Today, in dining news in the U.S. and across the globe:
CUTTING THE FAT — When Starbucks bought SF-based bakery chain La Boulange in 2012 it had plans to open 400 units of the stand-alone cafe. Starbucks paid a whopping $100 million for La Boulange, and at the time CEO Howard Schultz said proudly: "After more than 40 years, we will be able to say that we are bakers, too." But since then, the bakery has been bleeding money, and USA Today confirms Starbucks' plans to shutter all 23 locations of La Boulange by the end of this year. The downfall began when Starbucks started to offer only La Boulange pastries at its coffee shops. Customers didn't like the change, and missed old Starbucks' items like the lemon poundcake (which eventually returned to the menu). Starbucks menus will retain some La Boulange items, but it is unclear if the La Boulange brand will survive the transition.
THE QUOTABLE BOURDAIN — Yesterday's biggest story was the announcement that millionaire, combover pro, and bombastic New Yorker Donald Trump would run for president. Everyone had something to say about it, including one Mr. Anthony Bourdain, who told the Asbury Park Press: "[Donald Trump] offends me." In light of his recent visit to Atlantic City on Parts Unknown: New Jersey, Bourdain shared some choice words about the Trump Taj Mahal with the APP: "It's everything I hate. It's the enemy of the human spirit." Bourdain hasn't come out in favor of any other presidential candidates but we could see him stumping for Hillary Clinton.
END OF DAYS — One-time candidate for French president and now ecology minister Ségolène Royal has shocked the public by suggesting an addiction to Nutella is contributing to deforestation. The Guardian reports Royal urged the public to curtail their Nutella consumption earlier this week on French television network Canal+: "We have to replant a lot of trees because there is massive deforestation that also leads to global warming. We should stop eating Nutella, for example, because it's made with palm oil." Apparently, Greenpeace disagrees so keep eating Nutella kids. It's going to be ok.
MILLION DOLLAR HACK — Bonnier Corp., the publisher behind Saveur magazine, was reportedly swindled out of $1.5 million last month, according to the New York Post. Apparently, "thieves hacked into the e-mail of then-CEO Dave Freygang and then sent two bogus instructions to an employee in the accounts payable department to ship the money to a Chinese bank via electronic transfers." The publisher says the FBI is looking into the matter, and that hack was an isolated incident.