celebrity chefs

Is David Chang Headed To Toronto?

Filed under: Dining

Last fall we heard that Momofuku chef David Chang was headed to Australia. Now Black Book says the popular chef who commands a New York City empire that includes Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ma Peche may be heading north as well.

Rumor broke on Friday that David Chang has plans to open a restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel as part of the hotel's 2012 scheduled opening. There wasn't been a formal announcement but Chang himself made oblique reference to it on Twitter saying "hello southern ontario" and mentioning the tail end of 2012 sending foodies into a tailspin.

The Globe and Mail got confirmation from Momofuku headquarters that Momofuku is actually going to open two restaurants, a Canadian outpost of Noodle Bar and a new one called Momofuku Daisho. The restaurants will be in a building next to the Shangri-La Hotel and set to open next year. Residences at the Shangri-La Toronto are currently under construction and on sale for $800,000.

Tags: celebrity chef, celebrity chefs, david chang, momofuku, shangri-la toronto

Chef Daniel Boulud Closing His Vancouver Restaurants

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Star chef Daniel Boulud is closing his doors in Vancouver. The French chef who has restaurants in New York City and opened a London outpost last year will be closing Vancouver's Lumière and db Bistro Moderne on March 13.

The Vancouver Sun reports that the restaurants were open a little more than two years and that Boulud was the "first international superstar chef" to open a restaurant in Canada. Some local critics speculated that the Boulud's fine dining was a bit too formal to connect with Vancouver's laid-back foodie scene. The restaurants, which took inspiration from Boulud's New York City triumphs were perhaps an inexact fit for the market. The staff from both restaurants will likely be easily reabsorbed into Vancouver's still-flourishing restaurant community.

He also had a restaurant at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas but that restaurant is now the Lakeside Grill. Boulud meanwhile, continues to thrive in New York City. Last year he won the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award for his multi-starred restaurant named simply, Daniel.

Tags: celebrity chefs, daniel boulud, restaurant daniel, vancouver

Charlie Palmer Becomes The Latest Celebrity Chef With A Burger Joint

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Chef Charlie Palmer, like many other celebrity chefs, is turning his attention to the burger. Palmer is opening DG Burger, a space within his existing restaurant, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's in the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa, California. The initials stand for "Damn Good Burger."

Palmer will have plenty of competition in the burger world: Bobby Flay runs Bobby's Burger Palace; Emeril Lagasse has Burgers and More by Emeril and in the same South Coast Plaza mall, chef Marcus Samuelsson's Marc Burger has a spot at Macy's. Laurent Tourondel opened LT Burger over the summer and Richard Blais, who was on "Top Chef," is the chef behind Flip Burger Boutique. The Wall Street Journal traces the start of the trend to chef Hubert Keller who opened Burger Bar in 2004.

DG Burger opens this week with only one burger: Palmer's signature DG Burger, a version of the seasonally changing burger that has been on the menu at the full-service restaurant since it opened in 2008. It is made of Black Angus beef topped with cabbage, tomato, red onion and a secret sauce on a semolina-potato bun. It sells for $7.95. Executive Chef Amar Santana will serve up casual fare including garlic sausage sandwich with roasted peppers, salads, citrus glazed beef or chicken skewers and crispy fries with accompaniments of curry ketchup, bacon mayo, roasted garlic sour cream or chipotle aioli. According to National Restaurant News there are no plans to expand the DG Burger concept to other locations.

Tags: burger, burgers, celebrity chefs, charlier palmer

Gordon Ramsay Heads To Dubai To Debut Chef's Table Concept

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Gordon Ramsay may have had to sell off a couple restaurants in the past few years but that hasn't stopped him from continue to expand and modify his existing holdings. Ramsay will be in Dubai later this month to check on his restaurant, Verre by Gordon Ramsay at the Hilton Dubai Creek in Dubai. Arabian Business reports that the newly refurbished black and white restaurant is debuting a new concept, a chef's table with a kitchen view. The table will be served by executive chef, Scott Price. Price says the menu is a surprise and created specifically for each group. Part of the redesign of the restaurant includes a clear glass kitchen wall that allows guests to watch the chefs in action.Those who want to see Chef Ramsay himself can make a reservation for October 23rd. In addition to the chef's table, the full three-course a la carte menu will be available at AED395 per person. The chef's table is designed for groups of four or more, is priced at AED695 (around $190) per person.

Another English chef Jamie Oliver is set to open a restaurant in Dubai in late November. Jamie's Italian, a 290-seater restaurant with a past a bar, will open in Dubai Festival Centre in late November. The restaurant will be located at Festival Centre's Marina Pavilion with waterfront views.

Tags: celebrity chefs, dubai, gordon ramsay, jamie oliver

Cook With The Greats At The New York Culinary Experience

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

Ever dreamed of cooking with some of the world's greatest chefs? The French Culinary Institute is holding its third annual New York Culinary Experience, a two-day culinary camp for foodies, on October 2 and 3. This year's participating chefs include Todd English, Johnny Iuzzini, Alain Ducasse, Morimoto, David Bouley, Laurent Tourondel, Jacques Torres and Anita Lo. People travel from all over the world to attend this event. The event raises money for the Future Chefs Scholarship Program, which makes it possible for aspiring chefs to attend The French Culinary Institute.

Imagine cooking strozzapreti with sausage and grapes and other dishes inspired by the Italian grape harvest alongside Andrew Carmellini, creating antipasti with Cesare Casella, glazing and slow roasting Long Island duck with Alex Guarnaschelli or braising and stewing beef with Michael Lomonaco. You can dip your toes into sous-vide cooking, preparing Australian ocean trout with Kalamansi and Nashi Pear with Shaun Hergatt. If you are a dessert lover you'll be thrilled to explore the use of brown butter in pastries, ice cream and chocolate with Michael Laiskonis and work with chocolate with Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres.

The weekend includes two classes with per day, breakfast, (educational/learning) lunch sessions, and a cocktail/wine reception to close each day. The cost for the entire weekend is $1,595 per ticket ($1,495 for purchases of two or more tickets).

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Tags: celebrity chefs, chef, food events, French Culinary Institute, new york cooking, new york culinary experience

James Beard Chef Packages On Rue La La

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Food writer and chef James Beard has been gone for years but his food legacy lives on, his name inspiring visions of amazing meals. Private sale shopping website Rue La La has teamed up with James Beard Foundation to offer a trio of "Evenings with Celebrity Chefs" packages. The sale goes live on July 7, 2010 at 11:00 am Eastern Time and will run for 48 hours. After the jump are details of the three James Beard events available for purchase at exclusive Rue La La rates:

Tags: celebrity chefs, james beard, martha stewart, rue la la

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Tell Us Everything, Chef Daniel Boulud

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Tell Us Everything

In an era of celebrity chefs and big food personalities with TV shows, magazines and books, blogs and cookware lines, French chef Daniel Boulud is in some ways a throwback. A trained chef with farm roots and a fine-dining pedigree whose built a string of successful restaurants, now being replicated all over the world. Boulud is best known for his eponymous Manhattan restaurant Daniel, which this year earned him three Michelin stars – the Academy Award for Best Picture equivalent for a chef – it's considered the highest honor a restaurant can earn.

Gallery: Daniel Boulud Restaurants

Tags: bar boulud, cafe boulud, celebrity chefs, chef daniel boulud, daniel boulud, daniel boulud brasserie, daniel new york, DB Bistro Moderne, lumiere, maison boulud, michelin starred chefs, michelin stars, MichelinStars, new york chefs, new york dining, south beach food and wine festival

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New York Celebrity Chefs Serve Up Street Food

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

On Monday, Feb. 8, 500 lucky New Yorkers will get a chance to taste gourmet fast food of sorts from some of the city's most popular chefs. It'll be the street cart equivalent of New York City Ballet dancers doing pirouettes on a subway platform, or Broadway actors singing karaoke in a dive bar. In other words, a rare treat.

Four top chefs - Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Paul Liebrandt and Michael White - will be operating street carts and in four top secret locations around Manhattan. The lunches will be free, but you know what they say about free lunches.

Tags: alain ducasse, AlainDucasse, celebrity chefs, CelebrityChefs, daniel boulud, DanielBoulud, michael white, MichaelWhite, new york chefs, new york street food, NewYorkChefs, NewYorkStreetFood, paul liebrandt, PaulLiebrandt, south beach food wine festival, SouthBeachFoodWineFestival

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D'Artagnan Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with a 32 Star Progressive Dinner

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

True foodies think nothing of spending exorbitant sums on their passion. Fine wines, and four star meals, often in foreign countries, are their version of luxury. The names they drop are not Prada or Manolo but Keller and Ripert. Twenty-five years ago Ariane Daguin from France and her partner George Faisan started D'Artagnan. It was really the first company to focus on providing consumers in the United States with food products from Ariane's native region of France, Gascony. It has become the premier supplier of specialty food products from the foie gras to truffles to high end American restaurants and gourmet shops.

This February the company celebrates its 25th anniversary with a week long celebration in New York starting on February 17, 2010. The highlight of the festivities is a "32 Star Progressive Dinner" on Saturday February 21rst. The special event features celebrated chefs from the Gascon region of France in various four star kitchens around Manhattan. The evening kicks off with cocktails at 5pm after which the participants will board the "Armagnac-fueled" bus to experience each course at a different 4 star restaurant.

Participating chefs include:

Daniel Boulud with Jean-Marie Gautier, M.O.F. of Hotel du Palais, Biarritz
Jean-Georges Vongeritchen with Michel Trama of Aubergade, Puymirol
Daniel Humm with Jacques & Laurent Pourcel of Le Jardin des Sens, Montpellier
Thomas Keller with Hélène Darroze of Restaurant Hélène Darroze, Paris
Eric Ripert with Thierry Marx of Cordeillan-Bages, Pauillac and Philippe Urraca, M.O.F.

The above list is just for the main course! There are others chefs cooking their native cuisine for the other courses. Wines from top producers including Chateau Lynch Bages will be featured and Trou Gascon Armagnac will be served on the bus between courses.

The finale occurs at Le Bernadin where all the chefs will celebrate after dessert. Seating is limited and costs $600 per person for the evening.

Tags: 25th anniversary, 25thAnniversary, Armagnac, celebrity chef, celebrity chefs, CelebrityChef, CelebrityChefs, Daniel Boulud, DanielBoulud, DArtagnan, Eric Ripert, EricRipert, fine dining, FineDining, french food, FrenchFood, new york restaurants, NewYorkRestaurants, thomas keller, ThomasKeller

Celebrity Chefs Announced For Marina Bay Sands Resort

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

The celebrity chef lineups for the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore has been revealed and they are taking no chances at the $5 billion resort, bringing out some of the world's culinary big guns. The resort will feature restaurants by famous chefs from around the world. The six chefs announced include Mario Batali (New York), Daniel Boulud (New York), Wolfgang Puck (Los Angeles), Santi Santamaria (Barcelona), Guy Savoy (Paris) and Tetsuya Wakuda (Sydney). Chefs Santi Santamaria, Guy Savoy and Tetsuya Wakuda will have their restaurants on the mezzanine layer of the casino while Mario Batali, Daniel Boulud and Wolfgang Puck will have signature restaurants situated near Marina Bay Sands Theatres. Each of the six chefs is personally involved in the concepts, menus, and interior design of the six different restaurants.

When completed, Marina Bay Sands will feature have approximately 2,500 luxury hotel rooms, the rooftop Sands SkyPark, a museum, Las Vegas- style gaming, the Paiza Club for premium players, theatres, entertainment, an outdoor event plaza, and shopping and dining venues. In a press release, Batali calls the resort "the most exciting project I have ever been involved with" but the most philosophical quotes come from the European chefs. Santi Santamaria ponders the possibilities of "culinary poetry" saying he wants his cuisine to "delight the senses and awaken emotional memories with a cuisine of wisdom." Guy Savoy expresses a similar view saying that" cuisine is the art of instantaneously turning produce suffused with history into happiness." They sound like perfect fits for a city that prides itself on the quality and infinite variety of its food.

[via NY Daily News]

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Tags: celebrity chefs, CelebrityChefs, daniel boulud, DanielBoulud, food-awards, guy savoy, GuySavoy, marina bay sands, MarinaBaySands, mario batali, MarioBatali, santi santamaria, SantiSantamaria, singapore, tetsuya wakuda, TetsuyaWakuda, wolfgang puck, WolfgangPuck

Charlie Palmer's Vegas Hotel

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Estates, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Chef Charlie Palmer already owns a hotel in Healdsburg, a city in the northern California wine country, but he is planning to take his celebrity chef status to a new level in Las Vegas by opening a hotel/condo complex that will bear his name. This venture is a step apart from other chefs, who have contented themselves with lending their names (and occasionally their actual cooking) to restaurants in hotel-casinos up to this point. Palmer's project will be built on the site of the casino known as the "Golden Palm." Instead of the 6-story building that now sits there, Palmer's complex will be 33-stories high, have 400 hotel/condo units and three restaurants on site, including a sushi bar. In total, construction should cost $400 million and Palmers expects it to be completed by 2008.

Palmer's new digs will not have a casino on the premises, but with one celebrity chef carving a new and glamorous niche in Vegas, how long can it be before other chefs follow suit and expand upon the idea? Ducasse Towers? Emeril's Kicked Up Casino?

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Tags: casino, celebrity chefs, charlie palmer, chef, hotel, las vegas

Taste3 Mondavi Conference

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Wine, Events

This summer the Robert Mondavi Winery is holding a new conference, Taste3, which will bring together wine, food and the arts. The conference will take place in Napa, California from July 13-16 at Copia: The American Center of Wine Food & the Arts. The list of people tapped for the conference are widely eclectic, ranging from Austrian crystal designer Georg Riedel to archaeological chemist Patrick McGovern and Leo McCloskey, founder and president of Enologix, a wine consultancy that uses chemistry to predict taste score. There will be winemakers, scientists, writers and sommeliers and even Robby Barnett, the artistic director of the dance troupe Pilobolus. The conference will feature a variety of chefs such as Alice Waters and Thomas Keller. The event will include epic dinners at famous Napa Valley wineries such as Harlan Estate, Quintessa and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and the most anticipated meal, the Great Chefs of Robert Mondavi Winery Alumni Dinner on Saturday, July 15, in which some of the world's most famous chefs will create dishes paired with special anniversary selections from Robert Mondavi Winery's wine library. The conference will end on July 16, the 40th anniversary of the Oakville winery. Taste3 costs $2,350 per person.

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Tags: alice waters, celebrity chefs, mondavi, napa, riedel, taste3, thomas keller, wine conference, winery