2011 Recap: Fascinating Food Events

Gordan Ramsay didn't have a great start in 2011. While on a filming expedition in Costa Rica, he and his film crew were held at gunpoint and soaked with gasoline by angry fishermen who hoped to stop the group from going public with footage of the area's illicit shark-fin trade. Luckily, everyone got away without getting hurt.

This isn't Land of the Lost, it's Land of the Libation. A group of archeologists discovered a winery in an Armenian cave that was active circa 4,000 B.C. Among the things they found, according to The New York Times: A "vat for fermenting, a press, storage jars, a clay bowl, and a drinking cup made from an animal horn."

In February, we reported on the Heart & Soul Café, a restaurant near Phoenix, AZ, that serves a massive breakfast. Just how massive? The dish, called "The Famous Suicide Stack," has four types of meat, two types of gravy, carbs, eggs, and cheese, and it weighs in at more than 15 pounds!

Perhaps your doctor has warned you that too much butter could kill you, but we're sure he never imagined anything like this. A Sicilian couple allegedly used butter to suffocate the woman's ex-husband, believing it would melt before an autopsy was performed.

How about a side of fries with your "I do"? In Hong Kong that's actually possible thanks to McDonald's licensed McWeddings. One package includes food and drinks for 50, a "wedding cake" made of stacked apple pies, and invitation cards.

You many prefer to forget Charlie Sheen's news-making activities in 2011, but one milk producer is sure to remember his antics somewhat fondly. While gunning to amass more than 1 million Twitter followers (he ultimately did), Sheen tweeted "Winning..! Choose your Vice," with a photo of him holding up a bottle of chocolate milk. The milk's producer, Ray Broguiere, told TMZ that his dairy farm was "inundated with phone calls from curious customers following Charlie's inaugural tweet." Boroguiere told TMZ, "I'd never be able to afford this kind of publicity."

After Ben & Jerry's announced it teamed up with late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon to produce "Late Night Snack," Stephen Colbert got riled up. The host, who also has a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor — called "Americone Dream" — announced on his show, "Fallon, there's only room for one ice cream flavor in late night." Fallon then made a surprise guest appearance and the two traded ice cream insults before engaging in a brain-freeze-inducing eating contest.

Did it really count as a Lenten sacrifice? J. Wilson, a beer blogger and editor of the weekly Adams County Free Press, announced last year that he had given up food for Lent, opting instead for a 46-day beer-only diet. His goal? To show that "back in the Middle Ages — and far beyond that — the Church and beer were very linked."

Sure, in the months leading up to the Royal wedding, lots of people wondered what Kate Middleton's dress would look like. But some people had more important curiosities, like what food would they choose. In late March, the palace announced that Will and Kate would celebrate their nuptials with two cakes: a traditional multi-tiered fruit cake (pictured) and a chocolate biscuit cake.

Holy pizza! An Australian man got a big surprise when he pulled a pizza from the oven and saw a recognizable image: Jesus. He eventually put the vacuum-packed pie up for auction on eBay, promising to donate the proceeds to charity. The Cheesus Pizza received 26 bids and ultimately went for $153 Australian (about $160 US.)

After financial swindler Bernie Madoff was convicted, many of his possessions were put up for auction, including a 12-bottle case of 1996 Château Mouton-Rothschild, Smirnoff Vodka, Grand Marnier liqueur, and an assortment mid-range wine and spirits. Proceeds of the sale were earmarked to compensate victims of Madoff's $65 billion ponzi scheme.

The Egyptian pyramids have survived for thousands and thousands of years, but the USDA's MyPyramid met its end last year. The USDA replaced its famous pyramid with MyPlate, which is meant to inspire the public and actively lead people to make the correct eating choices, particularly in supermarkets and restaurants.

At the 96th annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, in Coney Island, NY, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut once again took first place, downing 54 hot dogs. But across the river on a Manhattan rooftop bar, Chestnut's usual competitor, Takeru Kobayashi — who was banned from the contest due to "contract disputes" — held his own contest against a live stream of the event at Coney Island. He reportedly ingested 69 hot dogs.

California's Alameda County Fair housed an impressive record-breaking sandwich: a 777-pound burger. The massive burger used 600 pounds of beef and took 14 hours to cook.

A Pennsylvania restaurant made headlines when it banned children under six years old. Mike Vuick, the owner of McDain's Restaurant in Monroeville, PA, reportedly told a local TV station that bringing loud children to a restaurant is "the height of being impolite and selfish, and therefore, I instituted a policy."

When Duff Goldman was charged with creating a cake for the premiere of the final Harry Potter film, he and his team created a stunning recreation of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When items from Rosa Parks' estate went up for auction, a handwritten recipe for "featherlite pancakes" was included. The recipe was written on the back of an envelope from the 1st National Bank of Detroit, and it included melted peanut butter in the ingredients list.

Oscar Mayer (owned by Kraft Foods) and Ball Park (owned by Sara Lee), the USA's two biggest hot dog brands, squared off in court in a trial to decide once and for all which frank is frankest. Each company sued the other over a number of false advertising claims.

Reports that Kim Kardashian chose a $20,000 wedding cake for her nuptials made headlines in the days leading up to her wedding with Kris Humphries. The cake was designed by Los Angeles' Hansen's Cakes. It was a 10-tier white cake with chocolate-chip frosting. Unfortunately the marriage didn't make it to 2012, but we wonder if there's still a frozen top tier stashed in a freezer somewhere.

Stock broker Martin Kessman, who weighed 290 pounds in September, filed a lawsuit against White Castle, charging that the restaurant's booths are too small for men his size. He claimed his local White Castle violates the Americans With Disabilities Act because seating doesn't accommodate people who with similar weights.