daniel boulud

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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On Wednesday night, Bravo hosted their first-ever award show, the "A-List Awards" honoring those who have made a significant impact on the arts — beauty, design, fashion, food, pop culture — that are featured on the network's shows. Although the awards won't be televised until June 12, you're in luck because I have a sneak peek! Along with the judges Tom Collichio, Padma Lakshimi, Gale Simmons, and Ted Allen, the majority of this season's Top Chef contestants and some from seasons past were present at the event. This award show was hosted by Kathy Griffin who gave awards to the "A-List Chef" and "A-List Restaurant," but as far as I'm concerned, the highlight was seeing the chefs out of the kitchen and on the red carpet!

To take a closer look at the chefs including Daniel Boulud, Jose Andres, Rocco DiSpirito, Brian Malarkey, Dale Levistsky, Dana Corwin, and all of your faves from Top Chef Season 4 — read more

What did you think of last night's Top Chef? I was a little bit disappointed that they were working in pairs instead of as individuals, but I guess that's better than in groups. I also really enjoyed the movie theme and thought that was a fun idea. How about you, what were your fave and least fave parts of the episode? Answer those and my other questions, plus check out a gallery of images from the episode, just read more

If the thought of Tom Colicchio's "Braised Monkfish with Pork Belly, Leeks and Cabbage" gets you all hot and steamy — and no "braised monkfish" is not a euphemism for anything — then you may be interested in this online auction. The show is called "Photography for Philanthropy" and it features photographs of food from star chefs such as Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, Jean Georges Vongerichten, and Lidia Bastianich. They've all worked with famed photographer Diana DeLucia, who has captured their masterpieces with her lens.

If you'd like to have one these bow-chicka-bow-wow food photos on your wall, all you have to do is bid. The minimum bid is $250, or you could it buy it immediately for $950. Oh and the best part is that the proceeds are going to City Harvest.

Just when I was about to give Top Chef's editors some kudos, I discover that the whole thing was a trick! Warning, if you haven't watched last night's episode — which I liked despite it being a trick — I'm about to lay down some spoilers.

Let's start things off with the quickfire challenge. When the cheftestants head down to the kitchen they are greeted by Padma and high-profile Daniel Boulud — or as Dale said, "Holy S*it it's Daniel Boulud." This time around the company they're promoting is Red Robin, and they're asked to create a new burger inspired by their line of "Adventurer Burgers." Surprisingly, most of the chefs create seafood burgers, and thankfully, Bravo decides to show us each creation. To watch find out what happens, read more