Welcome to Secret Breakfast / An exclusive newsletter, the best place to start your day with 7 friends, 2 pizzas, and the Single Girl Supper

It’s 1:02 AM here, or just about -6 hours to the newsletter launch.

The only reflection I can do at this hour is this. Would you prefer:

1. an average meal with great company (friends, family, a potential partner,…)?

2. a great meal with bored people at your table (=zero connection)?

If I could turn back time, today my answer would be 1.

Food isn’t always what you find on your plate. Don’t You think?

Piero

PS: now it’s 1:07 AM.

Picture: Edible ‘skin’ made with psyllium and cider (photo by Jose Luis Lopez De Zubiria)

␥

THE BEST QUOTE

✦ Emily Henry, Happy Place. This quote is quite good for eggs, long-tanned legs, and relationships.

⎚

THE MISSING INGREDIENT

YOU ONLY NEED 7 FRIENDS, BUT THEY MUST BE GOOD

Probably you’re familiar with Jeff Bezos’ Two Pizza Rule: he wouldn’t set up or attend a meeting if two pizzas wouldn't feed the entire group.

At this point, a true Secret Breakfast reader should stand up and say: “Define two pizzas. Radius? Circumference? Distance from the pizza place to the office? How did the dough was raised, was it happy?”.

That’s probably why Bezos became filthy rich: he never really brought pizzas, and he never had meetings with more than 6-8 people.

Wait! I actually didn’t want to talk about pizza but about friendship.

One of “TikTok’s new viral somethings” is now the good old “7 Friends Theory” and it’s almost the Two Pizza Rule.

It states that as long as you have friends for 7 essential roles in your life, you’re good. The roles are:

1. a childhood friend

2. a friend that makes you laugh

3. a friend you don’t need to check in on every day

4. one you can tell anything to

5. a friend that’s like a sister

6. one you can’t imagine not being friends with

7. and one who knows about all your relationships (even if they don’t want to)

Well, apparently, these are my friends:

1. Wild asparagus on toasted sourdough bread (my mother’s memory)

2. Champagne (real Champagne, better laughs)

3. Gnocco fritto in Modena for breakfast (every day, that would be my death for sure)

4. Pizza bianca in Rome (you can tell her anything, and she talks back)

5. Preserved lemons (they’re always there for you, you can never really ignore them)

6. Prosciutto di Parma (the reason I’m not vegetarian)

7. A jar of Nutella (she knows EVERYTHING)

I bet you have pretty good friends too.

Photo by Diva Plavalaguna

⎅

THE BOOK

It’s 2.22 AM, I’m skipping this section today. Why don’t we just read a classic? Heat by Bill Buford, “AN AMATEUR'S ADVENTURES AS KITCHEN SLAVE, LINE COOK, PASTA-MAKER, AND APPRENTICE TO A DANTE-QUOTING BUTCHER IN TUSCANY”. You’ll find a portrait of the young Mario Batali before the sex-assault scandals: he already was 100% himself.

❍ OnlyPans
This is where Secret Breakfast picks juicy content from food creators

Ⓡ

RANDOM ACTS OF HUNGER

This is the space where I share some food (un)related stuff of my week

🌶️ In June we’ll have the movie about the Cheetos man! 🍪Best hoax marketing idea of the week: calling a glorified protein mix “The Viral Cookie Dough Recipe That Works Like Ozempic” (the diabetes drug used to lose weight) 📚The Best Books on The History of Food recommended by Diane Purkiss ☕️Mayo in your coffee: yes, no, or NOOOOO 🌮Looking for Brunch Ideas? Here’s 61, but be careful, they’re Southern (★recipes) 🥩Watch a 3D printed vegan steak 👶🏻Adios Khaleesi, the Most Popular Baby-Names in the US are almost vanilla 🗻There's a Mountain Air Sommelier in Switzerland 🍫Salted Vegan Caramel Bars by Arisha (★recipe) 💰The fanciest subscription of the moment: $3,800 per year to Crenn Collection for one member to have privileged access to Dominique Crenn’s restaurants’ booking system and other rich people - me first, me first - stuff

🫶 Last week’s issue was pretty uncommon. Thank you to the dozens of you that wrote me back. I didn’t expect your kind words, you made me feel better.

⌇⌇⌇

FOOD FOR LATER

Memories of the future: how 25 years of Mugaritz made Andoni Luis Aduriz an icon
Laura Price / 50 Best

If you’d love to eat gelatin-cider-made skin from a mannequin face, or suck some sheep’s milk from a breast-shaped mould, this is the chef for you.

All Hail The "Single Girl Supper"
Hannah Orenstein / Bustle

The “Single Girl Supper” happens to be the thing you order when you go out on a date. Apparently, coffee is bland, dinner is too complicated, and drinks are for girlfriends (how sexist!). There you go: order charcuterie and cheese, and drink wine. If you’re lucky, you’re going to celebrate your anniversary in Paris.

➤ Last week’s most clicked link was the one about the New York Times’ 20 Most Saved Recipes of All Time. And that’s all for today.