The Eat Like Sh*t Foodie Trend

Red Velvet Corn Dogs . Loaded Chili Cheese Carrot F**k Fries. Ice Cream Cookie Tacos. Poutine Sushi. Whiskey Pickled Eggs.

Yes, this is actually food. These odd concoctions are the work of Kyle Marcoux, 28, who runs the Vulgar Chef blog. He operates on shock value, and his recipes are stuffed with profanities. Seriously. The instructions for his mac ’n’ cheese say: “Start tossing in cheese and spices and cook the tits off. Cook on low/med until that shit is creamy as fuck.”  He’s crude, but strangely appealing at the same time, an antidote to the ultra sanitized, Pinterest-fueled world of twee chefs like Julia Child and Paula Deen.

Marcoux recognizes this, and references it in the introduction of his Eat Like Shit Cookbook , self-published in September. “This isn’t your typical Rachael fuckin’ Ray cookbook, this shit is way more legit. It’s so legit that a lot of the recipes don’t even have measurements,” he wrote.This openness had made him an antihero in the cooking world, and gained him nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram . Marcoux doesn’t pretend he’s a trained chef. In his own words, he’s just a dude getting drunk and cooking in his parents’ basement: “more like a rebel cook with a potty mouth who loves artery-clogging cooking,” he said to OZY. He uses his friends as lab rats, testing new recipes on them. “I know what they’ll like and what they’ll puke on,” he said. Read more…

Tags: Kyle Marcoux, Vulgar Chef

Eating Pizza and Pasta at The Biggest McDonald’s In The World

Amurica. Home of the weird, the wild, the oversized. Nothing is more American than the golden arches of McDonald’s, a company that has been going since 1940 and was originally a BBQ restaurant. Today the golden arches stand for fast food, consumerist America and excess in so many ways. But let’s forget the gluttony and saturated fat for a moment and celebrate some pure American excess, with a trip to the world’s largest McDonalds’s…

Yes, the BIGGEST McDonald’s in the world. Seriously. Based in Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World, SeaWorld (or picketing SeaWorld), there is the biggest McDonald’s in the world. It has a bowling alley, a 500 gallon aquarium, arcade games, gift shop and chefs serving you tailor-made pizza and pasta dishes. Plus an ice cream bar. So, we tasted tested, of course. Read more…

Tags: Amurica, worlds biggest mcdonalds

A surprisingly realistic list of technology predictions for 2014

We hoped for many things in 2013. We were promised these by tech companies, by journalists (oops), by advertisers. Did we get them? Hell no. Where’s the 3DTV in our living room? Why aren’t we 3D printing clothes at home? Why on earth are we still having to fly to Los Angeles from NYC; just where is Elon Musk’s magnetic levitation train? God knows.

Still, we have hope, we have faith, we have wallets.

Technology will continue to change our lives, and we look forward to 2014, a year of immense scientific discovery, technovation and stuff we can never afford.

Here’s the top five technology predictions for 2014 of things that will realistically happen in the tech world. (Originally published on Fusion.net)

3D printing food will become commonplace…but you still won’t be able to afford it

This year 3D printing food became a bit closer to reality. We were already used to 3D printed fashion and had been impressed with the variety of designers out there offering this to us, but food was still a long way away. Sure, we knew that Google 3D printed pasta at their Mountain View cafeteria, but how did that apply to regular folk? However, this year we had NASA announce they would 3D print pizzas in space and saw the launch of Foodini, a prototype 3D food printer that can be used to make multiple things such as ravioli and chocolate.

Downsides are that it prints one ingredient at a time (boo) but it’s miles above previous 3D food printer prototypes which had complicated parameters about what they could and couldn’t make. This isn’t going to be mass produced anytime soon, but as the 3D printer movement got so HUGE over the last year, with hundreds of brands now in the space (MakerBot, ForrmLabs etc.) the cost had lowered so much that you can buy a basic 3D printer for $500.

“With 3D printing food we already have factories and machine parts in place,” said Marcelo Coelho, a research affiliate at MIT who designed a 3D printing chocolate machine called the Cornucopia at MIT as part of his graduate project and who gave a talk on Digital Gastronomy to Microsoft last year. “The challenge is to take a machine used in a factory and enable it to be used in a kitchen, hundreds of ingredients to manufacture.”

Expect to see a resurgence in 3D printed food appliances and associated “food materials” all over the media and Kickstarter. Just don’t expect to be able to afford one…yet. Read more…

Tags: driverless car, google glasses, high tech, nfc ring, technology 2014

Three Brand new Weird High Tech ways to lose Weight in 2013

Weightloss products come in many weird and wonderful forms, but the latest inventions to hit the market takes the cake- literally, in some cases. They have to be seen to be believed, so enjoy the surreal thoughts that went into the creation of these unusual weightloss aids.

HapiLabs Weightloss Electronic HAPIfork

We all know that eating too fast isn’t ideal- think trapped wind, bulging waistbands and yogurt on your top (OK, that last one might be just me). Ideally we’d all slow down a little and chew our food properly.. or we could just invest in the brand new electronic HAPIfork to help us do this. The HAPIfork is designed to monitor your eating habits and its LED lights will glow if it thinks you’re eating too fast.

Details on your fork to mouth intake will stream via Bluetooth to the related app (or you can upload via USB) so you can be fully shamed when going onto your dashboard and seeing how quickly that Ben and Jerry’s got demolished. The HAPIfork (which can also be a HAPIspoon with the  forthcoming adapter) measures fork mouthfuls per minute, intervals between servings and length of meal, and the plan is that you’ll eat more slowly, and that your whole life will be generally more HAPI. Sorry, that was too much of an easy pun. On the other hand, you could just work out, eat less, and save the fork money for a personal trainer. Up to you…

Price TBD from HapiLabs

The Reverse Feeding Tube : AspireAssist Aspiration Therapy System

Think of it as bulimia IN REVERSE and you’ll start to see why this is mind boggling. Created by the guy who invented the Segway- yes I don’t get the connection either– the AspireAssist Aspiration Therapy System is a feeding tube in reverse.

In REVERSE.

Basically, the idea is that you scoff that McDonald’s SuperSize and wash it down with a large milkshake then use the AspireAssist Aspiration Therapy System to extract 30% of the food you’ve just chowed down on. The process isn’t particularly fun or dignified as it involves creating a small hole- or ‘port’ in your stomach where you can attach a pump to and then pump out the food you’ve just eaten. To start the process, a small tube is inserted into your tum, and 20 minutes after you’ve eaten you thread this tube through the SkinPort valve (also known as hole in your stomach) and remove the food into the toilet bowl. Read more…

Tags: AspireAssist Aspiration Therapy System, Chugay Tongue Implant, DietTube, HapiFork, TonguePatch

Desserts on Vinyl project takes a new spin on food blogging

There is room for every sort of person in the blogosphere, but one that I’ve found cropping up again and again in my circle of friends is the rise of the food blogger. I have nothing against restaurant reviews- they’re helpful, and it’s good to get personal suggestions; but I do object to dining with someone who photographs every course. It’s weird, that’s what it is, and though it may make for a great blogpost, it turns dinner into some odd interactive show, where you suddenly start enthusing about the paprika blended mint sauce or the ‘insert pretentious foodie slang here’.

There is still room for innovation and creativity in the food blogging world (no, I don’ mean using a Lomo/Instagram filter) and I’ve found it personified by the 33RPM project.  The Desserts on Vinyl project features delicious looking desserts- from ice cream sundaes to creme brulee and pear tarts- spinning on a vinyl disc, and the creators have  paired this with a dedicated Spotify Playlist to match the sweet treats.

It’s a playful look at the food we love to eat, and a way of suggesting that foodies and food bloggers should up their game. These desserts all look mouth watering, and you can tell that serious time has been spent creating something beautiful and surprising out of everyday desserts. I love the feeling of food in motion you get from these images and the bright colours and feeling of movement make these images strangely mesmerizing.

Read more…

The truck with a nipple on top: Mobile breastfeeding unit to the rescue

Yes, that is a nipple on top of the truck, and no, it DOES need to be there. The nipple truck- also known as The Milk Truck is a brand new feature in Pittsburgh, where it’s part feminist protest, part art installation. The premise is shockingly simple- it’s a rescue van for women in a breastfeeding crisis. Though it’s not something I’ve experienced firsthand, I imagine that breastfeeding can be pretty awkward out and about. Do you want to get your jubblies out in front of everyone- or should you use the sketchy bathroom to feed your babe? Add to that, a general lack of understanding of compassion about why a woman breastfeeds (E.g. ‘can’t she wait till she’s at home? Answer:NO) and it’s clear we need to re-educate people.

This is the modus operandi behind the Milk Truck- sick of getting stares in restaurants or ordered to the bathroom by the managers, the Milk Truck makes an in your face statement (hence the giant nipple) about breastfeeding, as well as give women a sheltered area to for their business.

To contact the truck, you simply summon the Milk Truck (you can call them by Twitter if you wish), they rock up with the neon nipple flashing, you get in and have your baby time and then you wave goodbye. During this time the restaurant owner will become very aware of the scene they have helped create by asking you to go to the bathroom/ cover up and will no doubt be less inclined to ask somebody to do so next time due to the scene.

Carnegie Mellon University art professor Jill Miller (the brains behind the project) says, ‘We are using The Milk Truck to start a conversation in our community about a basic human right: feeding a baby.When a woman finds herself in a situation where she is discouraged, harassed, or unwelcome to breastfeed her baby in public, she summons The Milk Truck. The truck arrives to the location of the woman in need and provides her with a shelter for feeding her baby. The woman feeds her child, the shopkeeper who harassed her feels like a dweeb, and the truck does what it does best – creates a spectacle.’ Read more…

Tags: breastfeeding public, Jill Miller, Kickstarter, The Milk Truck

Ten High Tech Restaurants from around the world

Waiter free bars? Sex doll styled Maitre D’s. Ice cream created wearing safety glasses and lab coats? Sounds futuristic, but all of these restaurants do exist, and I’ve sourced the most fascinating to share with you. Dining should be about more than food- enjoy my guide to the top ten High Tech Restaurants of the world.

Number one: Inamo Restaurant, London

Inamo Restaurant is located in Central London and serves you up sushi with a side helping of gadgetry. Everything about this restaurant had been optimized tech wise, from the iPad they check your reservations on to the touchscreen tables where you can order your food. The touchscreen tables are the most interesting part of the restaurant as they offer you so many things. They’re very pretty to look at, as you can choose what colour the table will be (and change it at whim) as well as whether you want it to be flowers/ stripes etc- design led technological place mats. To adjust the table you use a small circular touchpad in the left hand corner- there are no buttons but by moving your fingers and double tapping you can navigate around.

Essentially theses areas act as a mouse and you use an on table menu to navigate settings. There are games to play- should you WANT to play a game whilst eating and you can use the menu to order cocktails and food to your table. You do get waiter service as well, but this is an addition if you’re hungry and want more- or only want to order digitally. You can also access a webcam that goes into the kitchen to see the chef at work. I was excited about this, but the image is fairly  blurry, so it’s not as good as it sounds. The menu also lets you choose your next location, which is cool, so when you leave you know what bar/club you’re retiring too. Read more…

Tags: Chin Chin labs, Eyecandy Sound Lounge, Hajime Robot restaurant, Inamo