Michelle Mazzara’s company, Luvafoodie, started out in 2014 as a dating website where single foodies could meet. From there it quickly evolved into a love affair with food, starting with chocolate and caramels and moving into spice blends.

Scott Pampuch, chef at 4Bells and the new Minnesota Prince of Porc, didn’t make a big deal about winning this year’s Cochon 555 event. He said it was a minor thing compared to the big news of the week.

Persimmons infiltration of quick-service restaurants is expected to grow by 101 percent in the next four years, according to the United Fresh Produce Association’s spring insights report. The majority of persimmons will be shipped frozen, since the squishy fruit is more challenging to ship fresh.

Minnesotans are a hearty bunch, but weather and other unforeseen factors impact our restaurant scene. To get some sort of barometer on how the industry is doing, Womply a front of the house software company for restaurants, has analyzed daily transactions for the 2018 calendar year at 42,223 local restaurant in the U.S., including Minnesota.

Being greeted by an oddly realistic dinosaur—if you ignored his semi-hidden jean-clad legs—was just one of the treats in store for visitors to the National Restaurant Show in Chicago the extended weekend of May 18-21.