Food news antipasto

It’s official – they’ve called off the divorce. Who is they? Kraft Heinz, of course. The company was going to split in two, with one company focused on groceries and the other on sauces and spreads, but new CEO Steve Cahillane stopped the split from happening. He says that poor conditions across the food industry led the decision, noting however that the challenges were “fixable and within our control.”

Jeni’s has developed a new line of ice cream flavors inspired by the Netflix series Bridgerton. The new flavors include Queen Charlotte Sponge Cake and Earl Grey Créme Brûlée, and you can order them individually or in sets. ‘High Tea with the Ton’ has them both, plus Wildberry Lavender, Gooey Butter Cake, and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. Swoon.

What’s the best grocery store in the United States? That’s the question answered by the 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which asks shoppers to rate their recent grocery shopping experience. The survey of 31,000 people pointed to Trader Joe’s as the top contender with Publix, H-E-B, and Sam’s Club as the next three. Aldi, Costco, and Whole Foods tied for fifth place. This leaves one burning question: what happened to Wegmans? The storied chain dropped the most of any supermarkets surveyed, going down 6 points from its previous year’s score.

MasterChef: The Professionals, is making its long-awaited return to BBC One, this time with new judge Matt Tebbutt. The Caterer provides everything you need to know about the program, where over the next seven weeks, 32 professional chefs from all over the UK will battle it out to become the show’s 19th champion. Meanwhile, over on BBC Two, Great British Menu will be returning for its 21st series.

The International Association of Culinary Professionals has introduced a newsletter called The Edit, which will be guest edited by notable people in the food world. They are starting things off with a bang, featuring longtime IACP member and food writing instructor Dianne Jacob in the first issue.

The humble cabbage is suddenly the hottest ticket in town, showing up in many trend predictions for 2026. The cruciferous vegetable has become so popular that Pinterest has announced the rise of “cabbage core” as an aesthetic. The Independent’s Hannah Twigg looks at the renewed interest in this staid vegetable, wondering if “this a genuine nutritional redemption story or simply another cycle of food hype?”

Move over Crumbl, there’s a new sheriff – err, cookie – in town. Thin Cookies is challenging the maker of giant cookies by going in a different direction, as the name suggests. The company, founded during the pandemic, offers limited flavors of thin but soft cookies that they claim are “better than Crumbl”. They have three regular flavors and three monthly special flavors that rotate.

In case you missed this post: Garden dreams.