Do chefs smoke pot? If celebrity Anthony Bourdain is to be believed – and he is highly credible – then, yes, many celebrity chefs depend on marijuana to keep going. According to the TV host, chef, and author, the long and often intense hours require chefs to blow off steam – and they do, one way or another. In his book, he chronicles how marijuana is often the “herb” of choice.

He says that even those people you would not imagine smoking weed actually do! The idea is that these chefs just need something to keep them calm and relaxed and get the job done. If other people smoke weed, why not them?

Of course, there is the issue that smoking weed and getting high in the kitchen can actually alter the results of their efforts. I am not sure that the results are as excellent as they normally are without the high that weed brings. In fact, many people question the practice not because of the illegal nature of the drug, but because the experience it brings might compromise the quality of the food. More so, can you imagine a frenetic kitchen preparing meals for hundreds of people with stoned chefs? It’s an accident waiting to happen.

Then again, despite what Anthony Bourdain says, we all know that there are kitchens whose staff do not need any chemical substances to function properly. Then again, if stoner cuisine is just as good as any other cuisine, who cares if the chefs get stoned?

We all know that Jamie Oliver loves to take on public issues and meet them head on. But, did you know that Rachel Ray is also passionate about improving the quality of the food served in schools?

This self-proclaimed big mouthed chef says that she is using it to make her case heard in Congress. She went on a one-day tour to Washington as part of her efforts. On that day, she visited an elementary school and talked to the children about choosing healthy food. She also met with some members of the Congress to lobby her cause. Of course, a food-related visit to Washington is not complete without a visit to the First Lady’s kitchen garden.

So what exactly is Rachel Ray pushing? It is a piece of legislation that will create new standards for school food. The body behind this is the Agriculture Department. And, when we say school food, we mean ALL food that is served in school premises. Aside from cafeteria food, vending machines are also covered. The ultimate goal is to provide healthy choices to the students.

The main problem the bill is facing is the lack of funding. What is proposed is merely half of what the President recommended. Rachel Ray and other lobbyists and supporters are asking for more money to be allocated to the nutrition program.

More than this cause, however, Rachel Ray has also started a charity dubbed Yum-o! The purpose of the charity is to inform children on how to eat in a healthy manner. She’s got it right, I think – you gotta start ‘em young!

In some parts of the world, Fridays are considered to be a “meatless” day. That is, some people do not eat pork, beef, or any other animal flesh (except for fish and other seafood). I think this is because Friday is traditionally believed to be the day that Jesus Christ died. I could be wrong about the reason, but in any case, I am sure about this: Iron Chef Mario Batali has joined a cause. The Meatless Monday cause.

What’s it about? The initiative is being carried out by The Monday Campaigns, together with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The main goal is to cut back on the consumption of meat by 15% by not consuming meat on Mondays.

Now why would they want to do that? The answer is simple: eating less meat can be good for your health. Eating less meat also contributes to the efforts to save the planet.

The idea is noble, and the implementation quite simple – theoretically. For meat lovers, it might not be as easy.

Anyhow, famed celebrity chef Mario Batali, who is known for his love of meat, has decided to join the cause. It might seem ironic at first, since he has this awesome way with all sorts of meat. However, the chef himself justifies his commitment to Meatless Mondays:

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet, Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement!”

So how’s the chef going to go about it? All of his restaurants – all 14 of them – will be serving at least two vegetarian options every Monday. Pretty cool, although it would have been more radical if he had decided not to serve meat at all on Mondays, right?

Celebrity chefs may be in their element in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean that they venture out into the unknown as well. Not that Apple (the tech company, not the fruit associated with Newton) and its plethora of gadgets and applications can be considered unknown. After all, it has revolutionized consumer electronics in the past decade or so.

Anyhow, it seems that celebrity chefs are taking the battle to the mobile scene. In the past year, various chefs have been releasing their own iPhone apps in an effort to stay current. Jamie Oliver (of course he’s going to be mentioned) released his cookery app late last year and gained the distinction of being the top-grossing app in the UK within days of the release! Up till now, it has remained in the top 5.

Recently, Nigella Lawson has decided to join the Apple fray. She released her own app last week, dubbed Quick Collection. Within hours, the app became the top selling lifestyle app in the UK. Now how impressive is that?

As for what’s going on in that pretty head of hers, this is what she had to say:

I am iPhone-obsessed and app-addicted anyway, so feel particularly excited about my own ‘Nigellapp’.

This really feels like an application that is comfortable to use, either to inspire after a long day, or give general and specific cooking tips. I am very proud of this gorgeous little greed-gadget.

Nigellapp – now that’s funny! If you’re okay with spending ₤4.99 for 70 recipes and 40 minutes of video, you should download this app now.

For quite some time, Jamie Oliver’s Italian in Cardiff has been enjoying “exclusive rights” to the area. With the opening of a rival Italian restaurant, however, the celebrity chef’s restaurant just might have to prove itself worthy.

Another celebrity chef, Antonio Carluccio has just opened another Italian restaurant in the vicinity, in fact very close to Jamie Oliver’s own. He is starting out with quite a competitive spirit, mind you. During the launch of his Italian diner at St. David’s Centre, Carluccio sent out a message to his rival saying that Oliver’s restaurant “isn’t real Italian.” Strong words, aren’t they?

And, if the feedback from the customers is any indication, Carluccio just might give Oliver a run for his money. According to Simon Kossoff, Carluccio’s partner and the managing director of the restaurant, their customers have indeed been saying that they are the “real deal.” And all this within a week of the opening!

Obviously, I have not had the honor of dining at Carluccio’s new restaurant, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a try. The prices do not seem too bad as well, with an average meal (including wine) costing about ₤17. This is another strong point in favor of Carluccio – they say that people are quite happy with the price as well as the quality of the food. With the trend in Britain shifting from a fascination with French food to Italian food, no one will be surprised to see this new place flourish. I wonder what Jamie Oliver has to say about it all?

How is that possible? This self-contained, cheerful, talented, and good-looking British chef has been reduced to tears? By his American cousins? No way, right?

If you haven’t already heard, Jamie Oliver’s latest stunt is to conquer America through his show Food Revolution. His aim is not so small: to wage a full-blown war against fat in this country of excess. Indeed, put that way, it seems that Jamie might be fighting a losing battle!

You have to say this of Jamie: he is not a coward. He headed off to Huntington, West Virginia to carry out his crusade against fat. What’s in Huntington? Well, it simply is the unhealthiest city in the country, with the distinction of having the highest rate of diabetes. Good luck, Jamie.

Despite his charms and rational approach (I think it’s pretty rational and quite inspiring, too, actually), the population of Huntington were not charmed. Not at all. Read what the Herald Sun reported:

However, the city’s adult population, nearly half of whom are considered obese, were far from keen to be preached to on the topic of healthy eating.

In one clip of the show, which ran a preview on Sunday, a talk show host at a local radio station is seen berating a stunned Oliver, commenting: “We don’t want to sit around eating lettuce all day. Who made you king?”

I’ll make him my king any day!

Anyway, the resistance and meanness of the people he encountered seems to have worn away Jamie’s chirpiness. Still, I am sure he’ll get back up and continue with his crusade. We’re behind you on this, Jamie!

So where has he been all this time? Haven’t we seen him in the kitchen in the past several years? I know I have been watching him on TV cooking this whole time!

The matter of going back to the kitchen for Chef Mario Batali is as real as can be, though. He means actually cooking – for real – and not for a TV audience. As you may have heard from other chefs, TV cooking is not the same as actually making your own food in the kitchens of your restaurants. We’ve already heard so many critics lambasting celebrity chefs. They’re too busy cooking on air. They’re too busy running their restaurant empires. They’re not in touch with the real chef in them.

Well, Batali is not content to do that anymore. He wants to go back to his roots and is undertaking a gigantic project. Some time this year, he is set to launch six new restaurants for Eataly. Nice name, huh? But not as nice as what Batali is supposed to be cooking up. Time reports:

There will be a meat restaurant, a fish one, a pasta and pizza operation, a vegetable restaurant, a panino bar and a brewery-gastropub on the roof deck. It’s a giant undertaking, but Batali is a force of nature. He is creating all of the restaurants himself, after having spent years away from cooking. Whether he can pull it off remains to be seen. But he’s psyched to be even trying.

Well I am psyched for him, my favorite American Iron Chef!

Michelin stars are not easy to come by, and we all look at restaurants in a different light once they get these stars. IF they have 3 Michelin stars, that ups the game to a whole new level, doesn’t it? There isn’t any restaurateur in the entire world that would not want to earn those three stars, but chef Ferran Adria is one of the fortunate ones (and deserving as well) to have earned them.

His restaurant El Bulli has been hailed by many – professional and amateur foodies alike – to be the best in the world. I haven’t had the honor of dining there myself, but I would give an arm and a leg to do so. Unfortunately, the rumor is that the chef is closing El Bulli for good. Last month, he announced that he would be closing the restaurant for two years – 2012 and 2013. He did so at Madrid Fusion, a conference for Spanish chefs. Why he would want to do that, who knows.

More recently, chef Adria announced that the closure of El Bulli is going to be for good. He said that instead of running the restaurant, he would be running a culinary school – an advanced one at that. Apparently, he and his partner have been losing money (large amounts of it) steadily on the restaurant. Again, how this could have happened, I haven’t the slightest idea!

In any case, this closure is going to be a sad one for the hordes of foodies around the world – especially for those like me who have never had the chance to sample their fare.

Have you been missing Emeril? Honestly, I haven’t. Still, I find him interesting to watch every now and then. I cannot forget that home style beer clambake that he did one time (many years ago). Anyway, those of you who have been wanting to see more of the “bam!” will be thrilled to know that Emeril has partnered up with ION TV for a whole new TV show.

Dubbed “The Emeril Lagasse Show,” it will be aired on a weekly basis. The hour-long TV show will premiere on the 28th of March at 8pm and will be aired every Sunday. Here’s more information from the Press Release:

“The Emeril Lagasse Show” will feature one of America’s most popular chefs as he has never been seen before. Each week, Emeril will welcome celebrity guests, musicians and entertainers to break news and break bread as Emeril shares his world, his friends and his passions with the studio audience and viewers at home. A house band will be on set, playing live music and interacting with Emeril, guests and audience. The show also will include entertaining and surprising field pieces that will be shot in and around New York City where the show will be taped. TV veteran Karen Katzand After Five Productions, which executive produced Lagasse’s long-running Food Network series, “Emeril Live,” will be executive producer of “The Emeril Lagasse Show”.

Reading that, it sounds quite familiar, doesn’t it? Maybe it is NOT a groundbreaking show, but at least Emeril fans will get to see their favorite chef on TV regularly again.

Giada De Laurentiis is certainly one of the hottest celebrity chefs around. While I may not agree with the physical perception of many, there is no denying that she is one of the most popular chefs today. Retail giant Target seems to recognize that as well as they have partnered up with her to sell a line of cookware and food products.

Dubbed Giada De Laurentiis for Target, the cookware and food products selection is touted to be exclusive and yet affordable. According to Kathy Tesija, executive vice president of Target’s merchandising, their customers “want kitchen gear that makes their daily cooking easier and more enjoyable, and Giada’s collection delivers.” She also says that they “combined design expertise with Giada’s culinary background to create a product collection that pairs utility with great design and affordability.”

What exactly are they selling? Pots and pans, ceramic containers for baking, pasta sauces, flavored coffee, and other kitchen tools. Also available are different varieties of pasta and dressings. One set that I find particularly interesting is the Tri Ply Clad cookset. The inclusions in the set:

• 2 saute pans, one is 8 inches and the other is 9.5 inches; both are open
• 3 sauce pans: 1 quart, 2 quarts, and 3 quarts; all have lids
• 1 Dutch oven with lid: 5 quarts

For $199.99, I think that it’s a pretty good deal.

The idea behind the line is to impart Giada’s cooking expertise and family traditions while at the same time to provide customers with Target quality.

Would you buy these products?