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1 You Ready For The Next Iron Chef?
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2 Will You Keep Watching "The Next Iron Chef"?
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3 Where Are the Women Chefs?
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4 Putting on the Ritz!
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5 Traci Des Jardins on Being a More Savvy Home Cook
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6 Yummy Links: From PBJ to the Perfect Home Bar
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7 Best Bites From San Francisco's Taste of the Nation
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8 For Unprecedented Fine Dining in Lake Tahoe, Head to Manzanita
Food News
9 Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, Traci Des Jardins Will Host James Beard Awards
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10 A Day in the Life of Traci Des Jardins
Traci Des Jardins
11 Chef Traci Des Jardins Talks Top Chef Masters and Africa
Although she didn't win Top Chef Masters, San Francisco's Traci Des Jardins came pretty close to being the first female Master. After she shared a day of her life with us, she took a quick minute to chat about the Top Chef experience. Here's what she had to say: On not winning Masters: At that point, Floyd, Mary, and I were ready for the show to be over. We were each playing for charity and each Read more
Traci Des Jardins is a San Francisco based chef and restaurateur. She has three very different eateries: upscale Jardinière, Mexican Mijita, and ballpark-based Public House. Her fourth restaurant, Manzanita, is in Lake Tahoe at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. You may recognize Jardins from Top Chef Masters, where she made it to the final episode. Here is what she did yesterday, Sunday, June 26. 7:00 Read more
Today's seen news from Bravo's Top Chef, Food & Wine magazine, and now, the James Beard Foundation, with word that it's nailed its podium with Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, and (Top Chef Masters contestant!) Traci Des Jardins. The hosts — all past James Beard Award winners themselves — will run with this year's "Ultimate Melting Pot" theme. They'll spearhead the May 9 gala reception as Read more
Although Lake Tahoe is a major destination for Bay Area denizens, I don't find myself there very often. Nonetheless, I'd been closely following the new Ritz-Carlton Highlands, a luxury hotel in North Lake Tahoe that opened late last year after five long years of planning and development. I was invited to the lodge to check out the brand-new property, and while there, I had the chance to check out Read more
A week ago, we attended Taste of the Nation, a charity event that benefits Share Our Strength. The production, which is definitively one of San Francisco's most savory soirées, is always popular, but this year it was positively hopping. There were about 700 attendees and 46 chefs, and insanely delicious pesto pizza was merely the tip of the gastronomical iceberg when it came to what we ate. To Read more
Why you should eat peanut butter and jelly. — The Atlantic The menu for David Chang's next restaurant, Ma Peche, has been revealed. — Eater NY A roundup of the food world's April Fools' Day jokes. — Eat Me Daily How to behave better when dining out. — Chow What unusual uses do you have for condiments? — The Epi-Log Must make: spinach salad with lentils and crispy goat cheese. — Read more
I had the chance to speak with one of San Francisco's most prominent female chefs, Traci Des Jardins. You may be familiar with her, thanks to an appearance on the Food Network's Next Iron Chef competition. Now Des Jardins is happy to be out of the spotlight, "I don't like being that recognizable," and back in the kitchen. Her elegant eatery, Jardiniere, recently launched a Monday night themed Read more
If you're looking for a nice splurge for your foodie, then send them to the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay — 40 minutes south of San Francisco — for their Inside the Kitchen series. The series brings a top chef from the Bay Area and beyond into an intimate classroom environment. Meet and learn from renowned chefs like Traci Des Jardins, Ryan Scott, and Top Chef Season 3 winner Hung Huynh. All Read more
For most of history, women played a large role in the kitchen, and now in 2007, the majority of chefs that dominate restaurant kitchens are male. All three winners of Bravo's Top Chef were males. The final contestants on the Next Iron Chef are male. So where are the female chefs? Star Chefs recently sought to answer this question by speaking with nine of the nation's top female chefs. They asked Read more
Here's a novel idea: Take eight ridiculously qualified chefs and make them compete against each other. Add a lot of over-the-top theatrics, a knowledgeable — if not slightly patronizing — host, throw in a beautiful backdrop, and you've got yourself the first episode of "The Next Iron Chef." [Warning, spoilers ahead.] Did you watch it? What did you think of it? I found it to be pleasantly Read more
