- Praise be to Food Network, which is lining up new episodes of Barefoot Contessa, according to Broadway World. The third season of Ina Garten’s Cook Like a Pro series is set to premiere Sunday, October 21, at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT. That’s not all: Garten will host a celebrity-packed Thanksgiving special — featuring fellow domestic goddesses Jennifer Garner and Nigella Lawson — on Saturday, November 17, at 8 p.m., as well as a “British-style lunch” to celebrate the new Mary Poppins movie on Sunday, December 9, at 12:30 p.m.
- Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat trying to win Ted Cruz’s United States Senate seat in the Lone Star State, is a true Texan. Following a televised debate Friday evening, O’Rourke went for a late dinner at Whataburger. O’Rourke also seems to be a huge fan of The Who, as he was filmed banging on some air drums to “Baba O’Reilly.”
- White Castle’s Impossible Burger sliders have already been labeled as a success by the critics, and now they have a major celebrity endorsement. RZA, rapper and leader of the famed Wu-Tang Clan, is helping to sell the little veggie burgers, reports the Takeout.
- Check your pantry: Beef jerky sold at convenience store chain Buc-ee’s is being recalled due to metal contamination, according to the Austin American Statesman. The 4-ounce packages are labeled as “Buc-ee’s Hill Country Brand Teriyaki Beef Jerky” and were made August 9.
- The Donald Trump administration is attempting to curtail green cards for immigrants using public aid, including benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, reports the New York Times.
- The Trump administration is targeting corruption related to food shortages in Venezuela, per the Associated Press. Investigators believe senior Venezuelan officials have been using shell companies to steal millions of dollars from food import contracts. Venezuela is currently in economic crisis, and many of its residents are facing starvation.
- Starbucks is offering a big donation of coffee beans to farmers in Puerto Rico. “In a show of solidarity and support for rejuvenating Puerto Rico’s once-thriving coffee industry, Starbucks announced Tuesday that it is donating two million disease-resilient seeds to help farmers on the hurricane-ravaged island reboot the coffee industry,” the Seattle-based company says in a press release. “In addition, The Starbucks Foundation and the Fonalledas Foundation (part of Starbucks’ licensing partner in Puerto Rico) are partnering with World Coffee Research, a nonprofit committed to enhancing quality coffee production, to improve coffee seed quality and create a more sustainable future for Puerto Rican coffee farmers.”
- American Airlines is attempting to serve healthier meals for coach fliers, so, according to the Wall Street Journal, it is partnering with Texas-based Mediterranean chain Zoe’s Kitchen.
- A baby received a punch to the head during a melee at a Mexican restaurant in Texas over the weekend, reports Fox 4 in Dallas. A diner reportedly attacked a server because her request for an extra plate was taking too long and punched the baby by mistake. Fortunately, the child was not seriously injured. The diner escaped before police arrived at the restaurant.
- Australia’s largest restaurant lobby has admitted that workers in the industry are rampantly underpaid, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Restaurant & Catering Australia says it will try to fix the issue by working with the country’s Fair Work Ombudsman.
- Kentucky Fried Chicken has ambitious growth plans, and the chain is trying to outpace McDonald’s. The chicken restaurant currently has 20,000 locations around the world, per Business Insider, and it hopes to top 60,000.
- World Central Kitchen, hero chef José Andrés’s nonprofit that feeds victims of natural disasters, is working with actor/philanthropist/#MeToo skeptic Sean Penn in the wake of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina.
- Square-burger maker Wendy’s is being sued in Illinois for illegally collecting employee fingerprints, according to ZDNet.
- And, finally, Wendy’s is still being mean on Twitter. The chain has moved beyond trash-talking rival businesses and is now spitting fire at individual people who have the gall to criticize it.
— Michael Katz (@KatzM) September 22, 2018