Cat Cora is releasing a new show — on the Disney channel? Yes, the celebrity chef will be making the rounds of the theme parkselecting a family and then teaching them how to cook in the Disney restaurant.

Cute concept… but how many people really feel like learning how to cook while they’re on vacation?!

Chefs are a notoriously snooty lot, and when Top Chef first debuted, it sent most of them snickering. Many of them don’ even like TV chefs or celebrity chefs — a chef selected from a reality show was even lower down the totem pole.

Not anymore. Some say that thanks to the success of the first three seasons, and the thumbs up it has received from well respected chefs (who even appeared in the panel of judges) the show has actually legitimized itself.

Too bad Rachael Ray can’t join.

Ever wondered what happened to William Hung, winner of Top Chef? Watch this interview and hear about what he’s done the last year, and his new roster of celebrity clients — including Madonna.

Nigella Lawson has assets worth about £110 million (and her hubby, marketing guru Charles Saatchi, isn’t exactly dirt poor).

But she has no plans on leaving her kids (Cosimo and Bruno, and stepdaughter Phoebe) huge amounts of money. She wants them to “know that I am working and that you have to work in order to earn money,” adding that “I am determined that my children should have no financial security. It ruins people not having to earn money. Husband Charles disagrees.

So what will Nigella do with her money? Maybe leave it to charity. She’s been very active with cancer organizations, after her mother, sister and first husband died from the disease.

Yes, it’s finally here! Meet the new lineup of Top Chef contestants. The show premieres on March 12 — hey, that’s today! Whoohooo!

True fans of celebrity chefs will love these Wikipedia compiled cookbook sets that contain the best recipes from Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Rachael Ray, Ina Garten, Alton Brown and Emerill Lagasse. Now you can get a “taste” of your favorite celebrity chef, on the go.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi sure knows how to wow the crowd. While she’s not going to win any awards for her cuisine, she gets the men’s vote for her spice — even when she’s just walking on the sidewalk.

Jamie Oliver guested on Oprah’s reality show, The Big Give. He will be part of the panel of judges that gives away money to contestants who must then use those funds to help others.
Oprah’s staff loves him, saying he is “funny and adorable”. This is the second time for him to appear on an Oprah show. He guested in 2003, where he made a very memorable entrance. He was supposed to come in a motorcycle, but the polished wooden floor made him skid. “I flew into the air, landed on my chest and then slid along the floor with my arms out in some kind of Superman pose, using my chin as a brake…I felt a complete idiot, but the audience loved it (and) thought I did it on purpose and gave me a huge cheer.”

Read about Jamie’s Big Give appearance in his blog.

Emeril Lagasse will be launching a new show, called “Emeril Green.” It will be for an eco lifestyle channel, Planet Green (watch for it in June).

Emeril says the show will include tips on how to cook healthy meals, from picking the best ingredients to choosing recipes that even the kids will love.

Looks like this celebrity chef is on a roll. He just sold his content assets to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for a hefty $50 million and is negotiating with Food Network for other programs.

The culinary world is still reeling from the news that Dinner: Impossible host Robert Irvine had lied in his resume. Food Network has fired him. End of story, right?

We wish. This is the second time in a year that the station has discovered that its talents were “spicing” up their resume. In 2007 Josh Garcia was also discovered to have lied — this time about a military deployment to Afghanistan.

Don’t these people check their applicants’ work history?