Friday, 30 December 2022

The Best of TODAY Food 2022

December 30, 2022 | VIEW IN BROWSER

Your day starts here. The latest in news, pop culture, wellness and more.

Restaurant etiquette, life as an Uber Eats driver, a McDonald's with one arch — TODAY Food was about way more than just the tastiest recipes from your favorite chefs this year. From the quirky to the viral, the important industry news to the best comfort food, we covered it all this year. Check out the best of TODAY Food in 2022.

THE LATEST

But first, the news...

Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, arguably the sport's greatest player of all time, died at 82 yesterday after a yearlong battle with cancer. Southwest Airlines said it plans to return to "normal operations" today after canceling thousands of flights this week during one of the busiest travel times of the year. Federal prosecutors in New York have opened an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos, a Republican who acknowledged this week that he fabricated or embellished several claims about his background. Divisive internet personality Andrew Tate was detained by Romanian authorities yesterday on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group.

Do restaurant servers appreciate when we stack our dirty plates for them?

In July, TODAY's Mister Manners, Thomas P. Farley, tackled an important question over restaurant etiquette: Do servers find it helpful when customers stack dirty dishes at the end of a meal? Many diners like to stack plates and utensils to help the staff, but some restaurant workers Farley spoke to said the well-intentioned gesture can make their jobs more difficult. In some cases, servers have their own system for clearing tables, and stacking can throw off their game. However, others said customers pitching in can help a server avoid a rude reach. So should you stack? Check out more on the great stacking debate and take our poll here.

🚗 I spent 100 days as a driver for Uber Eats and DoorDash. Here's what I learned — and what you should know.

Owen Lindstrom knows all the secrets of being a driver for food delivery apps after working the job for 100 days straight, 12 hours a day around his home near Portland, Oregon. The 22-year-old went viral after documenting his experience on TikTok, and in an essay for TODAY, he shared what he learned about making money, "tip baiting," dealing with customers as well as restaurant workers — many of whom were not thrilled to see him — and maintaining a human touch amid the notoriously grinding "gig economy." Read his story here.

🍔 Why do some McDonald's locations only have a single golden arch?

You've heard of the Golden Arches, but how about the Golden Arch? This year, we learned there are actually a handful of McDonald's locations out of the 38,000+ around the world that have only a single golden arch on their sign. As TODAY discovered, there's estimated to be only 12 single arch signs left — scattered in states from California to New Jersey— and their designs date back to the restaurant's original 1950s concept, before it adopted the signature "M" logo. Learn more about the quirky history of the McDonald's sign and see photos of the restaurant's evolution here.

Here are some of our most popular recipes of the year.

Homey, simple comfort food was a big theme in 2022, as Ina Garten's overnight mac and cheese and food blogger Gaby Dalkin's black bean and sweet potato chili (seen above) were two of the biggest hits with TODAY foodies. We also anointed a new culinary star, Linda Skeens, who came out of nowhere to sweep the competition at her state's county fair and became an internet sensation in the process. Skeens made her first national appearance on TODAY and shared her blue ribbon recipes for peanut butter fudge, peach hand pies, homemade jam and more. And finally, we said farewell to Queen Elizabeth II with her favorite recipe for pancakes, which she once included in a letter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. For more great recipes, check out TODAY Food.