Mario Batali Calls Immigration Ban a ‘Thinly Veiled Fear Move’

Batali, others speak out on immigration ban
Chef/The Chew co-host Mario Batali doesn’t mince words when it comes to President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban, which barred entry for refugees and residents of seven Muslim-majority countries. In an interview with People magazine, the celebrity chef called the ban a “thinly veiled fear move,” and offered his support to those actively protesting the action. “If we’re saying, out of fear, that we’re not interested in immigrants right now,” Batali said, “we just have to be a little more thoughtful when we say something as stupid as that.”

Not surprisingly, he’s not the only chef who’s publicly denounced the ban: David Chang, Daniel Patterson, José Andrés, and others have taken to their Twitter feeds to criticize the move. (Andrés called out the President directly, Tweeting “.@realDonaldTrump are you awake? you remember when you told me, let's talk about Immigration? I'm ready.”)

Send me candy instantly, please
In a savvy move that captures the lightning of 2015’s subscription box craze and the growing current need for “treat yourself” moments, Amazon has launched a service that allows customers to send a box of “artisan sweets” to their doorsteps, on-demand. Prime Surprise Sweets is connected to Amazon’s Dash Button, the wi-fi enabled buttons that allow Prime users to instantly order household items — or food and beverages like Red Bull, Clif Bars, and Cheez-Its — via a separate fob that connects to an Amazon app. “Featured artisans” in some sample sweets boxes include Seattle-based Fran’s Chocolates and KuKuRuZa popcorn, and Portland, Oregon brands Moonstruck Chocolate and Poplandia.

Sioux chef pops up
Minneapolis chef Sean Sherman — better known as the “Sioux Chef” — has drawn national attention for his Tantaka Truck food cart and his record-setting Kickstarter campaign, which will fund his upcoming Native American restaurant of the same name. But before the highly anticipated restaurant opens, Sherman will cook an indigenous-themed pop-up dinner along with Colorado-based chef M. Karlos Baca, the founder of Taste of Native Cuisine. On the menu: Navajo tea-smoked quail with huitlacoche, elk with porcini and popped amaranth, and more.

WORTHY READING: Did you see the Oscar-nominated cultural phenomenon known as La La Land? Did you wonder, while viewing it, what kind of weird bread-cake-pie-monster-thing Ryan Gosling’s character flings out of the oven during the kitchen scene? If so, Jezebel’s got you.

VIDEO INTERLUDE: Behold, this is America’s most iconic steak: