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

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: Valentine’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 don’t cook too much (Scallops? Good luck with that! Better to make some homemade bread; the bakery smell will be your wingman). Is “wingman” sexist? You know, you don’t have to do everything I wrote here. Did I mention buying chocolate? At least do that.

ONE ✤ QUOTE

✦ Matthew McConaughey on UberEats Superbowl commercial.

Kawaii Café Ramen: Classic, Fun, and Delicious Ramen Meals to Make by Amy Kimoto-Kahn
→ Shortplot: 🍜 🥟 🥒 🍡

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 can’t resist the yearly Ben Affleck’s Dunkin’ extravaganza. Nor I couldn’t resist when I watched, just a few hours ago, Succession’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.

That’s why I thought we could enjoy the…

Unrequested Power Ranking of Jeremy Strong’s Most Embarrassing Food-Related Scenes

#5

Jerry Rubin’s Courtroom Banana (The Trial of the Chicago 7)

In Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, Strong’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

"Let’s Get Some Cheesesteaks" – 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

“I’m just trying to find the character” - Jeremy’s Method (Super Bowl 2025 - Dunkin’)

The aforementioned commercial.

#2

"I’ve Made a Meal" – 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 - Kendall’s son - to taste mozzarella first, suspecting it could be poisoned.

#1

“Meal Fit for a King” - The Roy Siblings’ 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.

🍳16 Breakfasts to Make If You Can’t Find Eggs Right Now 👵🏼Take it from my 93-year-old grandmother: the secret to throwing a great party — without stressing yourself out 🧘🏻‍♂️A Party With an Edible Zen Garden 🍷Venetian Spritz (★recipe) or Artichoke Spritz (★recipe)? 🇲🇽8 salsa recipes, including spicy, cooked and fruity combinations (★recipes) 🐊These Beloved Food Rituals Bring Carnival Season to Life in the Bayous of Louisiana 🇫🇷15 Fast French Recipes for Elegant Weeknight Meals (★recipes) 🤣The Newest Food Trend is LOL 💰These Foods Will Likely Get More Expensive After USA’s Tariffs Take Effect 🌊Agree to disagree: The Mediterranean diet is a lie 🥣 Soup has a few lessons to teach us. One is that sometimes things get better tomorrow 

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

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

SEASON 5 • ISSUE 219
Secret Breakfast is a newsletter by Piero Macchioni.

In five years we have shared more than 5,000 recipes, hundreds of books, and countless hours of news, gluttony, and joy.