5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

No matter how you frost it, the cupcake craze is here to stay.

If anyone should know, it's Bobbie Lloyd: the self-proclaimed "Chief Baking Officer" of Magnolia Bakery, which received instant, international notoriety from the likes of Sex and the City and Saturday Night Live's "Lazy Sunday" rap homage.

So why the sweet success? Lloyd shares her two sugar-coated cents.

Five Reasons Why Cupcakes Are More Than Just a Trend: Bobbie Lloyd
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Today, the Food and Drug Administration heard from parties involved in the production and regulation of genetically modified salmon, developed by AquaBounty Technologies to be approved as a food source.

Speakers included AquaBounty Technologies Executive Director, President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ron Stotish, Dr. Yonathan Zohar chair of the Department of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Dr. Larissa Rudenko of the FDA, who stated that the group has not yet made a decision.

Said Dr. Rudenko, "We are looking for good and constructive conversation."

Previously - What exactly is genetically modified salmon? and what the scientists have to say.

Get more from CBC Canada

Kenneth Smith had been a fixture in the highly rated Upperline Restaurant of New Orleans, Louisiana, where for the past 11 years he served as the executive chef. But after about two decades working there, he has moved out of the kitchen and into New Orleans' Notre Dame Seminary, on his way to becoming a priest. CNN sat down this summer with Smith, 50, before he took off his apron. In his own words, he explains how serving up faith is a logical leap.

Read HIS STORY.

Previously - All the New Orleans coverage on Eatocracy.

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• "...I'm going to have a Scotch, straight-up. Because I'm a woman and I know what I want." Take your cosmopolitan and deal with it. - The Atlantic

• More success? Less a woman wants to eat. - New Scientist

• Pizza Hut employees get their fifteen minutes of fame in the chain's new ad campaign. - AdAge

• Lettie Teague hates ordering wine by the glass, and here to tell you why. - Wall Street Journal

• Apparently, it's OK to eat fast food when it's a bit more upscale. - Guardian

If it swims like a salmon, tastes like a salmon and looks like a salmon, is it salmon?

Genetically engineered Atlantic salmon has sparked controversy, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold two public meetings this week. The meetings aim to provide information on the topic, expert opinions and a chance for the public to make comments.

AquaBounty Technologies' AquAdvantage Salmon would be the first genetically modified animal to appear in restaurants and grocery stores.

Currently, 50 percent of the salmon we eat worldwide is farmed Atlantic salmon, grown from eggs in large containment pools rather than the open ocean. The current production of farmed Atlantic salmon exceeds 2 billion pounds, according to the United Nation's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a hearing Monday as it considers whether to approve genetically engineered salmon for human consumption.

If approved it would be the first genetically modified animal permitted by the food safety agency.

A company, AquAdvantage Salmon, has injected growth hormones into Atlantic salmon that enable the fish to reach maturity in half the normal growth time, 16 to 18 months, rather than 30 months.

CNN Health has the FULL STORY

Photo: AquAdvantage® Salmon in the background; a non-GMO Atlantic salmon of the same age in the foreground.

In cooking, the process of clarification entails straining out extraneous muck from liquids so that they might be pure, clear and ideal for consumption. With this series on food terminology we're attempting to do the same.

The United States' Food and Drug Administration is in the midst of public hearings to determine if it will approve AquaBounty Technologies' application for fish spawned from genetically engineered salmon eggs to be allowed for use as food. These "AquAdvantage® Salmon" grow into full-sized fish in half the time that it would take a regular salmon, and if approved, would become the first "transgenic" or genetically engineered animals to be approved for human consumption.

It's a deeply fraught issue for both fans and foes of the technology, but stripping politics and propriety aside, here's what "genetically modified" actually means in the context of fish farming.
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