Jane Austen's Soup and Onion Crackers 🧅
Welcome to Secret Breakfast / A newsletter at the intersection of food intersections and cooking intersections. With a side of mushroom intersections
Hi there!
We live at the intersection of exhaustion and buzzwords. Every startup now positions itself "at the intersection" of two trendy concepts.
Platformer sits "at the intersection of Silicon Valley and democracy." Glossier emerged "at the intersection of beauty and technology." Peloton claimed the space "at the intersection of fitness and entertainment." Airbnb conquered "the intersection of hospitality and community." Even your local coffee shop probably describes itself as existing "at the intersection of artisanal craft and neighborhood culture."
This formula works because intersections promise something new without requiring explanation. They suggest innovation through collision rather than creation. The phrase has become our era's "synergy"—a word that sounds sophisticated while meaning almost nothing. We use it to avoid the harder work of actually defining what makes something unique. It's intellectual fast food: satisfying in the moment, forgettable after.
But here's what cooking teaches us about real intersections. When flavors truly meet, they don't just coexist—they transform.
Miso doesn't sit politely next to caramel; it becomes something entirely new. Real fusion happens in the pan, not in the pitch deck.
Maybe instead of describing ourselves at intersections, we should ask: What actually happens when our ingredients collide? What new flavor emerges that couldn't exist alone?
Piero
✹Emily Brontë, I Am the Only Being Whose Doom. I'm cheating on this, but I was in a moment of Wuthering Heights-mania. The right way to quote this is:
In secret pleasure, secret tears,
This changeful life has slipped away,
As friendless after eighteen years,
As lone as on my natal day.
Closed for Pandemic
You can love or hate this one by Slutty Cheff. Reviews go from the "stop publishing influencers" to "unstudied and intimate as an impromptu supper thrown together for friends at home after the pubs close". Then, what is it about? The plot is what it is: as she navigates the demanding world of London’s fine dining scene, she faces the challenges of long hours and being the only woman in the kitchen, while also enjoying the excitement of culinary success and romantic encounters. The way it is written can make a difference.
Tart: Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef by Slutty Cheff
→ Shortplot: 🔪 🧑🏻🍳 💖 🍷
An Austen-storm is coming
The writer’s 250th birthday is approaching this December, and a wave of celebrations is coming our way.
The New York Times' Melissa Clark surprised me when she wrote: "I may be one of the few people who reads Jane Austen for the food". Funny enough, I don't remember Jane Austen, the foodie, but I've actually read the most of her novels in the past Century.
That's why I've never had Roasted Chicken With Vinegared Grapes (★recipe) or the White Soup (★recipe), or Trifle With Whipt Syllabub from Jane Austen's sister-in-law's cookbook.
And what about you? Have you ever felt hungry while reading Jane Austen's books? Well, here are some more recipes for you.
🌠Wait what? Your Zodiac Sign Is 2,000 Years Out of Date 🧮Julia Turshen has somehow hacked my brain and gave the meal prep trick I needed 🎃America’s Most-Searched Pumpkin Spice Recipes for Fall 🇮🇹This one is pretty accurate: 11 Food and Drink Rules Italians Live By 🧈Whipped Brown Butter, now! (★recipe) 👠And also this: Taste Milan Like a Local Chef, From Fine Dining to Natural Wine Bars (skip Langosteria and Capuano) 🍄🟫He crossed 26 miles in a kayak made from mushrooms – and lived to tell the tale 🤹🏻♀️Fold a napkin into a basket 🍃Spring Onion Crackers (★recipe) 🧅Lime Pickled Onions (★recipe) 🍏Air fryer apple and Blackberry scones, meh (★recipe)
The Whole Internet Is Mukbang Now
Amy McCarthy / Eater
Mukbang—originally a South Korean livestream format where hosts silently eat large meals to trigger ASMR—has evolved into a ubiquitous, bite‑sized genre on platforms like TikTok, where creators film themselves devouring messy, often fast‑food dishes in informal settings such as cars or delivery‑room backdrops. This shift reflects broader social trends: the rise of short‑form video, the desire for intimate, voyeuristic content that mimics companionship, and a paradoxical appeal for viewers who, amid increasing dietary restrictions and isolation, find comfort in watching others indulge.
