Reality TV World - Mansfield,MA,USA - Gordon Ramsay promises Hell's Kitchen's upcoming sixth season will include all the "tantrums and rollercoasters" viewers are accustomed to, but added the talent of the culinary contestants has "raised the bar.

"It's possibly the most demanding in terms of frustration level, but I think we've got some exceptional chefs, which may turn out to be a bit of a surprise I think," Ramsay told reporters during a Wednesday conference call.

"I think the standard of chefs across the board is far greater... We've been a lot more creative in terms of the challenges and there have been a few twists."

Daily News Tribune - Waltham,MA,USA - A good meal includes good food and good wine, but more importantly it's about joining with family and friends for a meal and conversation, says television chef Sara Moulton.

"The most important thing for a family, the 'glue' that keeps the family together, is sitting down together for dinner," says Moulton, the host of "Sara's Weeknight Meals" on Channel 2.

Moulton will be at the Boston Wine Expo Saturday and Sunday demonstrating simple ways for families to spend less time cooking and more time at the table together. She'll join other public television chefs Ming Tsai of Wellesley's Blue Ginger restaurant and

Sacramento Bee - CA, USA - Stephanie Izard was kicking back at Lake Tahoe the other day.

None of the dishes that helped her win Bravo TV's "Top Chef" competition in June was on her menu.

No sautéed red snapper with truffled white asparagus, no lamb medallions with maitake mushrooms and braised pistachios, no ricotta pound cake with salted banana cream and lime glaze.

Just shrimp sautéed in bacon fat, finished with a corn salad and toasted almonds.

"Bacon makes everything taste better," said Izard as she fried a couple slices while preparing the shrimp dish during her cooking demonstration at the 23rd annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine

Budget Travel - New York,NY,USA - The national chain has teamed up with Chris Jacobson, a chef who competed on season three of the Bravo TV show Top Chef, to create three new breakfast dishes for the chain's nearly 400 hotels.

The upside of having a celebrity chef is obvious: Top Chef is a popular show, and Jacobson is a personable former pro athlete who will be an asset in the chain's Big Day ad campaign.

The potential downside is that bringing in a celebrity chef might seem like just a gimmick, especially when he's designing just a few dishes rather than overhauling the entire menu.

Tampa Bay's 10 - St. Petersburg,FL,USA - Tampa, Florida - Thursday night celebrity Chef Dave Lieberman will be at Tampa's Ceviche Tapas, Thursday morning he shared his Tapas recipe with 10 News This Morning.

Dave is the host of Food Network's "Eat This" and "Good Deal with Dave Lieberman" and Dave Does, the Food Network's first web-based series. He''s also published 2 cookbooks.

Thursday night from 7 - 9 PM Dave will be at an event at Ceviche Tapas 1502 S Howard Ave in Tampa. The event is open to the public.

Below are a few of his recipes including the dish he cooked on 10

Baltimore Sun, United States - Defining New York cuisine is as difficult as listing which are our most American dishes, for New York reflects the country's breadth, and its food is truly a sum of its parts, cooked by the immigrant cultures, new and old, that continue to make this teeming city great.

Veteran food writer and New York native Arthur Schwartz fittingly details a culinary history from the Native Americans and Dutch straight through to final chapters on soul food, contemporary classics and the fare favored by the Russians, Koreans, West Indians, Greeks, South Asians, Poles and Mexicans who have flocked to the city in

Well Fed Network - USA - I guess it shows how much of a foodie geek I am that I waited with great anticipation for Food Network’s latest hit Food Detectives with Ted Allen.  I was justly rewarded.  Food Detectives is very entertaining and host Ted Allen is charming.  He’s been a judge on every season of Top Chef (Bravo) and Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” but Ted first hit the small screen on the much beloved Queer Eye for Straight Guy.

Today Allen is an award winning food writer and cookbook author, he is the spokesman for Robert Mondavi Private Selection, and now the host of

Well Fed Network - USA - Or at least he will be very soon.  Chef Sam Talbot became known for a little more than his cooking as he made his way through Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 2 … his good looks quickly earned him a following amongst the female viewers as well.  But now recently engaged to model and clothing designer, Paola Guerrero, you all will just have to admire from afar.

Besides wooing Paola, Sam is now running his own restaurant, Surf Lodge, in Montauk, New York, where celebrities have been known to be spotted munching on the seafood selections.  Recently the new restaurant owner

Allentown Morning Call - Allentown,PA,USA - I knew I wasn't going to get to Beijing to cover the Olympics, let alone compete in them. But I wanted to feel like I was part of the excitement and get a hint of the challenges facing the athletes.

What could I do? I needed to test my coordination, speed and nimbleness. To attempt some Herculian feat requiring special training and ending with an extreme test.

It came to me like the flashes and pops of fireworks at Chinese New Year. I'd create my very own Chopstick Olympics and then test my skill by attempting to eat slippery noodles with those

Springfield Connection - VA,USA - For Dave Lieberman, a passion for entertaining and cooking for his friends at college launched a culinary career that now allows him to share his passion with millions of people. He is now a personal chef, author of two cookbooks, the youngest member of Macy’s Culinary Council, and host of The Food Network’s "Good Deal with Dave Lieberman" and "Dave Does."

On Saturday, Aug. 2, Lieberman was at the Macy’s in Fair Oaks Mall as part of The Dave Lieberman/Tools of the Trade Green & Fresh Tour. For this event, Lieberman performed an in-store demonstration of three dishes, featuring the area’s

Vail Daily News - Vail,CO,USA - Paul Anders, executive chef at Sweet Basil in Vail, competed successfully in the Fifth Annual Great American Seafood Cook-off this weekend in New Orleans.

Anders won top chef in the first day of competition, which allowed each of the 14 competing chefs to cook their own masterpieces using seafood from their respective states.

“I wanted to fix something that was fresh and sustainable … something clean, bright and simple,” Anders said. His recipe, Colorado Striped Bass with Truffle and Olathe Corn Emulsion, used local produce and fish farmed in the San Luis Valley. He created it specifically for the competition.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne,IN,USA - Sea slugs and rabbit brains.

Those were among the exotic surprises that renowned Chef Charlie Trotter and staff prepared for guests at a "Blessings in a Backpack" fundraiser Tuesday night at Sycamore Hills Golf Club.

At least that's what Trotter promised during a reception before dinner, saying the event organizers had asked him to "go crazy" with the organic menu that featured Indiana poultry. He also promised to be on his best behavior, in defiance of his taskmaster reputation.

The Stamford Times - Norwalk, CT, USA - During this season's edition of Bravo TV's "Top Chef," contestant Stephanie Izard had to conceptualize and bake an elaborate wedding cake in 24 hours, butcher an entire pig to create food for a garden party and reinvent duck a l'orange for celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito.

But it was the final challenge in Puerto Rico that the Stamford-born Izard will remember best, for it was there that she was named the winner of the fourth edition of the popular reality show, becoming the first woman to achieve the honor.

"I'm very excited to win. It's very exciting to represent women of course, but

Rock Hill Herald - Rock Hill,SC,USA - When Louis Petrozza flew to Hollywood to film the reality television series "Hell's Kitchen" last fall, he lost his job at a Charlotte catering company.
His employer likely is regretting not keeping him on the payroll since Petrozza, now a Winthrop University catering chef, has advanced to the finals of the Fox program.

"When I asked my boss if I could interview for the show he said, 'I don't think that's necessary, Lou. Will it drive sales?' ... Honest to God that's what he said: 'Will it be good for sales,'" Petrozza gushed Friday. "He just didn't want to lose me."

Jackson Clarion Ledger - Jackson, MS, USA - The gist: Football great Eli Manning and celeb chef Emeril Lagasse are the super hot draws for a gala fundraising event for the Eli Manning Children's Clinics at the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.

Tickets may still remain for Saturday's gala. It's the second year for the event, which in 2007 pulled in about 500 people and about $400,000.

"Last year's event was great, but this year, Emeril's presence will kick it up a notch!" Manning says in a news release.

A BAM! and a boost: Lagasse will be the celebrity chef guest for the event and will join Manning in the

YumSugar.com - San Francisco,CA,USA - know you all were as excited as I was to see Stephanie Izard become the first female to win Top Chef. Congratulations, Stephanie!

Over the course of the show, the Chicago-based chef, 31, kept her cool while churning out creative and comforting dishes. After the finale, I was delighted to get to speak to Stephanie about her favorite parts of being on the show, how her life has changed, and what she's cooking up next. To read what Stephanie had to say, read more.

YumSugar: What has been the response to your victory so far?
Stephanie Izard: The feedback has been great. Most

Entertainment Weekly - USA - When Stephanie Izard woke up yesterday, she was just your average chef. Today, everything's changed. For starters, she has a wicked hangover, and 100 grand in her pocket, after having been declared the season 4 Top Chef winner (see our season finale TV Watch recap). ''Way too many strangers [bought] me shots of things last night,'' she says. And the baked potato chips she was snacking on in the morning weren't much help sopping up the congratulatory gestures. Before breaking for a cure, the 31-year-old spoke with EW.com about her newfound fame.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How have things been for you in

Time Out New York - New York, NY, USA - The finale for season four of Top Chef did an admirable job of ratcheting up the suspense, but in the end, the decision was inevitable. There’s been enough contention on the Internet about this finally being the season in which a female Top Chef would be crowned, and conspiracy theories aside, the last few episodes have shaped up just so.

The episode kicked off with a quick overview of the contestants’ feelings on their journey thus far, and what lay ahead. Stephanie wanted to overcome her nerves, Lisa was convinced she deserved to be there (and surprisingly—perhaps for the first time

OK! Magazine - New York, NY, USA - When Top Chef: Chicago premiered in March, Bravo asked viewers, "What will happen first: a female President or a female Top Chef?" Well, the latter definitely won out. Stephanie Izard took one for the ladies (and her Chicago hometown) Wednesday night when she was named the fourth winner -- and first female champ -- of Top Chef. The 31-year-old not only overcame frontrunner Richard Blais and a strong final showing from resident "villain" Lisa Fernandes for the bragging rights, but her ever-present nerves as well. With a cool $100,000 in her pocket and restaurant plans already in the works, Stephanie

E! Online - USA - Stephanie Izard was named the winner of the fourth season of Top Chef Wednesday, becoming the first female contestant to chop, stir and sauté her way to the top of the food chain after the judges figured a lackluster final dessert shouldn't derail her chances after an impressive season-long performance, which included four Elimination Challenge wins.

"I won Top Chef—holy s--t!" the 31-year-old Chicago resident said. "This is the biggest thing that has happened in my life. My life's about to change, it's going to be absolutely insane."

"I'm so glad I was able to pull through and, after all this hard

Philadelphia Daily News - Philadelphia,PA,USA - HAVE TROUBLE sleeping? Plagued by stiff, painful joints? Feel a cold coming on?
Instead of reaching into the medicine cabinet for those over-the-counter medicines, rubs and other conventional remedies, head to your refrigerator for some culinary healing.

Chef-turned-doctor John La Puma, aka Chef MD, believes that health can be improved and ailments prevented and in some cases healed with the right combinations of healthy foods.

La Puma is a California internist and professionally trained chef who once worked for Food Network chef Rick Bayless. He's penned a new book that claims that food is the key to preventing and even curing many common

Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL, USA - Tickets go on sale Monday morning for food celebrity Alton Brown's March 15 lecture at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Brown, a Food Network personality and self-proclaimed "food explorer," will addresses the basic connection between the foods we eat and the scientific principles that govern them. The one-hour lecture starts at 11 a.m. in the museum auditorium; a 30-minute audience question and answer session follows. Brown will be available to sign books until 2:30 p.m.

Brown created and hosts the show "Good Eats" and hosts "Iron Chef America," both airing on the Food Network. His talk is being held

Chicagoist - Chicago, IL, USA - We're still two weeks away from finding out whether or not Stephanie Izard will be crowned the winner of Top Chef Chicago but her first post-show cooking appearance is already sold-out.

Izard will be going plate-to-plate in a competition with Nick LaCasse, chef at the Drawing Room at Le Passage and a former sous chef for Shawn McClain. The event on June 15 will feature Izard and LaCasse preparing a four-course meal, offering their interpretations of assigned courses and having diners rate them. Foie gras will be featured at the dinner. We spoke with reps for the Drawing Room on Saturday,

BuddyTV - Seattle, WA, USA - Spike Mendelsohn's time on Top Chef was a series of ups and downs. He came into the competition with a strong resume, a family history full of restaurants and cooking, and a self-confidence that made it seem like he was destined to make it far in the competition. But starting with a bum batch of meat in the farmers market challenge in episode 2, Spike seemed to start encountering either a run of bad luck, bad judgment or some combination of both.

Despite that, and, as Tom Colicchio pointed out, landing in the bottom seven times throughout the competition, Spike clearly

New York Daily News - New York, NY, USA - Television chef and cookbook author Daisy Martinez is famous for whipping up Latin dishes and showing others how to make them.

But when she visits the Prospect Park Picnic House Thursday evening, Martinez isn't going to prepare a thing.

Instead, during a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society in Brooklyn, the star of PBS' "Daisy Cooks!" will be urging people, especially other Latinos, to educate themselves about cancer and to get regular checkups.

"People with no history of the disease are coming up with it," said the author of "Daisy Cooks! Latin Flavors that Will Rock Your World." Martinez lives in Prospect Park