Tien NguyenYesterday was April Fools' Day, that sacred holiday in which you can't trust anyone any more than you already don't. And even though it was a Sunday, a good number of food-related folks (including us) nonetheless jumped at the chance to prank a witting or unwitting audience with various fake tweets, news stories and products. In case you missed them, we rounded up seven of our favorite food-related pranks that you can enjoy in the relative safety of the day after April Fools' Day.
Torani's Chicken N' Waffles-flavored syrup; Credit: Torani
7. Torani introduces Chicken 'n Waffles-flavored syrup. Torani, maker of fine flavored syrups and sauces, centered its April Fools' prank around a fake syrup that presumably would make your drink taste like a trip to Roscoe's. Or maybe the joke's on us: The company says it will actually turn the prank into a shelf-ready reality if you head over to its Facebook page and “otherwise make as much online noise as you can to raise the Chicken 'n Waffles' ruckus.” Which, if this sounds better to you than it does to us, have at it.
Spielburgers; Credit: Screenshot of Spielburgers's website
6. Spielburgers. A long-overdue, Steven Spielberg-themed restaurant, Spielburgers looks like everything Planet Hollywood tried to be but wasn't. Sample menu items include the “Jurassic Pork Pulled Sandwich” and “Catch Me If You Cannelloni.”
Champagne; Credit: e_calamar/Flickr
5. U.K. paper the Daily Mail reports on the government's Champagne tax. Over across the Atlantic, the Daily Mail had its April Fools' Day fun, too, planting a fake story about the government's alleged plans to levy taxes on chilled Champagne. The story makes more sense if put in context with the very real uproar over a proposed tax on hot pasties and other foods taken to go; even without this background, though, the puns alone make this one worth a read.
Credit: Screenshot from Rene Redzepi's Twitter page
4. Noma's Rene Redzepi quits. In real news, Noma — considered by some as the best restaurant in the world — is now taking reservations for July, so book your flights now.
3. Google Fiber. Among its fantastic April Fools' Day-related pranks (Google Maps for your 8-bit Nintendo! Multiple cursors for “ambinavigation” multi-tasking!), Google faux-launched Google Fiber, which is not, say, a fiber optic cable network but “a nutritional bar with a smarter fiber we've coded as 'Fiberlicious.'” Not only does it have “100 times more fiber, vitamins and antioxidants” than other nutritional bars, it also takes “cues from the intestinal tract and the body's metabolism to determine what nutritional elements are missing and deliver the appropriate dose to the specific organ that needs it.” Yes, Google, but how does it taste?
Credit: Screenshot from Alice Waters' Twitter page
2. Chez Panisse coming to a town near you. If only. Relatedly, our April Fools' Day joke last year unmasked the anonymous Ruth Bourdain as none other than Ms. Waters herself.
1. Fresh Step introduces Organic Bacon-Scented Cat Litter. Fresh Step's April Fools' Day prank combined some people's love for cats and some other people's unhealthy obsession with baconization and came up with its Organic Bacon-scented kitty litter. The prank goes as far as a nifty fake product website that highlights how the “cat-activated clay provides pleasing sizzle sound” while the “scrumptious bacon scent makes your mouth water.” Not everything on the site is a joke though: That link to “Cat Pride Sweaters” is very real.
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