A year after coming forward about Ken Friedman’s sexual misconduct, former Spotted Pig employee Monica Burton reflects on her decision to share her story publicly.

Dear Rare Whiskey Collectors…We regret to inform you that the super expensive bottle you just purchased should be considered fake until proven otherwise. Sincerest apologies.

“Of the 55 bottles that were tested, 21 of them were either completely fake or, based on the carbon dating, were determined to have not been distilled in the year on their labels. If these now-debunked bottles had been authentic, their combined value would’ve been an estimated £635,000 ($805,624).”

The bad news: overall food prices are set to rise by up to 3.5% this year. The good news: the price of meat and seafood will likely drop as demand for both decreases.

We read all the annual, end-of-year roundups and can’t get enough of the best of the worst restaurant reviews.

Drink up: A retrospective on the best drinks of 2018, including a cedar-based cocktail from Halifax’s Field Guide (The Daily Beast reports).

From best coffee bar to best cocktail bar to bartender of the year, Imbibe shares their annual Imbibe 75 list of most notable people, places and drinks for the coming year.

Look to the cookie! With anxiety levels on the rise, some folks are turning to baking as a means of mindful and affordable self-care.

Trump may not give a crap about the effects of a government shutdown on employees, but Chef José Andrés sure does.

Eating via Instagram honours this week go to @eatheritage because while some New Year’s resolutions start with kale and a juice cleanse, others start with pork belly and eggs:

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A post shared by Heritage Asian Eatery (@eatheritage) on Jan 4, 2019 at 10:53am PST

Changes in shopping habits, lack of brand loyalty and lasting repercussions from the Great Recession have big name food brands losing market share.

On the confusion around the meaning of “organic” — the unclear standards that govern the label and burning questions around the future of the designation (Eater reports).

Food indecision be gone! Your January food horoscope from the folks at Bon Appetit will surely help you decide what to eat throughout the month, right?

If, however, vegetable-based predictions are more your speed, check out this “Asparamancer” who predicts the future but looking asparagus.

“The 62-year-old woman from the British city of Bath has been issuing annual predictions based on how a handful of asparagus lands after being tossed in the air for years now—and for some reason, people believe her.”

Local restaurant openings worth checking out this month include the new location of Ancora in West Vancouver and The Drive’s Livia, which is set to have its soft opening as early as this week.

Forget traditional resolutions. Having a cooking goal may just be a surefire way to get you through the dark and cold winter months.

“Some winter cooking goals are about taking an almost insurmountable-seeming kitchen task and bringing it into focus and clarity, and some are just about cooking the same thing 10 times like a maniac until you feel like you’ve got it down.”

The Vancouver Sun’s Mia Stainsby pays a visit to Hunnybee, where brunch is king by day and cocktails rule by night.

Atlas Obscura tackles the age old question: Is this duck kosher?

This week in food podcasts: Mother Jones interviews food scientist Paul Dawson on the five second rule, double dipping and sharing that bucket of popcorn.

Intriguing or outrageous? Montreal’s Joe Beef shares a recipe for an all dressed-inspired compound butter in their latest book, Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse.

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