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Are AI-made reservations unfair?

Plus the slippery definition of ultraprocessed food, and the eternal question of BYO seasoning


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Plus the slippery definition of ultraprocessed food, and the eternal question of BYO seasoning

In today’s send:



Welcome back to Open Tab, and happy Monday. This past weekend I put together salmon tacos with pineapple-chile salsa—always a hit—followed by a fluffy, aromatic olive oil cake to great acclaim (by my three dinner guests).


I loved reading Ruby Tandoh in the New Yorker on Saudi Arabia’s quest to rebrand as a culinary capital which includes, among other things, the introduction of Michelin stars last year. Michelin has been evaluating more cities, often partnering with (read: getting paid by) local tourism boards who recognize that the distinction can attract a wave of tourists to the area.


But when I interviewed him a couple years ago, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, insisted that the guide’s expansion wasn’t about the money—it was about finding more cities with “culinary potential” than ever before.


Oh, also they’re doing $60 loaves of rye bread now. Oy.


Get all the details in the full version of this week’s Open Tab—here’s a gift link to send your friends.

SAM STONE

SENIOR EDITOR

AI-Agents? I Have Reservations

 

By Sam Stone

 

This week’s addition to the AI hellscape? Personal AI agents. Meta released Muse, and Instinct continues to gain traction. These are agents that can respond to emails, book plane tickets, secure you a spot in a workout class, arrange and rearrange your calendar, and, yes, make grab that impossible-to-get dinner reservation. Hypothetically.


Using AI agents to nab tough reservations may also get you banned from reservation platforms, as one user found out this week. What does this new development mean for the rapidly heating reservations war?

READ MORE

What Exactly Makes Food Ultraprocessed?

 

By Sam Stone

 

This week, California approved a landmark bill that establishes a process for which foods may label themselves as non-ultraprocessed. This comes after the state was the first in the nation to put forth a solid definition of what exactly an ultraprocessed food is.


Although there’s been a lot of talk about ultraprocessed foods (or UPFs)—mostly stemming from the MAHA movement—there’s not a true consensus on how to delineate which foods are ultraprocessed and which aren’t.

READ MORE

Recipes We Love

What’s Cooking

What My Job Is Like as a Culinary Producer

 

By The Bon Appétit Staff

 

It takes a village to publish a magazine—and website and app and Youtube channel and more. Phew! Today we’re introducing you to Bon Appétit’s senior culinary producer Mallary Santucci, who gets our recipes ready for their closeups.

READ MORE

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