Culture

Weekend Reading: Final Meals, Airplane Food, Talking Fridges, and More

What we’re reading, cooking, and clicking this week.

A recent collaboration between photographers, farmers, restaurant owners, and chefs celebrated summer's end—and the images captured by Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers are as much works of art as the ravishing nine-course meal itself. Judging from the artful, moody photographs, chef John Poiarkoff of The Pines and chef Camille Becerra of Navy produced a truly magnificent spread. I only wish I had been at the table. The Lovage—Michellina Jones, digital producer @michellinajones

Sparked by a recent pop-up restaurant in London themed off the final meals of death-row inmates, Hannah Goldfield examines the obsession with the concept, and questions the ethics of recreating and serving last meals to diners—does it turn a morbid reality into a grotesque product of pop-culture? The New Yorker—Oliver Erteman, digital editorial assistant

The Salt traces the history of airplane food, charting its gradual decline from the heyday of the 1930s, when multi-course meals were served on real china, through its nadir in the 1980s, when "tin foil-topped packages of mushy mystery meat" were a common sight. Funnily enough, with most domestic flights cutting out food service these days, in-air eating has effectively come full circle: Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh used to pack their own lunches, too. The Salt—Karen Shimizu, senior editor @karemizu

It's hard not to stand in awe of the advances in kitchen technology: The day we're able text our fridge "Is the milk expired?" and get a response isn't too far off. This piece from Business Insider takes a look at conceptual future appliances, from a countertop brewing system for everything from fresh-brewed espresso to soda to a device that uses a sensor to measure the freshness and nutritional content of ingredients. Business Insider—Allie Wist, art associate @alliewist

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