Egg farmers nationwide will be donating nearly 12 million eggs this Easter to help America's food banks. iReporter Chris Morrow visited Feeding America San Diego when they received 86,000 of the eggs slated to feed the county.

Get more food assignments at iReport and see how more people are banding together to help the hungry

Restaurant magazine and S. Pellegrino's annual "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list was released on Monday at an awards ceremony in London's Guildhall - and it seems the Danes have done it again.

The number one spot goes to Restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark for the second year straight.

Last year's top ranking catapulted Noma and chef René Redzepi's Nordic cuisine into the international culinary spotlight. According to Redzepi, the day after the list came out in 2010, Noma received more than 100,000 requests for a table.

The top honor is just another indication it's been a delicious year for the small European country. Denmark also beat out 23 other countries to take home gold in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or cooking competition - often referred to as the "culinary Olympics."

One visible omission from the list is the five-time "World's Best Restaurant," elBulli. Chef Ferran Adrià withdrew himself and the storied molecular gastronomy restaurant from the awards because elBulli will serve its last meal as a restaurant on July 30, 2011. It will reopen as a nonprofit "think-tank for creative cuisine and gastronomy" in 2014.

FULL POST

A spokesperson for Italian confectionery company Ferrero SpA confirmed today that their joint chief executive Pietro Ferrero has died in an accident in South Africa. The 47-year-old father of three was traveling for business when he reportedly fainted and fell from his bicycle during a routine ride.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini released a statement saying, "Italy has lost a businessman who represented the best qualities of our economic history."

Ferreo's father, 85-year-old father Michele is Italy's richest man, having taken over the company from his parents Piera and Pietro who founded the company in the 1940s.

Ferrero SpA produces Kinder products, Nutella (which was invented in the back of Piera and Pietro's bakery), Mon Cheri, Tic Tac and the eponymous Ferrero Rocher. Mr. Ferrero jointly ran the confectionery group with his brother Giovanni.

The darndest things pop up in our inbox. Sometimes it's a press release about a $500 bowl of punch (and no, you don't get to keep the bowl) or an event headlined by Jimmy Buffet's sister. Other times it's an invite to breathe the same air as Guy Fieri or random information about crabs.

These are topics around which we can wrap our heads. Today, however, we're lightly boggled. From our pals at ABC's Nightline, a few excerpts of tonight's conversation between Andrew Cherng, CEO of Panda Restaurant Group (yes, the food court Panda people) and reporter John Berman:

Andrew Cherng, CEO Panda Restaurant Group: You know, Panda – We're not really selling Chinese food, you know. Our real purpose is about developing people. I think the biggest thing about Panda is the people that care about what they do.
John Berman: You sell a lot of food. What's more important here, food or caring?
Cherng: Caring.
Berman: But you can't eat caring.
Cherng: You certainly can.

FULL POST

When 12-year-old Mason went to lunch each day last year, he could choose between orange juice and milk, but he couldn't get a cup of water.

Like many public schools, his doesn't provide cups. To have free water with his lunch, Mason would have to wait in line at a water fountain shared by hundreds of other middle-school students and take a few sips of water before returning to eat.

Not surprisingly, he usually didn't bother.

His mother, Johanna Whittlesey, like other parents across the country, assumed her child had enough water, but nutrition advocates believe schoolchildren's access to water is a national problem the federal government has only begun to address.

Read - For schoolchildren, where's the water?

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

• The Chinese are going nuts for American pecans. - Wall Street Journal

• America's full of a bunch o' Manischewitz maniacs. Here's why. - The Atlantic

• Mexican microbrewers say full kegs ahead, but big-name beer companies are getting in the way. - LA Times

• After incidents of tipsy toddlers occurred at both an Olive Garden and Applebee's last week, casual-dining chains are putting the beverage training wheels back on. - Nation's Restaurant News

• Brunch is the new Friday night dinner out. - Chicago Tribune

CNN.com Religion Editor Dan Gilgoff explains the Jewish festival of Passover, which starts at sundown Monday and commemorates the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt thousands of years ago.

Watch the video above to learn more about the Seder – the meal in which the story of Exodus is told – and the various symbols used during the holiday, including matzo (unleavened bread), bitter herbs, salt water and a lamb shank bone.

Read "Let my people go: Understanding the Passover Seder" on the CNN Belief Blog.

Previously - Stephanie Izard's Five Favorite Matzo Toppers

Watch the Green Solutions in Focus: Eatocracy Edition hour-long special hosted by Tom Foreman on Saturday, April 23rd at 3pm ET and see all Earth Day coverage at eatocracy.com/infocus

Read - all spirits coverage on Eatocracy
FULL POST

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! April 18 has been dubbed to day the celebrate everyone's favorite edible menagerie: animal crackers.

The circus crackers cookies stampeded onto the snacking scene in 1902 when Nabisco, previously known as the National Biscuit Company, started producing "Barnum's Animals" in the now signature stringed boxes.

So, today's the day to bite off a camel's head - and the best part is, it's completely vegetarian.

What's on TV?
FULL POST

Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
FULL POST