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The Downfall of a Southern Cooking Empire

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The food empire that Paula Deen created seemed to grow forever. For a long time, it appeared to be so until allegations of racism were thrown at her. Her own admission of the use of the N-word in reference to black people triggered the full-blown controversy which could affect everything she worked for.

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The downfall of Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking empire is almost certain as long-time sponsors and business partners cut off ties following a controversy related to racial and sexual discrimination. This is in spite of fans rallying support by flocking to her restaurants and ordering her cookbooks. Home Depot and Target , home improvement and retail giants respectively decided to discontinue carrying her products. Her relationship with Novo Nordisk as a spokeswoman for an educational campaign about  diabetes has been suspended. Home shopping channel QVC has temporarily stopped selling her products. Walmart and Caesars Entertainment Corporation were the first ones to end business relationships with Deen when the controversy broke out. Smithfield Foods likewise dropped her as a spokeswoman in connection with Deen-branded hams. Food Network has also announced that it will no longer renew Deen’s contract upon its expiration this month. Where does Paula Deen go from here?

Early Criticisms

As a celebrity chef, Deen has had her share of criticisms. Having Southern-style comfort foods as her specialty, criticism for her “unhealthy food” came often and with regular frequency. Foods having high amount of fats, salt, and sugar, were her offering mainstays. One of her cookbooks aimed particularly at children earned the ire of people concerned with an already obese nation.

Her admission of having type 2 diabetes, a disease that is caused to a large degree by unhealthy eating and a sedentary lifestyle , that was timed with debut as a spokeswoman of an educational campaign about diabetes was seen by many as self-serving. Apparently, her stint with the drug company has provided her a license to talk about her disease which she would have continually hidden to protect her business. And now comes the most difficult, the racial discrimination controversy.

Appeal

Paula Deen appeals for understanding from the public for her mistake saying that everyone has at one point in their lives said something that he or she would rather take back. However, not everyone who made this mistake stands to lose something as big as what she’s got. Will she be able to make a comeback? Only time can tell.

About the Author:

Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information to offer to her readers. She currently maintains four personal blogs.

Edible Bouquets

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We often associate Valentine’s with flowers, chocolates, romantic dinners and dates. Simply because love surpasses all boundaries such as race, color and sometimes even religion. It is the only day in the year when people have an excuse to be mushy and romantic. Well, that is the case for most but there are still a number of people who believe otherwise. Nonetheless, sales of romantically related products still skyrocket during Valentine’s Day.

If you are looking for something unique, fruit bouquets or edible bouquets are definitely a good choice. They don’t only look good, they taste good too. These healthy gifts will definitely please any recipient. There are many specialty stores that sell them all over the world. You can even make your own if you have the time.

Strawberries, grapes, melons, honeydews, oranges, apples and kiwis are the most common fruits used in edible bouquets. Each bouquet may vary depending on your choice and the availability of the fruits. We all know that some fruits are seasonal, while tropical fruits such as pineapples can be limited or pricey. Most stores adapt to local tastes by adding locally produced fruits. In the Middle East for example, you can expect dates in their fruit bouquets.

The fresh fruits are cut and arranged to resemble floral arrangements. Chocolate dipped fruits may also be included for added design and taste. You can never go wrong with edible gifts. Most people love fruit and appreciate them. These beautifully crafted bites can serve as appetizers or desserts for parties too. You can even buy them for yourself as a treat.

 

Image from  CB and GK

$100 For A Bowl Of Soup

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Would you pay that much for any dish? I suppose that if you were dining at a 3-star Michelin restaurant, a hundred bucks is not that expensive for a single dish. Then again, it really depends on what you’re eating.

In a Japanese restaurant, you can taste a one of a kind soup – ramen – for $110. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this price tag is more than hefty for a bowl of soup! Indeed, if you ever go to Japan, you will be able to find bowls of ramen for as low as $10. This is especially true in areas where they sell food on the streets.

So what makes this ramen soup worth the price tag? According to restaurateur Shoichi Fujimaki, his soup is “not really ramen. This is my cuisine, it’s my 25 years of experience distilled into one bowl. This is the only place in the world that people have this kind of soup.” Twenty-five years of cooking experience, more than 20 ingredients, and three days of preparation – all these add up to $110 per bowl.

And what do customers have to say about the Five-taste Blend Imperial Noodles, which is the highlight at Tokyo’s Fujimaki Gekijyo? It looks like they’re loving it despite the price and the not-so-good Japanese economy! By the way, not just anyone can have a taste of this soup. In fact, customers are required to dine at another restaurant (Fujimaki owns it too) and sample “lesser” fare before they can be qualified to have even a glimpse of THE other soup. Nice business tactic, huh?

Elephants Reign Supreme Over Humans In Eating Contest

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Cross Species Eating CompetitionHotdog eating contests are not out of the ordinary. Indeed, people take off their hats to the amazing men and women who can chow down almost a hundred hotdogs in one go. But have you ever heard of an inter-species hotdog bun eating contest?

Now I don’t know what possessed the people behind the event but they organized a hotdog bun eating contest between three elephants and three humans at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The elephants, named Bunny, Susie, and Minnie ate a total of 505 buns in a mere six minutes. On the other hand, the three humans, Eric “Badlands” Cooper, Juliet Lee, and Tim “Gravy” Brown, downed a mere 143 buns in the same span of time.

All the elephants are in the 40s. The humans are all well known in the world of eating contests. Cooper is a subway conductor from New York City and is the world champion in corned beef hash eating. Lee is the world cranberry sauce eating champion, and Brown holds the distinction of eating 8.47 pounds of blueberry pie in 8 minutes. Oh, and he did it hands free, by the way.

I doubt that the elephants knew the reputations of the people they were up against. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have been fazed. They probably wouldn’t even care. With a collective weight of about 9 tons, the elephants definitely had the advantage over the humans who weighed a total of about 500 pounds.

Coke Cited For False Advertising

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cokeEveryone loves Coke, or at least a ginormous number of people do. That, however, does not exempt the company from being reprimanded for less than honest ads, at least in the eyes of the advertising watchdogs in Australia. Last year, the soda giant ran an advertising campaign dubbed Motherhood & Myth-Busting. The main idea of the campaign was to promote Coca-cola as being safe for children. The claims include the ideas that Coke will not make children fat, and that it would not cause one’s teeth to rot – common concerns for children. The company even got popular Australian actress Kerry Armstrong to be its spokesperson.

This did not sit well with the consumer watchdogs, however, and the main governing body has commanded Coke to correct its advertisement. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is tasked with watching over cases like these, has declared that Coke should do something about it claims. According to Chairman Graeme Samuel, “Coke’s messages were totally unacceptable, creating an impression which is likely to mislead that Coca-Cola cannot contribute to weight gain, obesity and tooth decay.” He went on to say that “They also had the potential to mislead parents about the potential consequences of consuming Coca-Cola.”

While the Commission does have a point, I dare ask this question: What kind of parent will totally believe that drinking soda all the time is good for his or her child? Interestingly enough, Coke has agreed to publish corrective statements regarding their campaign. I guess there is no excuse for any parent to rely on Coke as his or her child’s refreshment of choice!

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