Happy Monday. In today's vital food news, Starbucks just revealed a new drink to spike your blood sugar; a major food manufacturer has decided to slap GMO labels on its products; McDonald's Japan is getting creative with its recruitment techniques; and more. Let's get to it:
— Starbucks will unveil a new seasonal drink on Tuesday: the Caramelized Honey Latte. Unlike the chain's other new addition — the Cherry Blossom Frappuccino that's actually strawberry-flavored — this beverage is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a "slow-cooked caramel honey sauce" combined with espresso and steamed milk. (It also comes in Frappuccino form.)
— As the fight over labeling for genetically modified foods continues, food giant General Mills has announced it will begin labeling all of its GMO products. In July, a new Vermont law will take effect that mandates GMO foods to be labelled, and the company says creating different packaging for various states would simply be too expensive.
— And now, some Monday morning inspiration by way of chef Eric Ripert: The head honcho of New York's hallowed Le Bernardin and frequent Bourdain sidekick talks to Eater contributor Joshua David Stein about Buddhism. Ripert thwarts the stereotypical angry chef act, instead imparting a Zen attitude on his employees that influences everything from the way they communicate in the kitchen to how they cook a piece of fish.
— The U.S. snack market has seen its fair share of weird potato chip flavors — cappuccino Lays, anyone? — but perhaps unsurprisingly, Japan takes the cake when it comes to inventive chip varieties: Snack company Calbee just launched an uni and fish roe flavor that apparently contains "real powdered uni and mullet roe." Fancy. What kind of dip does one serve with uni chips?
— McDonald's Japan is getting creative with its recruitment techniques: The fast-food behemoth produced a short anime that makes flipping burgers and squirting Big Mac sauce on buns seem like a pretty sweet gig. Will Japanese teens be lining up to fill out job applications at the Golden Arches? Here it is (complete with subtitles):