-10-cooking-shows/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Casey Kelbaugh for AOL


Americans love stuffing their faces and crashing out in front of the tube. Which is why the combination of the two has always proved popular.

Cooking shows are a staple of television programming, as essential to the medium as news broadcasts, sporting events and sitcoms. But unlike grandfatherly anchors droning, sportscasters shouting or wacky neighbors barging, cooking on television is a very rare form of mass instruction, with a sensual ebb and flow.

Celebrity chefs cheerfully chop, slice and saute, swearing the whole time it's easy. Anyone can do it, provided they listen up. These affable hosts crack jokes, add oil and set the oven to broil. And then eat, shoveling their delicious creations into their quivering maw.

Over the course of decades, these shows have remained beloved and rightfully so. Here are 10 of the greatest. ...

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]]>featuredtop 10 cooking showsTop10CookingShowsJohn DevoreWed, 30 Dec 2009 17:30:00 ESTEight Fast-Food Miracles and Missteps From the Decadehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/28/decade-in-fast-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/28/decade-in-fast-food/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/28/decade-in-fast-food/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Yoppy, Flickr.

This decade has been a Golden Age for the fast-food industry, even though the new century hasn't been kind: The Nacho Cheese/Beefy Goodness/Deep-Fry Vat Complex has been blamed for America's obesity.

The industry has been forced to display calorie counts on menus and switch to trans-fat oils. Books have been written revealing the unseemly side of the quick-eats business.

Yet the fast-food industry has thrived, heralding a Renaissance of budget-friendly cuisine engineered to be portable, comforting and tasty. It's nosh scientifically designed to please your brain's pleasure centers.

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]]>baconatorfast foodHardeesMcDonaldsWendysJohn DevoreMon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:00 ESTIn Defense of Rachael Rayhttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/24/in-defense-of-rachael-ray/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/24/in-defense-of-rachael-ray/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/24/in-defense-of-rachael-ray/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Getty Images


Why do people hate Rachael Ray? Is it because she's bubblier than a human-sized Alka Seltzer? Or so sunny that her television shows should come with skin-cancer warnings? Maybe it's her vowel-heavy, baby talk catchphrases, or her love of cuisine more suited to suburban block parties than fancy restaurants?

The reason Rachael Ray attracts so much scorn is because we hate it when nice people finish first. And finish first she has: Rachael Ray is a mini-empire unto herself. With multiple television shows, best-selling books, numerous endorsements and products and annual earnings upward of $15 million, she's a small-town girl who has done good on an epic scale.

Recently the doyenne of domesticity herself, Martha Stewart, was involved in a public dust-up with Ray, her homemaking rival. It was, of course, much ado about nothing. In an interview, Stewart pointed out that Ray is an entertainer, not the teacher Stewart sees herself as. And Ray responded graciously, pointing out that her skill sets are not as refined as Stewart's. It's true, of course. Martha Stewart could build a two-story gingerbread house fit for a fairytale witch with one hand, while rolling out a hectare of perfect puff pastry with the other. Rachael Ray still seems to have plateaued at the most lamentable food trend of the past two decades: the wrap.

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]]>featuredmartha stewartrachael rayrachel rayJohn DevoreThu, 24 Dec 2009 14:00:00 ESTIn Defense of Guy Fierihttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/20/in-defense-of-guy-fieri/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/20/in-defense-of-guy-fieri/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/20/in-defense-of-guy-fieri/#commentsFiled under: ,

guy fieri

Photo: Food Network.

During a discussion at the Food Network's recent New York City Wine and Food Festival, author, "No Reservations" host and professional leather jacket wearer Anthony Bourdain asked his fellow panelist, culinary wunderkind Chef David Chang, "Who chaps your ass?" Chang was quick to rake Guy Fieri over the coals, citing his "douche glasses," and "stupid f***ing armband," and went on to ask a gleefully obliging Bourdain to "catch me and kick me in the ass" should he ever find him similarly adorned. Chang went on to add, "I'm sure he's a swell fella." The crowd went wild.

Not 24 hours later, a "Saturday Night Live" skit portrayed the "Next Food Network Star" winner being pecked to death by birds.

So why are the cool kids picking on Guy?

I want to go to a party at Food TV superstar Guy Fieri's house. I imagine pyramids of glistening pork ribs and snow shovels full of hush puppies. I dream of patiently standing in line by the pool waiting for margaritas to be blasted into my open mouth by a fire hose while AC/DC blares over the loudspeaker.

You know what you're going to get with this dude. He's fun, entertaining and totally lacking in subtlety -- a one-man tailgate upon which nary a Michelin star shines. His contribution to the tired fusion trend was to awkwardly pair barbecue with sushi. He is who he is; now buy a book.

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]]>diners drive-ins and divesfeaturedfood networkguy fieriJohn DevoreFri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST5 Things You Didn't Know About Turduckenhttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/10/5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-turducken/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/10/5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-turducken/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/10/5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-turducken/#commentsFiled under:

turducken

Photo: Katz Family, flickr.

Turducken is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which is stuffed with a de-boned chicken that is usually stuffed with a sausage, cornbread stuffing. But you already knew this. This distinctly Southern holy trinity of protein has gone from culinary curiosity to mainstream obsession over the course of its short life (its origins are disputed, but it seemed to magically appear sometime in the early to mid-1980s.)

The Turducken's place in the mighty pantheon of American cuisine is a forgone conclusion. This Frankenstein of Fowl Meat is here to stay. But that doesn't mean you know everything about this truly savory gift to the carnivore. In fact, here are five things you didn't know about the happy marriage between gobblers, quackers, and cluck-cluckers.

For those of you who want to try to conjure this delicacy, check out noted health food pioneer Paula Deen's recipe here.

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]]>featuredmeatthanksgivingthanksgiving foodturduckenJohn DevoreTue, 10 Nov 2009 17:45:00 EST10 Catchiest Food Jingles We Love to Hatehttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/09/10-catchiest-food-jingles-we-love-to-hate/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/09/10-catchiest-food-jingles-we-love-to-hate/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/09/10-catchiest-food-jingles-we-love-to-hate/#commentsFiled under:

chicken tonight dance

He feels like chicken tonight. Photo: YouTube.


Jingles are jaunty little hymns to hum while strolling down the aisles of the local temple of frozen pizzas, jarred cheeses, and fresh produce. These clarion calls of consumerism are designed to be simple, snappy, and infectious like swine flu. Beamed directly from the television to the frontal lobe, they are often more memorable than the products about which they're composed.

And that's what makes them so effective; you might not want that box of salty, over-priced flavored rice, but it's been scanned and bagged already. Why? Because you didn't even realize that your eyes had rolled into the back of your skull while you were whistling that product's happy little mind-controlling melody.

So we're celebrating some of the most important music our culture has ever produced -- tunes engineered to tickle the intersection of neural ganglia where pleasure and credit card impulses meet. We dare you to listen, remember and totally not catch yourself blurting them out later today, probably at an inappropriate time. Each of these jingles is cheesy, manipulative and one of them will probably be our dying words.

"Is there anything you'd like to say with your last breath?"

"I... I....I feel...like chicken tonight...like chicken... tonight."

10. Chili's


Chorus: "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs."
Why it's so catchy: It might just be the greatest tune that well-coiffed troupe of teen troubadours from yesteryear, 'N Sync, ever sang. This finger-snapping jingle stirs up excitement for what's essentially a plate of mealy pork bones slathered in sweet ketchup. It's funky, soulful and has the most addicting bass line in all of audio advertising. Imagine it being sung by a cross between Gregorian monks and a gospel choir.

Do you feel like chicken tonight? Betcha will, after the jump.

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]]>chicken tonightfeaturedfood advertisingfood commercialsfood jinglesfunny commercialstv commercialsJohn DevoreMon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 ESTWorld Series Food Wager: Cheesecake vs. Cheesesteak?http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/28/world-series-food-wager-cheesecake-vs-cheesesteak/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/28/world-series-food-wager-cheesecake-vs-cheesesteak/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/28/world-series-food-wager-cheesecake-vs-cheesesteak/#commentsFiled under:

world series food wager should have included scrapple
Phillies scrapple. Photo: Melody Kramer, Flickr.
There is more to New York City and Philadelphia than cheesecake and cheesesteaks, but don't tell that to the U.S. Senate.

The most powerful elected representatives from both New York and Pennsylvania have made a polite World Series food wager on the eve of the baseball match-up. If the Phillies win, Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey will get New York cheesecake. If the Yankees win, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand get Philly cheesesteaks.

What cliché and unoriginal choices, especially since both those old standbys can be found in the food court of any American mall. They don't accurately reflect the soul of either city. What two foods best sum up these two complex metropolises?

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]]>arlen specterArlenSpecterbob caseyBobCaseycharles schumerCharlesSchumercheesecakecheesesteakknishknishesKristen GillibrandKristenGillibrandnew york cityNewYorkCityphiladelphiaphilliesscrappleworld seriesworld series food wagerWorldSeriesWorldSeriesFoodWageryankee stadiumyankeesYankeeStadiumJohn DevoreWed, 28 Oct 2009 16:00:00 ESTFamous Food Mascots: Our Top 10 List With Videohttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/15/10-most-awesome-food-mascots/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/15/10-most-awesome-food-mascots/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/15/10-most-awesome-food-mascots/#commentsFiled under: , ,

green giant

Photo: greefus gone, Flickr.

In ancient times, food was marketed primarily by "hunger." But in the modern era, it's not enough that we eat our food, we must also emotionally bond with it. This partly explains the enduring appeal of food mascots, those bright, colorful, affable characters who beckon us to consume.

In many cases, we choose a product simply because we have a bizarre attachment to the cartoon that represents it. There is no shame in trusting, say, a paranoid Leprechaun with a powerful marshmallow lust more than one's own family. These 10 icons are the awesomest in the pantheon of cheap food branding.

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]]>awesomecolonel sandersColonelSandersfood mascotFoodMascotgrimacehamburger helperHamburgerHelperjolly green giantJollyGreenGiantkool-aid manKool-aidManmmsmrs. butterworthMrs.Butterworthnoidodditiespillsbury dough boyPillsburyDoughBoythe noidTheNoidtrix rabbitTrixRabbitJohn DevoreThu, 15 Oct 2009 14:00:00 ESTThe 8 Lamest Fast Food Kids' Toyshttp://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/12/the-8-lamest-fast-food-kids-toys/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/12/the-8-lamest-fast-food-kids-toys/http://www.slashfood.com/2009/10/12/the-8-lamest-fast-food-kids-toys/#commentsFiled under: , ,

lamest fast food toys
Photo: Breakmould, Flickr.
Fast food restaurants know where their bread is buttered -- with the kids! The chains have been using toys as little-kid bait for decades, and it's an effective tactic: Children have an adorable propensity for confusing junk for treasure, which is why kiddie meals can be the highlight of their day.

Most of these meals fall into two categories: interactive advertisements for recent blockbusters or beloved television shows, and lame.

We're focusing on the latter, those toys over the years that were uninspired, nonsensical, or just plain disappointing. Each of these so-called "collectibles" currently languishes in the corners of garages, the bottoms of landfills and in the remote, digital wastelands of eBay.

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]]>happy mealhappy meal toysHappyMealHappyMealToyskfckids meal toyskids mealsKidsMealsKidsMealToyslamemcdonaldssubwaytaco bellTacoBellwendysJohn DevoreMon, 12 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST