|
|
Good taste has always been subjective, but lately, it’s also come onto display. |
|
|
What we eat, where we eat, and even what we carry our lunch in have become another way we signal identity. In today’s culture, a coveted reservation can carry as much currency and clout as a Fashion Week invite. A $20 smoothie (the celeb association has recently been quietly dropped from the menu) can become a status symbol. A soda can show up backstage at Fashion Week dressed in custom couture. Chefs, restaurants, and grocery aisles are increasingly shaping culture by blurring the lines between food and everything else. |
|
|
For brands, that makes food and beverage much more than a hospitality play. It’s a way into fashion, travel, entertainment, wellness, and community, emerging as a shared language built around something everyone already has an opinion about: what tastes good. |
|
|
In this Epicurean Edition of The Pulse, we’re looking at the people, places, and ideas turning appetite into influence, and what happens when what’s on the menu becomes part of the cultural conversation. |
|
|
Come hungry. Stay Inspired (as always), |
|
|
|
|
|
| BMF Connects With Sarah Murov of Loews Hotels & Co |
|
| BMF Founding Partner Brian Feit caught up with Sarah Murov, Senior Vice President of Brand & Communications at Loews Hotels & Co, on how F&B is shaping the modern hotel experience, which trends are worth investing in and why the best hospitality ideas start with what guests genuinely want. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The New + The NoteworthyEverything Worth Doing/Seeing/Getting/Booking |
|
|
|
| | BMF client Belmond is turning its destinations into something you can bring home. For the latest edition of its Recipes & Wanderings cookbook series with Apartamento, the journey heads to Madeira, bringing together 21 recipes largely from Reid’s Palace. Part cookbook, part travel diary, the series shows how food can capture the character of a place long after the trip is over. Make it yours here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Somewhere along the way, even a loaf of bread became a status symbol. Austrian bakery Martin Auer just landed in SoHo with RYE, a concept dedicated to one thing: a 100% rye sourdough loaf priced at $60. The price has already made it a viral talking point, when even the most everyday foods can become objects of status, curiosity and cultural conversation. Buy your loaf here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | The Seaport is about to smell like butter and Champagne. This October, NYC Food & Wine Festival returns for its 19th year, moving its flagship events to the Pier 17 Rooftop for the first time. Four days, dozens of chefs, and the city's best excuse to try everything. Get tickets here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Oishii is making strawberries feel more like collectibles than groceries. Known for growing Japanese style berries through high tech vertical farming, the brand has opened its first retail kiosk at Chelsea Market, complete with a berry sommelier, gift boxes and its rarest Omakase strawberries priced at up to $100 a dozen. Taste them for yourself here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Food is making its way out of the kitchen and into the closet. From Cult Gaia’s grape cluster clutch and Judith Leiber’s crystal matcha bag to pasta prints, birthday cake embroidery and Burger King’s nugget shaped handbag, designers are turning what we eat into what we wear. See what’s on the menu here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The FrequencyWhat We’re Listening To Now. |
|
|
| | The ’90s are having a comeback, and apparently that includes boy bands and Gap. JYT (Just Your Type) is quickly becoming one of pop’s buzziest new groups, with tracks like “Say Less” and a growing fanbase online. Gap is getting in early with a multi-year partnership spanning fashion, live shows and a docuseries. Listen here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The DestinationNow Departing… Tokyo |
|
|
| | In Tokyo, the best experiences often come down to the details: the perfect cup of coffee, a beautifully made object, a meal prepared with decades of practice. It’s a city that rewards curiosity, where some of the most memorable places are found behind unmarked doors, down quiet side streets or a few floors above the crowds. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That’s Fire By Sir Candle Man 🔥 |
|
|
| | To find out what scent evokes appetite, BMF turned to fragrance aficionado Kudzi Chikumbu, AKA Sir Candle Man, for a pick that feels especially fitting. His choice? Flamingo Estate’s Green Goddess, a candle that smells almost good enough to eat. As Kudzi puts it, “This smells like pesto... delicious and herbaceous.” Bring the garden into your kitchen here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Let’s chat about how we can keep your brand in tune with the pulse of culture. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The SublimeCreators, Innovators, And Cool $#!+ You Should Know About. |
|
|
| | Grace Ling sculptural, tech-engineered, backstage at her own NYFW show, custom-fit liquid-metal aluminum sleeves for BMF client Poppi cans, because even a soda deserves a fitting. It's less merch, more actual Ling piece: draped like fabric, cinched like a bodice. Poppi calls it a dream duo. We agree. See here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | BMF friend Chef Dominique Crenn, the first woman in the U.S. to earn three Michelin stars, is opening her next chapter far from home. Crenn is bringing Petit Crenn to Melbourne, but she's not just importing a formula. She's already deep in conversation with the city's producers, the same philosophy that runs her own organic farm in California. Check it out here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Leave it to BMF friend Laila Gohar to turn a carousel into a feast. For Milan Design Week, the artist and chef took a carousel and replaced the horses with oversized fruits and vegetables, free for anyone to ride. Consider yourself in the know. See more here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | A working farm that counts Balenciaga among its collaborators is not something you see every day. Sky High Farm, the for-profit arm funding Dan Colen's nonprofit farm, has built an unlikely list of partners, Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons, Converse, plus an exclusive beverage line sold only at Erewhon. Every product funds the same mission: donating 100% of the farm's crops to food banks across New York. More on Sky High Farm here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | By day, Tilman Fertitta is U.S. Ambassador to Italy, by night—or at least by portfolio—he’s behind some of NYC’s toughest tables to get. Think The Corner Store, The Eighty Six and the newly opened Cafe Charmant, where getting the reservation might just require diplomatic relations of your own. Check out the portfolio here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | From the outside, a black sphere, embossed with Takashi Murakami's smiling flowers. Open it and 108 hand-sculpted blooms surround a magnum of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2002 Plénitude 2, one of the house's rarest cuvées. It's the newest piece from the collaboration the two launched last fall. Consider yourself in the know. See it here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Chef Sophie Dalah is turning catering into an art form with highly stylized tablescapes, playful food installations and unexpected serving moments. From Rhode, Orebella and Tatcha launches to intimate private dinners, Sophie’s Table makes the food as much a part of the visual experience as the event itself. Step inside her world here. ➔ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Week in ReviewICYMI... |
|
|
Travel The 25 Best Hotel Restaurants In The World—And Why You Should Go Now ➔ This City Was Named The No. 1 Food Destination In The U.S. For 2026—And Dining Out Here Is Practically A Way Of Life ➔ Gastronomic Tourism Expands As Budget-Conscious Travellers Trade Luxury Hotels For Dining ➔ How Gastronomy Drives Tourism — And Sales ➔ The Best Fine-Dining Restaurants In The World In 2026, According To Thousands Of Travellers ➔
Fashion & Beauty Inside The Best U.S. Cocktail Bar: 'Dressed Up Classics For Dressed Down People' ➔ Is Niche Dining Fashion’s Next Frontier? ➔ House Of Dior Milan: Inside The Striking New Flagship And Restaurant ➔ Serving Looks And Serving Snacks! Vogue Editors Share Their Favorite Foods At NYFW ➔ Can’t Repeat The Past? Of Course You Can! Carolina Herrera Resurrects Famous Upper East Side Restaurant Mortimer’s ➔
Entertainment Forget The Cold Plunge. Luxury Condos Are Now Getting Their Own Speakeasies ➔ TV Watch Parties Are Having A Renaissance: Why 'Survivor,' 'Traitors' And 'Heated Rivalry' Are Taking Over Your Local Bar ➔ Inside The Blind Tasting And Cocktail Class At Bvlgari's New Treasure Hunt ➔ MICHELIN Guide Chefs Are Redefining Stadium Food At The U.S. Open ➔ The New Generation Reinventing Bar TV Watch Parties ➔
Technology Krug Champagne's New Dining Experience Is Inside A Recording Studio ➔ How Tech And Transparency Are Driving The Restaurant Industry Forward ➔ Yum! Brands Leading The Way In Digital Restaurant Technology ➔ Multisensory Dining: The New Language Of Luxury Dining ➔ Cocktail Culture: A History Of Mixology & Its Evolution ➔
Media How Our Editors Pick the Best New Restaurants ➔ Restaurants Are Turning Social Media Hacks Into Real Menu Items And It's Working ➔ Contractors And Chefs Are Becoming Influencers With Their Clients' Permission ➔ New York Power Dining Restaurant Scene Gains New Entry For Social Media Age ➔ Social Media Marketing For Restaurants: Benefits, Strategies, And Best Practices ➔
|
|
|
|
|
