Time to write Santa, “Good Eats” fans! Alton Brown has just released a 27-disc DVD collection of some of his most popular episodes. With titles that include “Wake up Little Sushi” and “Your Pad Thai or Mine”, you can tell why this TV show has such a strong following. He presents interesting and useful kitchen tips in a crazy, humorous way. You laugh, you have fun, and you cook better too. What’s not to love?

The DVD set is sold at Food Network for $235.95. Makes a great holiday gift!

Giada De Laurentiis is pregnant — and her nesting instinct seems to have started early. She’ll be sharing Thansgiving recipes in her show Everyday Italian But the chef will be reinventing Thanksgiving fare, serving salad instead of corn bread.

She says most of her family is married to Americans, and so it’s become part of her personal family traditions. And have to admit, nothing like a table full of food to satisfy those first-trimester cravings.

Gordon Ramsey was named to AskMen.com’s list of the top 99 men of 2007.

Ramsey had a particularly good year, opening 6 restaurants around the world, getting two Michelin Stars for one of them, and earning great reviews and ratings for his TV show, “Hell’s Kitchen.” Fox Network may even bring in another Ramsey show, “Kitchen Nightmares”.

Chef Tell — one of America’s first TV chefs — passed away from heart failure at the age of 63.

Born Friedman Paul Erhardt, Chef Tell was beloved for his quick wit and Santa-like disposition. He was friendly, fun, and “peppered” his recipe demonstrations with humor and lots of entertainment.

He was often invited to guest on shows like Regis and Kathie Lee and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and even did comedy segments for Saturday Night Live and The Muppet Show. He was given his own show with PBS. “He was the first of the great showman chefs,” former Inquirer restaurant critic Elaine Tait said. “Up until his era, chefs stayed in the kitchen.”

Tell also ran several successful restaurants, and had developed several cookbooks and product lines. His last cookbook was about cooking for diabetics, based on his own experience.

James Martin’s culinary career started very early — by 12 years old, he’d cooked for the Queen Mother. (Well, it helps that his dad catered for Castle Howard.)

He started training when he was 16, training at Scarborough before Antony Worrall Thompson became his mentor. The two then traveled around France, before opening the Hotel and Bistro du Vin in Winchester. He was 22. Pressure was high. Did he buckle? Never. In fact, he changed the menu every day.

He’s become a well known TV Chef, starring in popular shows like Delicious! and Jamies Martin Sweet. Now, he’s part of Saturday Kitchen which airs on BBC.

Known for his desserts, he published James Martin - Desserts in Spring 2007. Here he shares his recipe for spun sugar:

1. Place 125g/4½oz caster sugar in a pan
2. Pour in just enough cold water to cover.
3. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has turned light caramel in colour.
4. Using a fork, carefully pull out the sugar threads from the pan and shape over the back of a ladle or large spoon.
5. When hardened, gently ease off into ball shapes. Repeat with the remaining caramel.

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio has signed up with food empire Sara Lee Food & Beverage. Colicchio will lend his culinary skills to help the public create delicious sandwiches at home — and we don’t mean peanut butter and jelly.

Mr Colicchio said: “With the range of Sara Lee products, great-quality meats, cheeses, breads and condiments are at your fingertips to help you create a delicious and quick meal with just a few added ingredients.”

Colicchio will also give tips and a regular report on the “State of the Sandwich”.

Fifteen, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant that offers work and training to disadvantaged youngsters, just celebrated the graduation of its fifth batch of apprentices.

Oliver’s doing a great thing, reaching out to teens who would’ve probably ended up on the streets. But, under his foundation’s wing, they not only learn a trade, but are exposed to amazing experiences and environments. For example, this batch of apprentices got to travel to Italy to meet some of the food suppliers.

For many of them, this was their first time to even go on a plane.

Fifteen’s chef, Andrew Parkinson, says: “They are sometimes a little bit unsure about why they have to take their shoes off and taking your belt off as you go through.” Like small kids, they are enthralled by the view from the plane, even the food that’s served. “Just to see their faces as we land and they step out into another country and they feel the freshness of the Italian air, it is absolutely amazing.”

How well do you think you know Martha Stewart? Find her unusual taste in wall decor, her two alternative careers, and the awards she received that had nothing to do with cooking.

1. Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray hate each other, thanks to a heated feud that started in 2006. Rumor has it that Rachael hung a sign on her door that says: “Martha doesn’t live here.”

2. Martha collects taxidermied animals.

3. Martha set the Guiness record for most number of people with the same name in the same room, thanks to an episode in her show when she invited hundreds of “other Marthas” .

4. Though she can perfectly pair her wine with her dish, her favorite drink is a vodka martini.

5. People magazine named Martha one of “50’s Most Beautiful Women” in 1996. Not her first magazine award: she was one of Glamour’s “Best Dressed College Girls of 1961.” (She begun modeling in high school to put herself through college.) She graduated from Barnard.

6. If she didn’t start her media empire, Martha would’ve made a fortune in Wall Sreet. She was one of the first female stock brokers, getting her license in 1968.

Female celebrity chefs are a man’s dream: they cook just like mom (and even better), but make an apron look hot.

Of course, not all celebrity chefs make the cut (sorry, Martha). In a survey of the sexiest celebrity chefs men showed a definite preference for sultry beauties like
Giada De Laurentiis of Everyday Italian (called “a true beauty”) and Nigella Lawson. Rachael Ray made the top 3, but mostly for her physique.

Celebrity chef, and 2005 winner of the Iron Chef America competition, has resigned from his restaurants in Vancouver — Lumiere and Feenie’s.

Rob Feenie’s troubles with the restuarant owners have spanned over two years, ever since he was forced by bankruptcy to sign over majority stakeholdership. (He’d spent over a million dolars upgrading the kitchen and paying off his original business partner.)

However, new management has been easing him off, finally minimizing his say over the menu, marketing, and the kitchen operations. Feenie had enough. After a goodbye drink and shaking hands with his staff, he’s cut off all ties with the two restaurants.

You just don’t treat chefs that way. Feenie, a culinary giant in Canada, has authored several cookbooks, hosted cooking shows, and won several awards. Shame on them all.