Celebs - - Page 12

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: The Beet Pancakes are Delightful!

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– Users of the travel site TripAdvisor aren’t letting the fact that Schrute Farms doesn’t actually exist dissuade them from leaving reviews of Dwight’s North East Pennsylvania bed and breakfast.

– Tom Colichio no likey the Grub Street.

After the jump…guess who’s back, Food Network tries to bring a little bit of gourmet to the home cook and tough times in Huntington for Chef Oliver.

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by Elle

Food Fantasy: A Hollywood Kitchen Makeover

The Father of the Bride.

This casting call notice for a kitchen makeover show got my heart racing:

Do you have a friend or loved one who has a real passion for cooking but is trapped in an outdated, nonfunctional or just plain ugly kitchen? Now’s your chance to nominate him/her to receive a kitchen worthy of a gourmet chef for free! We are currently casting dynamic homeowners who love to cook but are in desperate need of a completely new kitchen.

Um, hi. Too bad I’m a renter — but it set me thinking about my ultimate dream kitchen. This probably says something about how much time I spend with Netflix, but my kitchen daydreams are pretty squarely centered on deciding which TV/movie kitchen (equipment aside) I’d most want to live with. If, you know, I was directing a crew to recreate it in my Capitol Hill rowhouse. Am I the only one who watches every blockbuster movie and thinks — damn! I want that kitchen!? If so, indulge me while I take a look back at my ultimate dream Hollywood kitchens:

Father of the Bride

The first one that comes to mind, of course, is George and Nina Banks’ kitchen from Father of the Bride. This is basically the fallback fantasy house for an entire generation of movie watchers, right? The New York Times even mentioned the “bourgeois splendor of the Banks house” in its movie review. But the kitchen looks so cozy and usable, which you rarely find in houses put together by a set designer. It’s like the platinum version of the kitchen you grew up with…copper pots hanging over the butcher block island, floral curtains, fruit baskets filled oh-so-properly, KitchenAid mixer (swoon!) in the background.

Something’s Gotta Give

Slightly less cozy but still inviting is the airy Hamptons kitchen from Somethings Got to Give (like Father of the Bride, a Nancy Meyers-helmed project). It’s clean and classic, with a splash of color from the potted plant and warm touches like the wooden bowls. On the down side, it seems like plenty of folks are already co-opting that one. If I’m going to copy a kitchen, I certainly don’t want to be copying the same one as everyone else.

Something's Gotta Give

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Admit It, Jamie, You Think We’re All Fat Rubes

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– The first episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution featured his efforts to help the good people of West Virginia overcome their unhealthy eating habits. While commendable, the best part is clearly the uncomfortable confrontation between Jamie and the lunch ladies.

– Gordo’s lesson at the L.A. Marathon: the ability to berate trainees and turn out a beautiful sole meunière is no match for a severe muscle cramp.

After the jump…the unfortunately byproduct of having a shitty rocker as a husband, ES.com cements its reputation as “sorely under-appreciated,” and Foursquare gets personal.

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by BS

Q&A With Chef Michael Mina

Our pals over at Good Bite have an interview with Egyptian-born celeb chef Michael Mina, who reveals plans to expand his 18-eateries-and-growing empire, talks some smack about NYC (kinda not really), and offers some advice for all you budding restaurant titans.

You have an incredible empire of restaurants and seem to always be working on a new project. What’s next?
I just signed a lease in San Francisco at 252 California Street (Aqua) – where I started my career! I don’t have a plan for the space yet, but when it became available, I knew I had to have it!

Why have you chosen to not open a place in NYC? Is this something you would consider in the future?
I love New York City and the food culture there. Guests dining at New York restaurants like to see their chefs in the kitchen. I’ve chosen not to open a restaurant there because I know I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time in the restaurant that I would want to.

How did you learn to cook?
My mother is an incredible cook (many of the recipes in my restaurants are hers!). My first introduction into a restaurant kitchen was at the age of 15 when I did a work study program in high school. I worked front of house in a small, family-owned French restaurant in my hometown. I fell in love with everything restaurant and within a year I was managing the entire restaurant for the family. My passion ended up being in the kitchen.

What kind of advice would you give to someone looking to open a restaurant in this economy?
Do your homework, study the market, create a sound plan around your restaurant that brings something to that neighborhood/city/location that diners can’t get anywhere else.

What are your thoughts on In-N-Out Burger?
LOVE THEM!

Read the rest over at Good Bite.

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by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

-Thanks for all your iPhone resuscitation tips. Erica even added on a cooking tip:

This pizza sounds yum, i may have to make a batch of almond ricotta and try it out.

– Michael:

I love cherimoya! I’ve been devouring them like crazy since they started appearing at my market a couple weeks ago…the downside, of course, is that I’ve had to give up paying my electric bill to afford them. I only recently discovered them, and will say this: my first thought when eating one was “This tastes like breadfruit smells.” Which is about as awesome as you can get. If I roast breadfruit while I serve guests cherimoya, will they explode?

– Finally, Summer brings up a topic we’re always willing to tackle — picking on Padma:

Here’s an item I’d like to discuss: does anyone else find it odd that Padma named her DAUGHTER Krishna? Admittedly it’s been a long time since my comparative religions class in college, but the last time I checked, Krishna was a god, not a goddess.

And as of this morning, there’s talk of the baby daddy… But it’s not very shocking. It would have been much more interesting if she’d taken Stefan up on his t-shirt offer of “I make good babies.”

(Photo: iVillage)

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by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Makeover Edition

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– Wait…if Gordon Ramsay gets a facelift, does that make him more or less scary than before? (Note: The above photo is not an artist’s rendering of the surgery.)

– Suffering from Julia Child overload yet? Never fear — there’s a new book coming out.

After the jump…a chef you’ve never heard of on a show you’ll never see, a food show that you can watch between episodes of Stargate and showings of Blade Runner and we get to see what Adam Gertler is willing to eat in exchange for having his own show.

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by BS

Good Bites: Hot Chocolate, Joel Robuchon and In-N-Out

If you haven’t yet discovered Good Bite, then you’re missing out on one of our favorite new food sites. With contributions from folks like David Lebovitz, Steamy Kitchen and even our nemesis Sandra Lee, it’s quickly shot to the top of our must-read list. To make sure you don’t miss out, we’ll be bringing you a weekly round-up of their best posts. This week they’ve got:

– An interview with Joel Robuchon, who talks Top Chef, El Bulli and In-N-Out (Yes, In-N-Out, and their photo of Robuchon sitting down for an animal-style is pretty priceless).

– A dish-by-dish recap of dinner at Robuchon’s new Vegas restaurant (think truffles, lots of truffles).

– Plus, a gourmet hot chocolate taste test.

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