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.

For the 13th year, Wolfgang Puck is the man in charge of the kitchens for the most important gathering. The post-Oscar party at the Governor’s ball is where most of the stars will gather after the awards show and they are usually hungry. After all most of them don’t eat before the Oscars to make sure that they look great in their dresses - though a few are sure to have had no appetite, waiting to see if they brought home the Oscar.

For the hoard that is due to arrive, Wolfgang puck formed a team of over a thousand people to prepare the feast for the party. It was a necessary move in order to be able prepare everything on time. What was on the menu? Nothing but the best. Kobe beef is on the menu. There will be Chinois lobster and smoked salmon. Don’t forget the organic vegetables that are stir fried perfectly.

Then there is the dessert table. There is something for everyone. Brownies, pistachio squares, lemon bars and of course, chocolate, lots and lots of chocolates.

Here’s the recipe for the Spiny Lobster Shanghai Style with Crispy Spinach courtesy of Wolfgang Puck.

Ingredients:
1 piece fresh ginger, approximately 1 inch
2 cloves garlic, minced
� cup plum wine or port
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 2-pound lobster, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 scallions, cut into 3/8 inch slices
1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder
� cup dry white wine
� cup homemade or store-bought fish stock
� cup heavy cream
� teaspoon dried hot chili flakes
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2. Peel the ginger, reserving the peels, and cut it into fine julienne strips. Cut the peels into coarse strips and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, cook the ginger and garlic with � cup of the plum wine and the rice wine vinegar until 1 tablespoon of liquid remains. Remove from the heat and reserve.

4. Place a heavy heatproof 12-inch skillet over high heat until it is very hot. Add the oil and heat it almost to the smoking point. Carefully add the lobster halves, meat side down. Cook 3 minutes. Turn the lobster over and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Continue to saute until the lobster shells get red and the butter is nutty red. Transfer the lobster to the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the lobster is just cooked. Remove from the oven, remove the lobster from the skillet and keep warm.

5. Add the scallions, ginger peels and curry powder to the skillet. Saute the mixture lightly for 10 to 15 seconds, then whisk in the remaining plum wine and the white wine, stock, chili flakes and the vinegar. Reduce the liquid to � cup. Add the cream and reduce it by half. Add any liquid from the julienne of ginger, then whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Crack the lobster claws with the back of a large chef’s knife. Arrange the lobster halves on a warm oval platter, meat side up. Strain the sauce over the lobster, then sprinkle the sweet ginger on top. Garnish with Fried Baby Spinach Leaves (recipe follows).

In a recent interview, Jamie Oliver has expressed that he feels that he is now ready to take on a new project. He would like to have a show that has more depth to it; something that would truly be BBC. He would like to have a show on the evolution of the British taste buds.

Oliver says that he would like to look at all of Great Britain, not just England. He says that he sees that there is much to be proud of, and that much of it occurs around food. He would focus on the food of Britain. He would like to bring in some specialists and showcase food and its relevance in history. At this point, though, he hasn’t decided on how to do the presentation yet.

For those wondering if he’s planning to leave Channel 4 to shift over their sister company, Oliver says that that won’t happen anytime soon. It is definitely something that he will work on though because he feels that the UK is now ready for this kind of show.

Giada De Laurentiis may seem to lead the glamorous life. She’s a very popular celebrity chef. She has a brand new show on the Food Network called “Giada’s Weekend Getaways” aside from her “Everyday Italian”. She has a thriving catering business, endorses a number of products and is about to release her third cookbook “Everyday Pasta”. With all of that on her plate, her schedule is quite gruelling.

Unlike “Everyday Italian” which is pretty laid back and shot in her kitchen, “Giada’s Weekend Getaways” had this pretty chef hopping from one location to another, from one city to another and checking out some of the hottest places to go. They had her jet skiing, learning to salsa and driving around in a convertible in a single episode. That was the pace of the past eight months worth of work.

It’s a good thing that she and husband clothing designer Todd Thompson have decided to put off having kids for a while. The pace right now is very hectic. De Laurentiis says they’ll probably wait a couple of years before settling down and having a family.

Technorati Tags: Giada de Laurentiis, Everyday Italian, Giada’s weekend Getaways, Glamorous Life

Children love christmas time. Maybe it’s because of the joy in the air or maybe it’s because of the gift giving. They definitely enjoy the decorating that is done for this holiday.

The gingerbread house is a fun christmas tradition. It allows you and your kids to work together to be creative. It also makes a great item for your christmas decorating. You might want to buy extra bits of the ingredients as some might get nibbled before you finish making your gingerbread house.

The gingerbread house starts with the form. Most use a cardboard house as a base. You can usually buy these in stores if you don’t want to make your own or try creating your own template, it is really easy. Of course you can always print out guides from online.
For the rest of the gingerbread house, try this recipe from Chef Bobby Flay. He introduced this recipe on his show, Food Nation.

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups flour
  
• 1 tablespoon ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 1/4 cups dark molasses
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  
• Frosting, either store-bought or homemade
  
• Brightly colored candies such as gumdrops, licorice, peppermint sticks, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 5 cups of flour, the ginger and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar in large bowl with mixer. Add molasses and lightly beaten eggs. Blend well. Gradually add dry ingredients. Knead in remaining flour, if necessary. Chill dough 1 hour for best rolling results.

Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick directly onto cookie sheets. Cut patterns, removing excess dough. Chill 10 minutes before baking. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.

Let cookies cool.

Next, to assemble house, you will want to make a simple cardboard house to use as your base to help hold the house together. Begin applying cookies to the cardboard using your frosting as glue. Once cookies cover the entire house you can decorate with colorful candies such as gumdrops, peppermint sticks and licorice.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, recipe, Bobby Flay, gingerbread house, decorating