Biggest Headline of 2008

It was all kind of hush, hush at first and the rumors were swirling like crazy. No, I'm not talking about Heidi and Spencer's big nuptials. I'm talking about the Ellen DeGeneres' CoverGirl deal. And when the news was finally confirmed, it got people talking.

In a forward thinking move, the 50-year-old company paired up with a 50-year-old woman, making the comedic lady its spokesperson. It's so refreshing to see the drugstore cosmetics giant take steps towards showing that beauty comes in all types and ages, for that matter. Kudos, CoverGirl, for your modern take on the beauty biz.

Photo courtesy of CoverGirl

This year has been a momentous one for the Olympics — not just in sports, but in the culinary arena as well. The Bocuse d'Or — considered the Olympics of food and the world's most prestigious award for French cuisine — is scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29, 2009 in Lyon, France. The rigorous selection process, however, gained plenty of attention in 2008.

It all began this Summer, when we caught up with Hung Huynh at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, and the Top Chef Season 3 winner revealed his wish to be a semifinalist — which he was. In July, the American Bocuse d'Or advisory board, which includes Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and Tom Colicchio, selected eight semifinalists to compete for the coveted chance to represent the US. The judges appointed were even more prestigious, with highly respected chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten involved in choosing a winner. On September 26 and 27, the semifinalists faced off in a culinary challenge hosted by Al Roker, Food and Wine editor Dana Cowin, and John Besh at the Epcot Center.

After two full days of competition, Timothy Hollingsworth, a sous chef at The French Laundry, was selected as the US representative. Currently, Hollingsworth is training directly under Keller as he prepares to represent America in next month's championships, where Paul Bocuse, the French founder of the competition, will be on hand to observe and officiate. No American chef has ever won the final competition and the closest one has come to seeing gold was sixth place in 2003. Could Hollingsworth be the first?

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Whether you love her or hate her, Rachael Ray, the Food Network's biggest star, is here to stay. Although 2008 was filled with many ups and downs, it was a huge year for Ray. Things got off to a rocky start in January, when a secondhand story claimed that Ray, a Dunkin' Donuts spokeswoman, refused to drink Dunkin's coffee, instead opting for Starbucks. A week later, Ray denied the claim as "absolutely ridiculous." In February, Ray happily hosted the wildly popular Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, but March brought worries that her daytime television talk show would not be renewed. However, these rumors were quickly squashed when reports showed that her viewership was growing. The weirdest bombshell came in May when Michelle Malkin, a conservative commentator, accused Ray of supporting terrorists in a Dunkin' Donuts ad. The donut chain pulled the ad and released a statement clarifying that Rachael was simply wearing a stylish scarf and not a traditional headdress sometimes associated with terrorists.

Ray rose above the controversy to win a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show. In July she rolled out a line of pet food called Nutrish, and in early August Forbes named her the world's richest chef. The week before bringing the Burger Bash to New York City's first-ever Wine and Food festival, Ray revealed her plans to open a hamburger restaurant. Since then, Ray has laid low. She recently had throat surgery to get rid of her raspy voice and is currently taking some time off to recover.

What did you think about Ray's turbulent year? Will she continue to make headlines in 2009?

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For fitness fanatics and nature lovers, owning a Nalgene water bottle was as essential as a sports bra — a must-have to stay hydrated and reduce your plastic footprint. For years it seemed like there was a Nalgene bottle next to every machine at the gym. Then the scare hit.

The chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA) used to make these polycarbonate bottles was found to possibly cause cancer, UTIs, and early puberty in preliminary animal studies. Other research showed that exposure to BPA was also linked to diabetes and heart disease. Women were worried because it was suspected to affect fertility and the development of babies.

Many people stopped using their Nalgenes immediately, replacing them with stainless steel (Klean Kanteen), aluminum (Sigg), or BPA-free water bottles. Folks who felt bad about adding to landfills found new uses for their bottles as lanterns.

So what did Nalgene do? To find out read more

For Food Network star Robert Irvine, 2008 was dicier and more stressful than completing any challenge on Dinner: Impossible.

In February, news surfaced that the show's host had embellished his résumé. Many of Irvine's claims — that he was a KCVO Knight, awarded a castle by the Queen of England, attended the University of Leeds, and helped make the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana — turned out to be made up.

The news, once it broke, seemed to be career suicide for Robert Irvine.

Food Network immediately distanced itself from Irvine, failing to renew his contract and replacing him as the host of the show with Next Iron Chef winner Michael Symon.

Last month, Food Network announced the near-impossible: It would be bringing the fallen Irvine back to host the show again. Many of you were excited about the turn of events, as you love Chef Symon but thought he was better suited for Iron Chefdom, anyway. New episodes with Irvine will debut in March 2009. Will you tune in to watch him again?

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This year was a turbulent year for all, and the traditional snack cookie was no exception. Snack companies took fans on a roller coaster ride, discontinuing cookies and then announcing their revival. In January of this year, cookie classicists reeled from the loss of the Hydrox cookie, the crispy, chocolate sandwiches the preceded the Oreo. Consumers raised such ruckus over the death of Hydrox that Kellogg's, the cookie's manufacturer, agreed to bring it back. The catch? Kellogg's stated that the cookie's overall future was contingent on whether "it sells a lot."So far, Hydrox has remained on shelves. Mother's cookies, however, were not so lucky. After nearly 100 years of baking, Mother's Cookies crumbled, leaving lovers of Circus Animal Cookies and Taffy Sandwiches up in arms. Archway, which bought out Mother's cookies in 2005, also dissolved.

This month, Kellogg's announced it would be acquiring the rights to Mother's recipes, too. The company didn't reveal too many details, but did say it plans to rekindle the most popular of Mother's snacks. Did you find this year's cookie drama unsettling? Are you worried that any of these sweet Kellogg's deals will sour?

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Since its debut in March 2006, the culinary reality competition Top Chef has taken the food industry by storm. It's widely respected as an informative and exciting television program. This year the fourth season really made headlines when the first female cheftestant, Stephanie Izard, was crowned Top Chef.

She blew the competitors away with her composure and culinary expertise. We knew Stephanie was a force to be reckoned with after the first episode. We had the pleasure of speaking with her before the competition and learned that although Izard was from Chicago, where the show was filmed, she didn't have an advantage. We admired her straightforward approach, nice girl persona, and get-the-job-done mentality. We even wanted to jump into our screens and devour her bite-sized banana bread. Obviously we weren't the only ones who enjoyed Izard: In the reunion special, she was declared the fan favorite.

After she was named Top Chef, Stephanie explained why she won, "I don’t have a big ego, and I have a way of earning the respect of my peers and my employees without screaming. Being a perfectionist, it’s my detriment that I’m just never happy with anything. But I'm always pushing myself to get better and better."

The chef is currently working on her next project: a gastropub-style restaurant set to launch next Spring in Chicago. Only time will tell if this establishment, which will have an open kitchen and her Top Chef friends as guest chefs, makes headlines in 2009.

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