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?

Something new is coming to American television and it will get the average joe cooking and competing with others of his own caliber! Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is reportedly bringing MasterChef to the US and he is excited about it. MasterChef, unlike other cooking shows, features amateurs. That is, the contestants will have no cooking background and will only bring their innate talent with them to the kitchen.

While the basic idea behind the show will be the same as the original MasterChef in the UK, Ramsay says he will do some things differently, and I am not in the least bit surprised. After all, Chef Ramsay has not risen to popularity because of conformity, has he?

He says that he will not stand for chefs (pros or amateurs) stuffing their faces when tasting their concoctions. Whether it is on or off camera, Ramsay says he will be tasting the food in little bits. He also admitted to having problems with vegetarian dishes and claims that he needs MEAT. That’s the way to go, chef!

So when will we be seeing MasterChef on American TV? I haven’t gotten the exact details but it should be anytime this year – preferably sooner than later. As we all know, however, Chef Ramsay is quite the busy bee. He has several shows in the US already (Cookalong Live, Hell’s Kitchen, and Kitchen Nightmares USA among others), not to mention his UK shows. Then there are his restaurants which are scattered all over.

We just have to wait and see, I guess.

Jamie Oliver has always been known for taking up causes close to his heart. As we start a new year, he is making the headlines yet again. The cause? Childhood obesity.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but children these days are leaning towards the big size. It could be because of the amount of food they’re consuming. It could also be due to the quality of the food. Then again, there could be other factors such as the level of physical activity that children engage in nowadays. I am quite sure, however, that all these play a role in the tendency to be unhealthy.

Some non-profit groups in the United Kingdom have banded together, and Jamie Oliver is taking part in their activities as well. He actually recently won $100,000 from TED due to his efforts. The money is intended to fund the celebrity chef’s campaign to improve school lunches in the United Kingdom in terms of their nutritional value. Dubbed “Feed Me Better,” this campaign has been going on for quite some time and has gained a lot of interest.

I wonder if other celebrity chefs will be interested in undertaking similar projects? Take a look around you, in the United States – children are even in more need of help in terms of eating healthily and avoiding all the complications that childhood obesity can bring about. Maybe the change does not need to stem from someone like Jamie Oliver. Maybe you and I can do something about it, even in our own little ways.

The much celebrated cooking show, Iron Chef America, is making history – it just filmed an episode at the White House, no less! The news is that First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the cast and crew with open arms. She was even the one who introduced the secret ingredient at the beginning of the show, sidelining the Chairman. Another important aspect of the episode is that the food that the chefs prepared came from the vegetable garden of the White House. In addition to this, this is the first time ever that a First Lady is going to appear on a TV show. Talk about breaking new grounds!

CNN tells us more about the show, which is going to air in January:

The episode will feature White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford as well as celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse.
Cook-off judges include British chef Nigella Lawson, actress Jane Seymour and U.S. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin.

During her appearance, Obama spoke about the influence that cooking shows like “Iron Chef” have on the American perception of healthy foods. “It’s going a long way to help change the way this country thinks about food,” she told the chefs.

So is this just a stunt for the TV show? I think it’s also more of an attempt on the part of the First Lady to get the word out about her efforts to promote healthy eating in the country. I say it’s a great way to attract the attention of people!

Photo courtesy of Diet Food Pyramid

But nothing is sweeter than having a plethora of desserts piled in front of you, is there? My uber sweet tooth got the best of me when I heard that Top Chef is going to have a spin off dubbed Top Chef: Just Desserts. The show is supposed to be aired some time next year.

No other details have really been released as of yet. We do not have an idea as to who the judges will be. We do not know who the contestants will be. The people behind the show are not sitting idle, though. As early as now, they are starting to get people together for casting. They say that over the next few weeks, screenings for cast members will be held all over the country. For sure, we will be meeting a lot of new pastry chefs when the show starts airing.

I, for one, will be a big fan of this show. Top Chef has already caught the attention of so many people and while the idea of focusing on desserts is not that novel, the format of Top Chef is certain to create a buzz. I am already starting to imagine all the concoctions that they will whip up in the show – and I am telling you that my mouth is watering! Another plus that I can see is that having this spin off will assure Top Chef fans of a year-round dose of the show. Now can you think of anything sweeter than that?

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has always been a favorite of critics. Who can blame them? The chef does not seem to have public relations on his priority list anyway. He has never masked his foul mouth – on air or off air. He slammed an Australian TV personality and likened her to a pig. Why should anyone wonder when reservations at his restaurants have spiraled downward? Why should anyone wonder when exposes have been done about his dishes being pre-prepared at a location separate from the restaurants?

We are only starting the second half of the year and the critics do not seem to be done with Chef Gordon Ramsay yet. The latest issue? His restaurants are overpriced and disappointing.

Several newspapers have already published these “findings,” as reported in the most recent edition of Harden’s London Restaurants. According to the magazine, even Ramsay’s main restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, has gone down the drain. This is quite surprising as, only last year, the restaurant was hailed as the best foodie experience in all of London!

In spite of all the bad reviews and publicity about his restaurants, however, Ramsay still has staunch supporters. There is Fox TV, which has renewed his contract for the TV series Hell’s Kitchen. It is running its 8th season. A special is also in the works, titled Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live. The chef also seems undaunted by the setbacks as he is opening restaurants in London and Italy.

Time will tell, along with the food and service that the chef continues to offer discerning gastronomists.

Jamie Oliver has gone a long way, and is now one of the most popular celebrity chefs all over the world. He is not one to sit on his laurels, though. Although he has had much success with regards to cookbooks and TV shows, he wants to expand his reach. The news is that he is going to Asia to introduce his line of Italian restaurants. He will be starting in Hong Kong.

Jamie is no stranger to the restaurant business. He has, in fact, a chain of restaurants well established in the UK. Hong Kong and Singapore are the target countries, with six restaurants in total. Dubbed Jamie’s Italian, the restaurant line’s strength is in its quality of food and fair prices. In fact, the press release for the line says “At Jamie’s restaurants, you will often find a blue-collar worker, a student, and the chairman of a blue-chip company side by side having a meal.”

I am not sure about what is “fair,” though. From what I hear, you would have to shell out about HK$300 for an average 3-course meal. That is not something that a blue-collar worker or a student can pay (unless he’s got rich parents)! What do you think – would you pay this much for a meal at Jamie’s Italian?

In any case, the restaurants are not going to be ready for business till next year. If you really want to eat at Jamie’s Italian, I guess you better start saving now.