Everything You Need to Know About This Week in Food

Want to seem like you know what you're talking about while discussing current events at the dinner table this week? Read through our essential guide to the week's earth-shattering food news. Find out which contaminated hypebeast food caused 150 people to fall ill, what internationally acclaimed newspaper hired a cat critic, and why Paula Deen has every reason to be very excited and go back to her butter frying ways.

What happened: The Purple One put out some incredible cover art last weekend for his new single Breakfast Can Wait, and started a new, amazing Twitter account. The Breakfast Can Wait cover depicts Dave Chappelle holding a plate of pancakes, taken from the 2004 Chappelle’s Show sketch. Prince tweeted out the image Friday afternoon with the simple caption “Game: Blouses.” Looks like The Artist Formerly Known As is on top of that breakfast game, on the fast track to becoming Twitter Royalty, and not too serious for a little self-parody now and again. Who Cares: Prince fans, Dave Chappelle fans, and people who like Twitter. To put it more succinctly: the whole world. Further reading: Start following Prince on Twitter immediately, then check out a sample of Breakfast Can Wait.  

What happened: The New York Times has apparently employed a cat critic, Mittens, to review pet food. An ad for cat food written in the style of a restaurant review ran in the New York Times’ dining section on Wednesday. First We Feast pup critic Oscar the Schnoodle was not happy when he heard that the acerbic American Shorthair was trying to jack his swagger. Who cares: Oscar is simply infuriated. Regardless, the pup can’t deny that calling lobster fra diavolo “‘fra devoid’ of flavor”—as Mittens did in her review—is witty and extremely punny. Further reading: Check out the cat critic's review here and decide for yourself if she's the real deal.

What happened: Over the course of this week, Toronto Public Health investigated what caused more than 150 people to fall sick after eating at the Canadian National Exhibition. Turns out, the Cronut burger served by EPIC Burger at the convention is to blame. Laboratory tests showed that samples of the Cronut burger were contaminated with staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial toxin that can cause food poisoning. Who cares: Those poor Canadian Cronut burger eaters. Symptoms of staphylococcus aureus food poisoning include nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramping—yuck! Further reading: Read the full report over at The Globe and Mail.

What happened: The Gansevoort Las Vegas confirmed that Giada will be opening a restaurant in the hotel in early 2014. The news first broke with an accidental leak on The Gansevoort's website. Giada said that she has had other offers before but that she had "never found the right spot," reports Eater. Who cares: We are positive that swarms of tourists in Las Vegas will bum rush Giada's, or whatever the hell the restaurant is going to be called. They will relish Giada's plates of chicken fettucine and SPAH-GITT-EEE bolognese. Further reading: Eater has the full story here.

What happened: Ms. Deen can breathe easy again and get back to frying butter. The lawsuit filed by a former employee against Deen, saying that she was racist, has been dismissed in federal court "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be filed again. Deen released a statement on Friday saying, "While this has been a difficult time for both my family and myself, I am pleased that the judge dismissed the race claims and I am looking forward to getting this behind me, now that the remaining claims have been resolved." Who cares: Those who subscribe to the We Support Paula Deen Facebook page are peeing themselves, and we're sure Paula's relieved as well. Although, you have to think that maybe her image has been tarnished forever, despite the lawsuit being dismissed. Further reading: Read more about the dismissal here.

What happened: The annual lecture series, which is a collaboration between eminent Harvard researchers and world-class chefs, will begin September 9th. The lineup includes a lecture on science and cooking by Harold McGee and Dave Arnold (of East Village cocktail bar Booker & Dax and the French Culinary Institute), a sous-vide primer with Jordi Roca (whose restaurant El Celler de Can Roca is currently ranked #1 in the world), and a lecture on the evolution of culinary theory by Ferran Adrià. Who cares: People who live in or near Cambridge and food nerds around the world. Further Reading: See the full lineup on Harvard's website.