> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://secretbreakfast.com/llms.txt
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# Open This If You're Ravenous 🫙
- URL: https://secretbreakfast.com/open-this-if-youre-ravenous/
- Published: 2025-02-26T12:38:24.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-26T12:38:24.000Z
- Description: Start your day with gyoza bags and ethical shrimp, upgraded popcorn and accordion breads.
- Author: Piero Macchioni
- Tags: newsletter

### Welcome to Secret Breakfast / The best place to start your day with gyoza bags and ethical shrimp, upgraded popcorns, accordion breads, and - of course - restaurant’s curses

### 

Hi there!

If you're reading this, I'm the luckiest person today. 

This means the new Secret Breakfast software engine is working and my new address is not in your bin folder. 

⚠️

If you've found this issue in the "Promo" or "Updates" tag of your Gmail, I hope you can move it to your "Primary" section (and answer "yes" when Google asks)

I don't wanna bother you with the reason for my "operating system" change (I'll leave it to a blog post). For now, you just know:

- I'm making Secret Breakfast more **open**;
- The newsletter will be out on **Wednesdays**;
- I moved the operations to **secretbreakfast.com*,* which will be faster and cleaner than ever;
- I refurbished the newsletter **design** and palette like I do every year
- We have a new [**Privacy Policy**](https://secretbreakfast.com/privacy-policy/) (same old stuff, but it's the law);

I hope you can make yourself at home. Please write back if things aren't working for you, 

Piero

*Photograph:* [*Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty*](https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2025/feb/23/french-lambs-silver-person-jakarta-the-weekend-in-pictures?ref=secretbreakfast.com)*; Jakarta, Indonesia; a street performer takes a break to eat.* 

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![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/01/quote-transparent-1-1.png)

![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/02/LAUREN-COOK--6-.png)

✺ Lauren Cook, [*I Love Shopping*](https://nightboat.org/book/i-love-shopping/?ref=secretbreakfast.com). You can read a preview on [Dirt](https://dirt.fyi/article/2025/02/i-love-shopping?ref=secretbreakfast.com). Please notice: it's a dog who's talking. 

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![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/01/book-transparent-1.png)

![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/02/capture-2025-02-25-alle-12.25.36-3.jpg) 

#### Eastern Europe's Vegetable Revolution

Cabbage Strudel? Vegan (and Beef) Borscht? Potato Babka, Pierogi and Walnut Pâté? I'm confident I haven't ever cooked any of these. [Alissa Timoshkina](https://www.alissatimoshkina.com/?ref=secretbreakfast.com)'s book takes us to an unexplored territory that could help us rediscover Ukrainian and Eastern European flavors from often-forgotten vegetables. Plus, I love the cover artwork.

[****Kapusta**](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/466737/kapusta-by-alissa-timoshkina/9781784885854?ref=secretbreakfast.com) **by Alissa Timoshkina**  
Shortplot **→** 🥬 🧅 🥣 🥟

![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/01/White---22--1.png)

## The Hidden Symphony on Our Plates

![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/02/foodsound.jpg)

We are often told that our taste is actually the product of other senses, smell for starters. Now in Trento, Italy, the MUSE Science Museum has an exhibit exploring how sound shapes our eating habits—from triggering appetite to influencing purchasing decisions: its called [Food Sound: The Hidden Sound of Food](https://www.muse.it/en/events/exhibition-food-sound-2025/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) and is made of headphone-guided installations.

The exhibition makes me think to popular phenomena like [Mukbang](https://www.vox.com/culture/368208/mukbangs-origin-youtubers-hot-ones-asmr-seafood-boil-taco-bell?ref=secretbreakfast.com) videos with their exaggerated chewing sounds; the soothing crackling of [ASMR food content](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/style/asmr-video.html?unlocked%5Farticle%5Fcode=1.z04.7SxJ.GvhC2SkoAxwf&smid=url-share&ref=secretbreakfast.com) that attracts millions of viewers; or even musical groups like the [Vienna Vegetable Orchestra](https://www.vegetableorchestra.org/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) and Collectif SOMA, who transform carrots, peppers, and eggplants into functioning instruments. 

Their performances reveal that food doesn't just satisfy our taste buds—it creates an entire sensory symphony we rarely consciously perceive.

*Picture: Food Sound -* [*Muse Museum*](https://www.muse.it/eventi/mostra-food-sound-2025/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) *in Trento*

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Juicy content from food creators

[Chiew See on Instagram: ”\~ Accordion Bread\~ \*Sweet stiff starter\* – triple in 7-8hrs at 27-28C 30g starter 90g bread flour 40g water 15g sugar \*dough\* 230g bread flour 20g sugar 4g salt 1 egg (55g) 110g milk 20g butter All of the sweet stiff starter Cocoa paste 10g dark cocoa powder 15g water Method ➡️ Prepare sweet stiff starter and use when it triples, about 7-8hr at 27-28C. ➡️ Mix everything except butter till dough comes together and is strong. ➡️ Add butter gradually and knead until fully incorporated and dough achieves window pane. ➡️ Split dough into two equally ➡️ Add the cocoa paste to one of the dough and mix to combine ➡️ Rest the dough for 15mins ➡️ Roll out the two dough and stack one on top of another with 1/3 offset ➡️ Make a single fold and chill in fridge for 15mins ➡️ Roll out the dough into rectangle ➡️ Roll up from one end to another (like rolling Swiss roll) ➡️ Score the dough and place into greased tin (20x10x10cm) ➡️ Proof 3.5-4hr at 28C or until dough fills 90% if the tin ➡️ Egg wash (optional) ➡️ Bake at 180C for 40-45mins #shokupan #sourdoughshokupan #sourdoughbread #sourdoughloaf #sourdoughsandwichloaf #wildyeast #naturalyeast #levain #sweetstiffstarter #accordionbread”26K likes, 336 comments - autumn.kitchen on February 18, 2025: ”\~ Accordion Bread\~ \*Sweet stiff starter\* – triple in 7-8hrs at 27-28C 30g starter 90g bread flour 40g water 15g sugar \*dough\* 230g bread flour 20g sugar 4g salt 1 egg (55g) 110g milk 20g butter All of the sweet stiff starter Cocoa paste 10g dark cocoa powder 15g water Method ➡️ Prepare sweet stiff starter and use when it triples, about 7-8hr at 27-28C. ➡️ Mix everything except butter till dough comes together and is strong. ➡️ Add butter gradually and knead until fully incorporated and dough achieves window pane. ➡️ Split dough into two equally ➡️ Add the cocoa paste to one of the dough and mix to combine ➡️ Rest the dough for 15mins ➡️ Roll out the two dough and stack one on top of another with 1/3 offset ➡️ Make a single fold and chill in fridge for 15mins ➡️ Roll out the dough into rectangle ➡️ Roll up from one end to another (like rolling Swiss roll) ➡️ Score the dough and place into greased tin (20x10x10cm) ➡️ Proof 3.5-4hr at 28C or until dough fills 90% if the tin ➡️ Egg wash (optional) ➡️ Bake at 180C for 40-45mins #shokupan #sourdoughshokupan #sourdoughbread #sourdoughloaf #sourdoughsandwichloaf #wildyeast #naturalyeast #levain #sweetstiffstarter #accordionbread”.![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/icon/De-Dwpd5CHc-1.png)Instagram![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/thumbnail/479742147_18484957084052671_3585865347548404203_n.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGNvLH9J6EM/?ref=secretbreakfast.com)

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![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/01/Hunger-1.png)

 🥟Pharrell is one of us: [Louis Vuitton’s gyoza accessories](https://www.tapasmagazine.es/en/louis-vuitton-gyoza-accessories-are-the-new-objects-of-desire/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) 🫚Homemade Candied Ginger (★[recipe](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGBF9VMukhM/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink)) 🍵[Japan struggles to fend off a world without enough matcha](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/02/23/food-drink/matcha-shortage-global-solutions/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) 🍆[The ‘masculinity crisis’ is actually a crisis of self-esteem](https://psyche.co/ideas/the-masculinity-crisis-is-actually-a-crisis-of-self-esteem?ref=secretbreakfast.com) 🧑🏻‍🍳Rigatoni al *ajo mataero* by Andoni Luis Aduriz (★[recipe](https://elpais.com/gastronomia/recetas/2025-01-19/rigatonis-al-ajo-mataero-por-andoni-luis-aduriz.html?ref=secretbreakfast.com)) 🧳[Your Official Vacation Packing List, as Told by *The White Lotus*](https://www.byrdie.com/the-white-lotus-vacation-packing-list-11682962?ref=secretbreakfast.com) *🐚*Clam Chowder New England Style(★[recipe](https://thecozycook.com/clam-chowder-recipe/?ref=secretbreakfast.com)) 🐠[Smoked Salmon Benedict](https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/02/the-new-york-editorial-board-is-picking-up-where-the-new-york-times-left-off/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) is probably the worst thing to let sit during a meeting between journalists 🍿[6 Ways to Upgrade Your Popcorn, According to Professional Chefs](https://www.foodandwine.com/how-to-upgrade-popcorn-11680202?ref=secretbreakfast.com) 🍞Cottage Cheese Bread? Yes (★[recipe](https://www.instagram.com/p/DGT9cubSW6X/?ref=secretbreakfast.com)) 🦉WTF: Duolingo's mascot, [Duo the Owl, duped his death](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/02/24/duolingo-duo-owl-mascot-faked-death/80059015007/?ref=secretbreakfast.com) 🤓[How to Survive the Broligarchy](https://open.substack.com/pub/broligarchy/p/how-to-survive-the-broligarchy-d8b)

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![](https://secretbreakfast.com/content/images/2025/01/White---19-.png)

### [Yes, Shrimp Matter](https://asteriskmag.com/issues/09/yes-shrimp-matter?ref=secretbreakfast.com)

**Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla / Asterisk**

What made a private equity analyst decide to devote his life to tiny aquatic crustaceans? Now he advocates for shrimp welfare, citing evidence of their sentience and the staggering 440 billion farmed shrimp slaughtered annually in often cruel conditions. Despite widespread practices like eyestalk ablation and overcrowding, new interventions including electrical stunning and improved water quality management are already reducing suffering for billions of shrimp. 

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### [When the Michelin Star Becomes a Restaurant’s Curse](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/when-the-michelin-star-becomes-a-restaurant-s-curse/ar-AA1z1hVw?ref=secretbreakfast.com)

**Christina Cacouris / The Wall Street Journal**

Michelin's Mixed Blessing: For some chefs, the coveted stars have become a golden handcuff rather than a badge of honor. From Lucca to Paris, restaurant owners are questioning whether perfection is worth the price of stifled creativity, financial strain, and customers who come for the status, not the food.

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🔥

Last week's most clicked link was [I’m a psychologist who studies couples—the ones who can answer these 5 questions have happier relationships than most](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/16/psychologist-says-couples-who-can-answer-these-questions-correctly-have-stronger-relationships-than-most.html?ref=secretbreakfast.com). And that's all for today.

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