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Cooking With Passion Makes a Difference

Chef Micheel, director of kitchens of the Radisson Blu hotel in Dubai and president of the Emirates Culinary Guild, manages nearly 140 chefs and 14 restaurants. Micheel believes a good chef must cook with passion. He claims that’s why most people say the best cook they know is their mother or grandmother. Mothers and grandmothers, [...]

Top Ten Cookbooks

There are few greater joys than reading a good cookbook. Here’s ten selections we think are essential editions to anyone’s kitchen library. Please use the comment section below to include cookbook selections you may treasure. We’d love to hear from you.

1. Encyclopedia of Pasta (California Studies in Food and Culture) by Oretta Zanini
Spaghetti, [...]

Are you ready for Robots in the Kitchen?

Being a line cook, server or bartender is not everyone’s aspiration, but it’s a great entry-level job for those who wish to work their way up in the restaurant industry.  No one can argue that the work is grueling and the hours even worse.  Chefs constantly walk around with their fingers crossed, hoping their staffers show up [...]

Culinary Art Schools Explode in Demand For Chefs

A few days ago we reported on a culinary arts program at Oxnard College that’s become so popular it’s turning away students.
Central Virginia Community College will begin construction on a new culinary arts school next month to meet Lynchburg’s growing need for trained chefs and food service managers. The culinary school will offer a one-year [...]

Interview with Chef Michael Long

Chef Michael Long of Opus Restaurant has transformed the dining scene in Littleton. The restaurant has brought upscale dining to the forefront of Colorado. Trained at the CIA, Chef Long took what he picked up working at La Vielle Maison in  Boca Raton, the Inn at Bay Fortune in Canada, Topaz Cafe in St. Augustine and [...]

Interview with Chef Heriberto Herrera

Cuban cuisine has taken off in New York City. Chefs like Heriberto Herrera from Amor Cubano have brought Cuban cuisine into the limelight. The restaurant represents traditional Cuban home cooking, all the recipes Chef Herrera works with were given to him by two extraordinary Cuban ladies that worked with him on perfecting each dish. They usually [...]

White House Farmer’s Market Opens Today

U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary Ann Wright announced the opening of the White House Farmer’s Market slated to begin today, Thursday, September 17. The announcement was made at the Chefs Collaborative conference in Chicago Tuesday.
Eighteen farmers and producers will set up the market outside the White House grounds, north of Lafayette Park, on Vermont Avenue [...]

Food Tattoos Coming Your Way

Would you buy  tattooed food?  How about food with laser etchings?
You may not have a choice if the Food and Drug Administration has its way.  In an effort to do away with the sticky labels on fruits and vegetables that provide its name or variety, as well as the product lookup number, the FDA is [...]

Interview with Chef Raymundo Huesca of Lorenzillo’s in Cancun, MX

We had the great opportunity to interview Chef Raymundo Huesca who reigns at Cancun’s classic restaurant, Lorenzillo’s.  The restaurant has been around since 1863 and is known as the place to get the best lobster in town. We are sure one of the reasons for the longevitiy of the restaurant is what goes on in the [...]

Interview with Chef Rino Balzano of Limoncello in Cancun, MX

Cancun is know as the land of gorgeous beaches, spring break, hurricane glasses and skimpy bikinis. Gastronomes also know that Cancun is the land of really amazing food; not just traditional Mexican, but also Japanese and even Italian. To taste some of the best Italian in the area, Limoncello is the place to go. There, [...]

White House Chef is Down to Earth

White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford has the distinct honor of not only being the first female executive chef at the White House, but also the first Filipina executive chef at the White House. With that kind of rare, double distinction you might think it’s all gone to her head, but chef Comerford is as [...]

Jamie Oliver-backed Restaurants Receive Grant

Four restaurants in the Jamie Oliver backed chain Fifteen and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) have received grant money from the Holland-based Doen Foundation to become MSC-certified.  The Marine Stewardship Council is the world’s leading certification and ecolabeling program for sustainable seafood.  The grant from Doen will provide chefs from Fifteen’s restaurants to receive training in the use [...]