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Who Should Be the Next White House Chef?

YumSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:45:42 -0800

Now that we've taken care of the Presidential Election, we have other issues to tackle, such as pushing for a victory garden in the White House! I shared with you some of Barack Obama's favorite restaurants across America, and now I'm curious to know who you think should cook for our new President. Source

Yummy Links: From Ferran Adria to Kid's Menus

partysugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:45:16 -0700

Dining with Ferran Adria at Katz's Deli. — Serious Eats
Nine chefs share their bloody kitchen nightmares. — Metromix New York
Love to cook, but can't seem to find the time? The Sunday dinner project, hosted by Andrew Schloss, helps you make the components for multiple meals every Sunday evening. — Cookthink
The cruelest practical joke in food history. — The BA Foodist
Sharpen your knife skills with these books. — The Epi-Log
A look at Asia's tea harvest. — The Kitchn
Can grown-ups order off the kid's menu? — Chow

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Meet Bon Appétit's Chef of the Year: Michael Psilakis of Anthos

YumSugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:13:06 -0700

The October issue of Bon Appétit unveils the winners of the 11th Annual Bon Appétit Awards. The honors are awarded to the "most inspirational, influential, and innovative" tastemakers in the world of food. The headline honor, Chef of the Year, went to Michael Psilakis, head chef at Manhattan's Anthos, for being the person who "totally reinvented" Greek cuisine. I'm not too surprised by the unveiling, as I met Psilakis at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. The chef, here with Anthos business partner Donatella Arpaia, has been one of the most talked-about chefs this year.

Psilakis follows in the footsteps of last year's winner, Momofuku chef David Chang. For a full list of all this year's Bon Appetit Award winners,

Bocuse d'Or Announces Superstar Judge Lineup

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:00:59 -0700

The panel of judges for next month's Bocuse d'Or — the Olympics of the culinary world — were announced last Friday. Many of the judges, such as Laurent Tourondel and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, hail from New York, which makes me wonder if the giants of the gastronomic world really do believe that New York is the center of the culinary universe.

As if the list of uber-chef judges isn't intimidating enough, Paul Bocuse, the French founder of the competition will be on hand to observe and officiate.

The semifinals, which take place on September 26 and 27 in Orlando, determine which two of the contenders will represent the US in the Bocuse d'Or finals. To see the complete list of judges,

Rachael Ray Is the World's Richest Chef

partysugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:15:38 -0700

Last week Forbes released a list of the 10 top-earning celebrity chefs. The richest celebrity "chef" is Rachael Ray who, thanks to her four Food Network shows, daytime television show, magazine, and Dunkin' Donuts deal, makes $18 million a year. She's followed by Oscar caterer Wolfgang Puck ($16 million) and Gordon Ramsay ($7.5 million).

While owning a restaurant doesn't necessarily factor into a chef's riches (Ray owns no restaurants), it's clear that more exposure and countless endeavors amount to more money.

Puck owns 15 restaurants and has a soup line in grocery stores and a collection of knives sold on the Home Shopping Network. Ramsay has numerous restaurants and hit television shows in both the US and UK.

Although television played a huge role in the success of Ray, Puck, and Ramsay, it's interesting to note that the fourth and fifth richest chefs, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and Alain Ducasse, have little to no television presence, but each own more than 15 restaurants worldwide. To check out the complete list of the world's richest chefs,

Can You Match the Dish to the Chef?

partysugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:00:03 -0700

Think you know a lot about your favorite celebrity chefs? Can you identify which dishes are their creations? I've put together a fun quiz that tests your knowledge on several big name chefs' cooking styles. Can you distinguish Giada's dishes from Mario's? Test yourself! Source and Source

Question 1

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Which celebrity chef created this juicy burger recipe for his wife?

Bravo Announces Top Chef: Masters Series

partysugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:00:48 -0700

From teens to tours, Bravo's been busy announcing Top Chef spin offs. Yesterday at the TCA press tour in Los Angeles, they publicized another: Top Chef: Masters. 2009 will bring us a culinary competition that unites some of the brightest stars of the food world. Award winning, widely known chefs, some who have been guest judges on TC, will compete against each other in weekly challenges.

Although it sounds a bit like Food Network's Next Iron Chef, I'm excited to find out which chefs will be involved. How about you? Will you watch Top Chef: Masters?

Meeting Marcus Samuelsson

partysugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:20:16 -0700

Last week I was invited to a demonstration hosted by Chef Marcus Samuelsson. An awarding-winning chef and cookbook author, Samuelsson is known for his role as chef and owner of Aquavit, New York City's innovative restaurant devoted to Scandinavian cuisine. Taking inspiration from his Ethiopian roots, the chef recently opened his first African restaurant, Merkato 55. His love for African cuisine was illustrated at the demo where he cooked shrimp piri piri in lettuce wraps and rack of lamb with couscous. In San Francisco to promote BlueStar cooking ranges, Samuelsson took some time out of his hectic schedule to speak with me. To see where he likes to eat in San Francisco and hear what he has to say about his buddy Rocco DiSpirito,

Celebrity Chefs: They're Just Like Us!

partysugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:30:57 -0700

If there's one thing I learned at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, it's that celebrity chefs are really just ordinary people! Over the course of the long weekend, Yum and I had our fair share of celebrity chef sightings. Although we saw them during the seminars and book signings, it was fun to see the chefs hanging out in regular clothes, acting like regular people. To check out the chefs we saw at the Classic, click through the slideshow.

Hey Good Looking, What's Cooking? Chatting With Rocco

partysugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:15:36 -0700

After serving the crowd his gloriously spicy lamb chop at the Bertolli booth at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, celebrity chef Rocco Dispirito took some time to speak with me. The chef — whose even more insanely handsome in person! — was charismatic, friendly, and funny. He talked about his upcoming show, Rocco to the Rescue, explained what it's like to be a Top Chef judge, and revealed his guilty pleasure foods. To see what he had to say, watch the video below!

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