Introducing The Braiser; Shawarma, Anyone?

Did you know that since the release of The Avengers, sales of shawarma have skyrocketed? Well, at least they have in Hollywood’s Ro Ro’s Chicken, which says its shawarma sales have risen 80% since the film debuted, and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s happened elsewhere as well (if you don’t know why, you’ll have to find out for yourself, we won’t spoil you). Such is the power of nerds and food. We’ve seen it here, with the Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook, settings we’d like to live in based on food alone, and the greatest of fictional candy, and uh… eating organs.

And so we’re proud to welcome a brand new website into our blogging network: The Braiser, edited by our own Verena von Pfetten. It’s a blog all about food, and celebrity food, because “what we eat, where we eat, and how we eat it is a focal point of how we define community, family, and culture in this country and around the world. And the people who help us do that are going to get our attention — though some, obviously, much more than others.” Not sure where to start with the site? Well, here’s a list on the history of celebrity chefs (going all the way back to the Renaissance!), here’s a very special Mothers’ Day bed in breakfast, and here’s The Braiser‘s raison d’etre in its own words.