Celebrity Chefs

Jamie Oliver Using The F-word Too Much?

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Sirius XM Radio Welcomes Jamie Oliver To

And it is not just him, apparently! It seems that the British public is becoming increasingly bothered by how much the F-word is being used on the telly. Oh, and I am not talking about “F” as in “fowl” but “F” as in the other foul word. The National has a write up of this today:

A backlash has emerged in Britain against the amount of swearing now common on television and radio.

For years, there has been a progressive increase in the use of bad language in popular programmes, particularly among comedians, talk show hosts and, for no apparent reason, celebrity chefs.

There were a lot of personalities mentioned in the article, including the recently infamous duo of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. There were no other celebrity chefs mentioned except for Jamie Oliver, who was said to have used the F-word 23 times in a 50-minute episode.

To be honest, I never really noticed this! Perhaps the episodes that I have seen were “clean?” Or maybe they were edited. Another possibility – I have become so immune to hearing that word that I do not even take note when it is mentioned on TV.

It does not matter – the fact is that for once, I agree with the critics. There is no reason for celebrity chefs to be using the F-word in their cooking shows. Although I have to admit that I have probably used it on several occasions while working in the kitchen. Poor Jamie Oliver, always in the middle of these controversies…

Originally posted on December 24, 2008 @ 12:28 pm

Top Chef Judge Stiffing His Employees?

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He may be at the top in the reality TV show Top Chef but Tom Colicchio does not seem to be on top of his game when it comes to real life. Colicchio opened his restaurant Craft in New York in 2001 and has since then widened his horizons by opening other branches in different parts of the States.

On Friday of this week, however, a former employee of Calicchio file a lawsuit against him. The complaint? It seems that the Top Chef star has been remiss in giving his workers their due. Included in the complaint are violations such as not paying minimum wage, overtime, and tips from customers.

The complainant is a certain Nessa Rapone, who worked at the Craftbar in New York last year. In her statement, she declared that she is filing the lawsuit on behalf of the other workers of Calicchio who were paid on an hourly basis. Reuters has this report:

A former employee sued “Top Chef” TV show judge Tom Colicchio in federal court on Friday for allegedly not paying some of his restaurant workers minimum wages, overtime and tips from customers.

Nessa Rapone, who worked at Craftbar in New York in 2007, filed suit in Manhattan federal court on behalf of other hourly paid workers seeking to recover “minimum wages, overtime compensation and misappropriated tips” from Colicchio.

So what does the Top Chef celebrity has to say about the lawsuit? That camp has been silent on the matter so far

Originally posted on December 13, 2008 @ 3:52 pm

Marc Veyrat Says Goodbye To The Kitchen

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marc250209200You don’t know who Marc Veyrat is? He is a French celebrity chef – and yeah, the French know all about good food! – who is known for his forays into the countryside to gather wild herbs to incorporate into his excellent dishes. Late last month, news reports spread like wildfire that the celebrity chef is “quitting the kitchen.”

His restaurant, La Maison de Marc Veyrat (more popularly known as L’Auberge de l’Eridan) is closing down, much to the dismay of many. Unlike other chefs, who are closing down their shops because of the credit crunch, Veyrat cites health reasons for this closure. He is quoted as saying “I am stopping work in Annecy because physically, I have to, following a serious ski accident three years ago.”

The restaurant is located near Annecy and has earned 3 stars in the Michelin Guide. It was opened by Veyrat in 1992 and is best known for its traditional dishes infused with lots of wild herbs. Veyrat also introduced the concept of “molecular gastronomy.” This concept is basically the use of chemistry in coming up with unique recipes. That is, chemistry inspired the chef to put his own twist to various kinds of dishes, making them one of a kind.

Sad to say, that era seems to be coming to an end. Veyrat says that perhaps, the restaurant will make a comeback in the future but if it does, it will certainly be transformed. Still, the good news is that he says he might come back if he becomes fit again.

Originally posted on March 10, 2009 @ 11:18 am

Bobby Flay On Radio

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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Kick-Off Celebration

Who is your favorite Iron Chef? If it’s Bobby Flay that you’re naming, then you will be happy to know that you can get more of him, this time on the radio. It seems that the demand for this celebrity chef is going nowhere but up. In spite of his numerous TV appearances, web site citations, and magazine features, his fans just seem to need more – and more – of him. Thus his most recent gig – a radio talk show.

Chron.com reports:

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is launching a talk radio show on which he will offer advice to men on everything from dating, dining, dressing and how to nail a tough job interview.

The star of numerous Food Network programs will host Bobby Flay Radio weekly on SIRIUS XM Radio starting Thursday. Flay is signed on for a five-week run, but says he is open to more if the two-hour show goes well.

While the call-in show will touch on everything from sports to current events, Flay says food still will be the focus.

“Food transcends so much now,” Flay said in a telephone interview. “It’s become so much part of lifestyle. How you eat, plate it, how you dress and how you live all have a lot to do with one another.”

Flay’s wife, actress Stephanie March, will join him on the show occasionally.

Interesting that he will be dishing out more than his daily dose of recipes, huh? Then again, he seems to have done extremely well in his life, he probably has a lot of advice to offer his listeners. What do you think about that, 2 hours of radio with Bobby Flay?

Originally posted on January 8, 2009 @ 11:43 am

PETA To Jamie: Be Pukka To Pigs

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petaJamie Oliver seems to be one of the favorite celebrity chefs of various activist groups. This time, he is being targeted by PETA, the well known animal rights activist group. In a demonstration held in front of Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Brighton, members of PETA held placards stating ‘Be Pukka to Pigs: Go Vegetarian.”

The demonstrators didn’t stop at written protestations. One demonstrator, Lynzi Waddington, took it upon herself to imitate a pregnant sow (and she is heavily pregnant by the way), knelt down on the ground inside a metal cage. Apparently, this is one practice that is common in the hog raising industry. Her comment? “Pigs are very sensitive animals, they do feel pain, and they deserve to be treated right.”

What does the celebrity chef have to say about all this? His spokesman said that “The meat Jamie is serving up is very high quality. They should go make a protest somewhere that imports its meat.”

While that does not directly answer the demonstrator’s remarks on “humane” treatment of pigs, it does make sense to me. I might become the target of animal rights activists because of this post but seriously, there is a place for everyone, everything. It’s called the food chain. It is part of life.

While I do not see Jamie Oliver as the perfect person (well he is hunky, I have to say that!), I do not see him forcing vegetarians to eat meat either. So why not leave meat-eaters alone?

Originally posted on March 29, 2009 @ 3:14 pm