• “An Insult to My Culture”: Italian Chef Fired for Refusing to Put Pineapple on Pizza

  Italian chef Davide Tamburella, who worked at La Costa restaurant in Brisbane, Australia, lost his job after refusing to put pineapple on pizza, calling the topping “an insult to my culture.”..

• Fruits and Vegetables Are Up to 50% Less Nutritious Than in the 1960s: Scientists Warn of ‘Nutrient Depletion’ in Food

  Fruits and vegetables may contain significantly fewer nutrients than they did 60 years ago. According to a new study, levels of several essential minerals and vitamins in agricultural produce have fallen by 20% to 50%. Researchers cite declining soil quality as one of the main reasons, the New York Post reports...

• Can Garlic Help You Win a Woman Over? Scientists Explore How Food Affects Dating

  Before a first date, it is worth thinking about more than just what to wear — what you eat may also make a difference. Researchers have found that diet can influence first impressions, affecting everything from skin tone and body odor to facial flushing and even pupil size...

• How to Preserve the Taste of Home on the Other Side of the World: French Publisher to Release Siblings Zarzavadjian’s Book on Armenian Diaspora Cuisine

  From Argentina and Lebanon to Australia and Japan, Armenian cuisine has long lived far beyond Armenia’s borders, evolving under the influence of new countries, ingredients and family stories...

• Cheese Is Fine, but Go Easy on the Butter: Scientists Reveal Which Fatty Foods Are Actually Healthy

  For years, we were told that fatty foods were bad for us: people were advised to replace whole milk with skimmed milk, butter with spreads, and eat cheese as rarely as possible. But new research suggests the picture is more complicated...

• A Marathon with Wine and Oysters: France’s Wildest Race

  What pairs best with a rich red wine from Bordeaux? As it turns out, a marathon...

• British Woman Reclaims Guinness World Record by Devouring a Burrito in 30 Seconds

  Leah Shutkever, 36, from Birmingham, already held 42 records when she set her latest world-best time. Her previous achievements include eating a Domino’s pizza in under a minute and polishing off an entire chocolate orange in just 57 seconds...

• Japanese Ice at $1.50 a Cube: The New Luxury Status Symbol at the World’s Best Bars

  In the historic Japanese city of Kanazawa, craftsmen carefully shape and carve enormous blocks of ice destined to chill Negronis in some of the world’s most fashionable bars, AFP reports...

The Week has published a piece about Armenia.

"Walking among the modern high-rises and Soviet apartment blocks in Yerevan's orderly street grid, I detect hints of charred fat and wood smoke. It's an aroma I first encountered just after I crossed the border into Armenia. It saturated the minibus as we swerved through the rugged Caucasus Mountains toward the nation's capital. And it has dogged me since.

It is khorovats, the local barbecue, as heavy with tradition and culture as its counterpart in the American South. In Armenia, it's the taste of every family event — the grill, called a mangal, an expected guest itself. The ability to afford khorovats a few times a month is considered a mark of comfort. There's even a song played when the meat platter is brought into a party," author Albert Stumm noted. "Though the word means anything grilled, khorovats implies pork — chops and ribs — roasted over a fire using flat skewers called shampurs. The meat is simply seasoned: salt, pepper, chopped onions, maybe paprika and a dried local herb such as tsitron, similar to oregano. Liquid marinades are less traditional, but these days young people get more creative."

"I'm thinking about doing pomegranate and basil, but my dad says that will ruin it," says Arpine Yesayan, his guide from the Envoy Hostel in Yerevan.

Stumm also described his experience in the village of Chinchin.

"The town is only 100 miles away, but the journey takes four hours of bumping along pot-holed roads, our ears popping as we wind through mountainous scrubland and cleared landslides. Along the way, we stop at a bakery on the shore of Lake Sevan to pick up several pounds of lavash — an ancient, ubiquitous flatbread — and a selection of layer cakes and gooey baklava."

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram