Celebrity Chefs

Mario Batali Heads Back To The Kitchen

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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!

Iron Chef In Washington

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michelle_obama_kitchen2The 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