Stories related to: chef

Just months after beating a cancer that nearly cost him his sense of taste, Grant Achatz was named America's top chef last night by the James Beard Foundation at the culinary world's equivalent of the Academy Awards. "I look at the award as the point of starting over," said the 34-year-old Achatz, who helms four-star Chicago eatery Alinea. More »

Cops might look cool on TV, but they do a lot of paperwork off screen. Most chefs churn out the same dishes nightly in assembly-line fashion. Before hopping onto the latest career fad, see US News & World Report 's list of most overrated lines of work:  A great commercial idea shouldn’t attract you to ad executive jobs, which are more about selling than creating. More »

For the third year in a row El Bulli, the restaurant-cum-chemistry lab outside of Barcelona, has been named the world's best restaurant. Feran Adrià's "gastronomic temple" got the top gong from a group of 700 chefs and critics. For Bloomberg's food writer El Bulli is "highly technically accomplished," but fundamentally "theater." More »

While immigrant-staffed kitchens are the norm throughout Europe, Italians regard their food as an integral part of national identity. So what to make of the fact that the best carbonara in Rome is made by a Tunisian chef? The ensuing debate—whether Italian cuisine made by non-Italians is authentic—is likely to grow, reports the New York Times . More »

Food & Wine has posted its Best New Chef awards for 2008. Look for their profiles in the July issue, but take a peek at the winners here: Jim Burke: owner of James , a modern Italian restaurant in Philadelphia's Bella Vista neighborhood. Gerard Craft: owner and chef at Niche in St. Louis, where bacon and eggs sandwich and braised pork belly top the menu. More »

Inspired by WWII food rationing, a British celebrity chef has declared war on the UK’s poor eating habits. Jamie Oliver is encouraging families in one South Yorkshire town to shun takeout and ready-made meals in favor of home-grown food and other healthier alternatives. “People are really busy, they’re on tight budgets, and no one has bothered to teach them how to cook,” Oliver said. More »

Chicago chef Grant Achatz’s oral cancer is in remission, the Chicago Tribune reports. The culinary star endured nearly 6 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and says he is “happy to say I've had a clean biopsy.” Foodies can now find Achatz back at Alinea, his award-winning restaurant in downtown Chicago. More »

Top chefs are trying to change the way we eat by calling attention to how animals are raised for meat. In Britain, Jamie Oliver killed a chicken on live television, and supermarkets across the UK sold out of free-range chickens and eggs. The New York Times reports it’s part of a movement by some chefs to become more involved with their food—before it’s killed. More »

The recent cancellation of Emeril Live is just one sign that the Food Network is in the throes of a transformation, reports the New York Times . Having made chefs into stars, it is now trying to keep the money rolling in while facing increased competition—including instructional cooking on the Web. The network's ratings have dipped, especially on the weekend, forcing refunds to advertisers and perhaps a shift in philosophy. More »

What to get the foodie or chef who already has all the classic cookbooks? Slate compiles offbeat favorites recommended by Mollie Katzen, James Oseland and other standout chefs, food editors, and more. Ethan Becker: Cookwise— Less a cookbook than a bible of general cooking knowledge. Dan Barber: The River Cottage Meat Book— "A carnivore's manifesto." Melissa Clark: The Mensch Chef —Traditional Jewish recipe perfection. More »

Michelin parted with NY critics today by branding 2 stars on Gordon Ramsay’s namesake restaurant, halting the ex-soccer player's recent ratings drop. Ramsay, known for his crude tongue, was the only newbie to take the double-star in Manhattan; none earned a coveted third. Michelin saved its biggest hit for Craft, owned by “Top Chef”-host Tom Colicchio, robbing it of its sole star. More »

While one usually associates road-trip cuisine with a 7-Eleven, two foodies and two actresses today embark on a four-month culinary tour of Spain. Gwyneth Paltrow, chef Mario Batali, New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman, and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols will sample traditional cuisine for a 13-part PBS series called "Spain ... on the road again" due next fall. More »

You don't have to be the CEO of an international corporation to go abroad.  These jobs will get you there even if you're just out of college: Teacher:  Go abroad, and you may make even more than back home. Chef:  Are you an established chef? Some hotels will pay you to grace their kitchens plus room and board. More »

Legions of French citizens are crowding theaters for a first taste of Pixar's latest 3-D animated feature Ratatouille , the story of a rodent chef in Paris and now the 4th highest-grossing movie premiere in France's history. The French, known for their devotion to everything food-related, are raving about "Ratatouille" for its fastidious faithfulness to gourmet food and the art of cooking. More »

Award-winning Chicago chef Grant Achatz, owner and head chef of top-rated restaurant Alinea, has a squamous cell carcinoma in his mouth, he announced yesterday. While doctors believe his long-term prognosis is good, it is possible that the chemotherapy necessary to treat the cancer will deprive Achatz of his sense of taste. More »

A miffed chef is suing the restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer after he reviewed a $15 slab of steak as "miserably tough and fatty." But the suit could be even more of a raw deal than expected for writer Craig LaBan, who was ordered to give a video deposition that could jeopardize his cover. More »

Here are Food & Wine's picks for the 10 best new chefs—up-and-comers who are deploying their culinary talents in intimate and stylish restaurants around the country. April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig, New York, NY Gabriel Bremer, Salts, Cambridge, MA Steve Corry, Five Fifty-Five, Portland, ME Matthew Dillon, Sitka & Spruce, Seattle, WA Gavin Kaysen, El Bizcocho, San Diego, CA   More »

Rebecca Charles, chef/owner of the famed Pearl Oyster Bar in Manhattan, is taking her former sous-chef to court, claiming he knocked off her menu and decor for his own New York eatery. Lawyers for Charles, who is seeking unspecified financial damages, said that the owner of Ed's Lobster Bar had stolen her intellectual property, the New York Times reports. More »

"This is not your mother's boil-in-a-bag," write's Tara Duggan of the San Francisco Chronicle of "sous vide" cooking, a French cooking technique of immersing food in a vacuum-sealed bag. While they don't trumpet it on menus, Bay Area Chefs are smitten with the precision and flavor of sous vide. More »

Culinary school degrees are suddenly leading to careers outside the kitchen, reports the LA Times . In our food-obsessed culture, beer sommeliers, cheese affineurs (aging experts) culinary philanthropists and even food consultants for historical films are increasingly finding outlets for their unique talents. Specialists say their jobs beat working in restaurants, "being shouted at by mean chefs." More »