It's pretty clear the James Beard Foundation would like its annual awards gala to be considered on par with the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Grammys, and much of the media world reported on the Beard ceremonies as such. Take a look for yourself: Daily Blender has red carpet photos. How many of these faces [...]
After watching one D.C. nominee after another strike out last night at the James Beard Foundation Awards — from Komi's Johnny Monis in the Rising Star Chef category to CityZen's Amanda Cook in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category — I thought for sure José Andrés would win the Outstanding Chef medal. I mean, Andrés had all [...]
Y&H feels so cheap. I did much the same thing that I accused Eater.com of doing — ginning up a little controversy at someone else's expense to generate hits. My "fan" letter to the food site drew attention from coast to coast and elsewhere. The item was the clear winner of the week. Take a [...]
Just minutes ago, the Top Chef honcho posted this question on his Twitter account: Guess where I am (I guess Tom doesn't believe in punctuation, but, hey, it's Twitter. I have to say, I'm slightly concerned that Colicchio's account is not verified, although it does say, "This is my real twitter page. All others are [...]
I'm sorry to pick on Rachael Ray. It's beyond shooting fish in a barrel. It's carpet-bombing fish in a home aquarium (though I have to admit that I admired Ray's self-awareness and unwillingness to take the bait after Martha Stewart bashed the TV cook last year). Nonetheless, would I be surprised one day to find [...]
Mike Isabella withstood charges of misogyny, but he couldn't stand up to Natalie Portman's palate during last night's vegetarian challenge. He was told to pack his knives and go, officially ending the Zaytinya chef's run on the reality show. But at least his departure gave Isabella an excuse to dish about the show, which he [...]
Yes, I watched some of the Top Chef reunion show last night, and let me say this right from the start: The main reason Fabio won fan fave is because Americans are still suckers for Italian accents. Could this show have been less about the art and craft of cooking? That Baldies-with-Photoshopped-Hair segment? Jump. The. Shark. Time. Whoa, [...]
It's Friday, people, which means it's time to start thinking about drinks, hamburgers, and mayonnaise. Not necessarily in that order. Amuse Bouche is carrying a torch for the Tiki bar revival. Michael Ruhlman confesses to his love for making mayonnaise. It's apparently a visual thing, which may be a guy thing, come to think of [...]
District gastronomes can barely contain themselves about tonight's Top Chef finale. Their excitement, of course, has to do with Carla Hall, the local caterer who will compete for top honors against a couple of dome-heads: Boulder, Colo. chef Hosea Rosenberg and Finnish hell-boy Stefan Richter, a caterer based in Santa Monica, Calif. The blogs are [...]
OK, let me see if I have this right: Tom Colicchio, the celebrated toque and head judge on Top Chef, mocks one of the most inventive culinary minds in the country, Alinea's Grant Achatz, for the sake of selling more Diet Cokes? Make no mistake, that shrimp balancing on wires in Colicchio's Oscar-night commercial is [...]
