The Unbearable Loudness of Fooding šŸ”ˆ

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Welcome to Secret Breakfast / An exclusive newsletter, the best place to start your day with kawaii ramen, football conspiracies, and percolating actors

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, Secret Breakfast out on Wednesday

Hi there!

A season of (many) changes has started.

First: Secret Breakfast moves to Wednesday.

I hope that will work with your schedule.

Piero

PS: Valentineā€™s Day is on Friday. Slip a cute handwritten note into the right pocket. Go out for dinner. Buy flowers, the most beautiful you can find. Buy chocolate. Buy some more for yourself. Kiss in front of your kids. My favorite: invite someone to dine at your place, but donā€™t cook too much (Scallops? Good luck with that! Better to make some homemade bread; the bakery smell will be your wingman). Is ā€œwingmanā€ sexist? You know, you donā€™t have to do everything I wrote here. Did I mention buying chocolate? At least do that.

ONE āœ¤ QUOTE

āœ¦ Matthew McConaughey on UberEats Superbowl commercial.

ā€œKawaiiā€ is the Japanese word we translate as ā€œcuteā€. The author of this cookbook is American, but also a graduate of the Miyajima Ramen School in Osaka, Japan. That makes an interesting volume with traditional and less traditional ramen recipes. If you need pictures, stay away: the book is illustrated. But itā€™s 90% kawaii.

Kawaii CafƩ Ramen: Classic, Fun, and Delicious Ramen Meals to Make by Amy Kimoto-Kahn
ā†’ Shortplot: šŸœ šŸ„Ÿ šŸ„’ šŸ”

IF THE MOST EMBARRASSING NEED FOR APPROVAL HAD A NAME, IT WOULD BE JEREMY STRONG

Super Bowl ads are so 2000s that brands now publish the commercials even before the proper football game.

However, I canā€™t resist the yearly Ben Affleckā€™s Dunkinā€™ extravaganza. Nor I couldnā€™t resist when I watched, just a few hours ago, Successionā€™s Jeremy Strong bathing into a cup of joe for the most meta-meme-coffee commercials ever.

Jeremy Strong, best known for his role as Kendall Roy in Succession, is an actor celebrated for his immersive and method-driven performances.

His characters often navigate themes of power, insecurity, and self-destruction, and their relationship with food can be a subtle but revealing aspect of their psychology. And he frequently ends up with food striking him like a boomerang.

Thatā€™s why I thought we could enjoy theā€¦

Unrequested Power Ranking of Jeremy Strongā€™s Most Embarrassing Food-Related Scenes

#5

Jerry Rubinā€™s Courtroom Banana (The Trial of the Chicago 7)

In Aaron Sorkinā€™s The Trial of the Chicago 7, Strongā€™s portrayal of Jerry Rubin includes an absurdly juvenile moment in which he chomps on a banana while sitting in court. His casual defiance is meant as a countercultural statement, but in the context of a high-stakes trial, it comes across as immature and slightly ridiculous.

#4

"Letā€™s Get Some Cheesesteaks" ā€“ Depressed Kendall (Succession)

After another crushing defeat, Kendall numbly eats a Philly cheesesteak with his girlfriend Naomi. What should be a comforting, indulgent meal instead plays out like a sad ritual, with Kendall barely present as he mechanically chews. It's the epitome of emotional eating gone wrong.

#3

ā€œIā€™m just trying to find the characterā€ - Jeremyā€™s Method (Super Bowl 2025 - Dunkinā€™)

The aforementioned commercial.

#2

"Iā€™ve Made a Meal" ā€“ The Mozzarella Experiment (Succession)

The painfully awkward scene in Succession, when Kendall Roy attempts to impress his father, Logan, with an Italian dinner. And Logan asks his nephew - Kendallā€™s son - to taste mozzarella first, suspecting it could be poisoned.

#1

ā€œMeal Fit for a Kingā€ - The Roy Siblingsā€™ Ending (Succession)

The ingredients include milk, frozen bread loaf heels, or "knobbies," cinnamon, raw egg, Tabasco sauce, cocoa powder, sunflower oil, a British condiment known as Branston Pickle, and a little sibling spit. This excellent smoothie is the price Jeremy has to pay for having his dreams realized. It ends as you see in the picture above.

Juicy content from food creators

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

šŸ³16 Breakfasts to Make If You Canā€™t Find Eggs Right Now šŸ‘µšŸ¼Take it from my 93-year-old grandmother: the secret to throwing a great party ā€” without stressing yourself out šŸ§˜šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļøA Party With an Edible Zen Garden šŸ·Venetian Spritz (ā˜…recipe) or Artichoke Spritz (ā˜…recipe)? šŸ‡²šŸ‡½8 salsa recipes, including spicy, cooked and fruity combinations (ā˜…recipes) šŸŠThese Beloved Food Rituals Bring Carnival Season to Life in the Bayous of Louisiana šŸ‡«šŸ‡·15 Fast French Recipes for Elegant Weeknight Meals (ā˜…recipes) šŸ¤£The Newest Food Trend is LOL šŸ’°These Foods Will Likely Get More Expensive After USAā€™s Tariffs Take Effect šŸŒŠAgree to disagree: The Mediterranean diet is a lie šŸ„£ Soup has a few lessons to teach us. One is that sometimes things get better tomorrow 

A Shirley Temple Hates to See Him Coming
Luke Fortney / The New York Times

Leo Kelly is an 11-year-old beverage critic, and he already has the power to change restaurant menus.

Why do some people find certain sounds intolerable? And why has it taken so long for scientists to get even a preliminary answer?

āž¤ Last week's most clicked link was the Montreal Bagels recipe. And that's NOT all for today.

New idea, need you

šŸšØNext time you visit a restaurant, bakery, or cafĆ©, snap a picture of the menu and send it to me by replying to this email. If youā€™d like, share what you ordered or what you love about that place. Itā€™s not about bragging, but about sharing with our community. No judgments. Itā€™ll be like receiving an amazing food postcard from far abroad.