José Andrés and Guy Fieri Will Face Off in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

February 07, 2020 Admin 0 Comments

Plus, Tartine Bakery moves to unionize, and more news to start your day

The two chefs’ teammates include Bad Bunny and Chance the Rapper

Guy Fieri, a longtime basketball enthusiast, and José Andrés, a one-time baseball pitcher, are officially on the roster for this year’s NBA Celebrity Game. Part of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, the game has ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith coaching one team, with Fieri serving as assistant coach. Jose Andres will actually be playing on the opposing team, coached by Michael Wilbon, also an ESPN commentator. Other players include Bad Bunny and Doritos spokesman Chance the Rapper.

Fieri is a huge Golden State Warriors fan, and can often be found on the sidelines with friend E-40. But will that translate to coaching ability? It can’t hurt, plus Fieri has plenty of experience directing staff at one of his many restaurants. Is there really much of a difference between perfecting layups and perfecting donkey sauce?

Each team buoyed by a culinary icon presents the possibility of fueling up with their respective chef’s dishes. Which is better carbo-loading for a basketball tournament: patatas bravas or chicken parm-eroni?

And in other news...

• Tartine Bakery workers have become members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, with many saying they hope to negotiate better wages. “[Tartine was] expanding like crazy, opening multiple restaurants in a short period of time, and then telling us that they don’t have the money to give us a $1 an hour raise,” said one server. [In These Times]
• PETA is holding a sit-in at Starbucks because non-dairy milks cost extra, a frustrating but common practice at many coffee shops. [Insider]
• The Center for Consumer Freedom ran an ad saying fake meat makes you poop. Then fake meat companies ran ads saying there’s poop in beef. Advertising is great. [CNBC]
• Be careful when eating pizza, because it sent 3,800 people to the ER in 2018. [NY Post]
• Cereal sales are declining, so Kellogg’s is relying on fake meat and Pop Tarts to get through. [Fast Company]
• Dunkin’ is spending a lot of money on new coffee machines in the hopes it’ll make its coffee taste better. [WCBV5]
• A perfect story: Liam Gallagher’s son and Ringo Starr’s grandson got into a fight at a grocery store. [The Guardian]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]