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Best of 2008
Our Favorite Interviews
Although our greatest joys are cooking and entertaining, they're simply not as fun without inspiration from the outside world. I'm often spurred to mix up new flavor combinations or cooking techniques by the likes of cooking shows, restaurateurs, bartenders, and, of course, great restaurant chefs.
In 2008, we had the privilege of speaking with cutting-edge faces in the food industry and leaders who have had longtime influence on us.
Top 10 Sandwiches of 2008
So many sandwiches, so little time. It's hard to believe it's only been a year since we launched the 'Wich of the Week feature. Even after 52 weeks, I have so many sandwiches still to eat.
The Year's Best Restaurant Chef
For our Best of 2008 series, we asked you who you thought deserved the title of best restaurant chef of the year.
The votes for Masaharu Morimoto and Thomas Keller were neck and neck, but ultimately your pick was Thomas Keller.
We must, however, respectfully disagree and say that our pick for best restaurant chef is David Chang.
This Year's Trendy Ingredient
In our Best of 2008 poll, the majority of you picked pomegranate as your favorite trendy ingredient this year. However, Yum and I have to disagree. Due to its incredible popularity and extreme exposure (it's been seen everywhere from wrapped around hot dogs to dipped in chocolate) — bacon is our editor's pick for favorite trendy ingredient.
The Year's Best Rising Celebrity Chef
As part of our Best of 2008 series, you told us who was the best rising celebrity chef of the year. You love The Neelys and Curtis Stone, but your number one favorite is Next Iron Chef winner Michael Symon. We agree with you; he's our favorite at Yum.
The Year's Best Kitchen Store
As part of our Best of 2008 coverage, we asked you where you like to shop for kitchen supplies. Williams-Sonoma was the clear winner with 39 percent of the vote. YumSugar and I agree with you readers: we love Williams-Sonoma too!
The Year's Best Grocery Store
Earlier we asked your thoughts on the Best of 2008, and that included your favorite grocery store of the year. Although prices went through the roof on everything from beef to dairy, you chose Trader Joe's as your number-one pick. For the second year in a row, it was the clear winner, taking 39 percent of the vote.
This Year's Best Food Magazine
As part of our Best of 2008 series, we asked you which food magazine was your top pick this year. Although there are many great food publications, we had a clear winner: Bon Appétit had 25 percent of the vote. Yum agrees; it was our favorite glossy, too.
The Best of Top Chef
No contestant was eliminated on this week's episode of Top Chef, so I didn't get to interview the losing chef. Thus, I've decided it's a great time to take a look back at what happened on the show this year.
2008 was an exciting time for the reality competition: viewers got to indulge in two exciting seasons in two important cities — Chicago and New York.
Biggest Headline of 2008: The Reign of Starbucks Fades
For the world's largest café chain, 2008 has been a bumpy roller coaster ride. This year, Starbucks made more than its share of headlines. Click on the slideshow to see more.
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