Famed French chef Alain Ducasse will open his first restaurant in the Caribbean at the new W Retreat & Spa: Vieques Island this November, called "miX on the beach." At the eatery (above) Ducasse will offer a sophisticated menu, exploring "colorful Latino Caribbean flavors with an artful French twist and refreshing dishes that highlight only the finest ingredients from land and sea, expertly prepared and creatively presented." Both indoor and outdoor dining will be available with impressive ocean views on all sides. The first W Retreat & Spa in the Caribbean, the resort is located just off the Southeast coast of Puerto Rico on the peaceful 55-acre island of Vieques. In addition to miX on the beach, Ducasse's team will also manage the entire food and beverage program for the resort.

The famed House of Rémy Martin, founded all the way back in 1724, has a new and unique culinary journey in the heart of Cognac, France. The great gastronomic tour, part of the House's Les Rendez-Vous Rémy Martin, focuses on Louis XIII, the jewel of Rémy's cellar and the most celebrated cognac in the world, as well as the birthplace of cognac itself. The day-long Louis XIII Experience gives visitors access to the "most coveted secrets and treasures" of the renowned cognac house, centered on a private tour through Le Grollet, the Rémy Martin family's historic estate and private cellar.

Guests will experience elite tastings of the prized Grande Champagne Cognac along with a private lunch and dinner prepared by the House of Rémy Martin's Executive Chef, Philippe Saint Romas, in either the historic distillery or a private dining room. Prior to joining Rémy Martin, Saint Romas worked in world-renowned kitchens including Paris' Michelin-starred Senderens Les Ambassadeurs in the Hôtel de Crillon as well as with Alain Ducasse. Visitors also will have the chance to explore the estate's wine pressing hall and view the historic stone stills. Guests are invited to appreciate the cognacs, chosen by cognac's only female Cellar Master, Pierrette Trichet, and offered the chance to learn how to blend cognac to their preference.

Louis XIII rarest reserve cognac was created in 1874 by the House of Rémy Martin. It is described as an "intricate alchemy" blended from 1,200 eaux-de-vie, created from the chalky soils of Grande Champagne, the best growing area of the France's Cognac region. Louis XIII ages up to 100 years in specially crafted oak barrels called tierçons (above). Four generations of cellar masters perfected the unique blend of myrrh, honey, plum, honeysuckle, wood bark, leather and passion fruit that goes in to Louis XIII, making it the most complex and prestigious cognac in the world. The precious elixir comes bottled in a Baccarat crystal decanter with fleur-de-lys stopper.

Much of the news we hear about food tilts toward the organic and local but French chef Pierre Gagnaire has taken things in a different direction creating what is called the world's first synthetic dish. Gagnaire, a famed French chef with three Michelin stars worked on the recipe with chemist Hervé This, the founder of molecular gastronomy. The London Times reports that the recipe which contains ascorbic acid, glucose, maltitol and citric acid is called le note à note. It is essentially an appetizer made of jelly balls that taste of apples and lemon and are creamy on the inside and crackling on the outside.

Is the world ready for fake food? Mr. This thinks so. He says that the chefs of the future won't need to rely on plain fruits and vegetables but can instead use the elements of those foods to create new food possibilities and end food shortages. Pierre Gagnaire is more interested in concoctions that combine natural food with new molecular creations much as chefs like Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal and Grant Achatz do in their famous restaurants.

The Times article includes a recipe that sounds more like a chemistry experiment. Most of us consume plenty of chemicals in our foods on a daily basis but still the idea of eating a meal that has no relationship to anything found in nature is still more of a novelty at this point.

The angry British chef who trashed Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's Ferrari Enzo (above) at a seaside resort last month has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail for causing £9,434 worth of damage to the $1.4 million supercar. Aaron Billington told the judge he went ballistic and hurled rocks at the rock star's Enzo after Kay, who had mocked the chef's stutter, invited two girls back to his hotel room for an orgy following a bout of drinking.

Billington's lawyer said the chef flew off the handle because he had an "emotional attachment" to one of the women in question, the UK Daily Star reports. "The criminal damage may have been committed in drink, but the car was plainly someone's pride and joy," the judge observed in passing sentence. "You wouldn't have a car like that otherwise." Next time try trashing a Toyota, pal - it's cheaper all around.

Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's $1.4 million Ferrari Enzo (above) was trashed by an enraged chef at a seaside resort where the rock star had gone for a little R&R earlier this week. Kay had driven the supercar to the 3-star Brudenell Hotel on England's Suffolk Coast and was staying there when his over-the-top attitude angered the hotel's chef, Aaron Billington, the UK AutoTrader reports. Apparently it was Billington's night off, and he and others were socializing with Kay in the hotel's bar. After several rounds of drinks it seems Kay made some derogatory remarks - according to one report he ridiculed the others' lesser vehicles, bragging about the Enzo parked outside - angering Billington.

The chef was later seen throwing rocks at the Enzo, shattering the windscreen and smashing the driver's side window. The damage was estimated at £30,000 or about $42,000. Billington later told the local court he committed the crime in a "moment of madness" after becoming upset by Kay's "offensive" remarks. Asked to comment, Kay, 39, remarked, "It's disappointing. It says something about the British psyche." Kay, who appears on the hit British TV show Top Gear, has an amazing collection of supercars among which the beautiful black Enzo is his prized possession. His fleet includes a Ferrari F40, Ferrari F50, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a selection of classic cars including a Lamborghini Miura, Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster and an Aston Martin DB5.

Gallery: Jay Kay's Cars

Jamie Oliver becomes the latest British chef to succumb to economic pressure. The television host and cookbook author known as the Naked Chef, has postponed plans to open a fifth branch of the restaurant chain Fifteen at Holbeck Urban Village in Leeds in June. The Fifteen Foundation inspires disadvantaged young people to create careers in the restaurant industry and runs restaurants in Amsterdam, Cornwall, London and Melbourne, Australia.

The charity has said it may revisit its plans in the future when the economy is in better shape. Oliver joins other British television chefs Gordon Ramsay and Antony Worrall Thompson in having to adjust his restaurant empire desires to the whims of the economy.

British celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson is the latest to feel the recession pinch. His company AWT Restaurants Ltd. went into administration last Friday. BBC News reports that he has had to shut four restaurants, making 60 employees redundant. He has had to use his personal savings to help hold on to two other restaurants, Windsor Grill and the Kew Grill, and a delicatessen, WIndsor Larder. The company went into receivership after Worrall Thompson failed to raise £200,000 from his bank (he was unwilling to offer his home as a guarantee to the bank). He has appeared on the BBC shows Food And Drink and Ready Steady Cook.

Just last week, we heard reports that chef Gordon Ramsay may also be facing trouble with diminished bookings in his restaurants and a £10million outstanding loan to Gordon Ramsay Holdings with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The 2009 Vintners Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. The hall of fame at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California honors those who have contributed to the California wine industry. This year's group includes wine journalist Gerald Asher, Gourmet magazine; Jack and Jamie Davies, founders of Schramsberg Vineyards; Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson Estates; U.C. Davis Professor and co-founder of Lagier-Meredith Winery, Carole Meredith; Justin Meyer, co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars; and Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Also Frederick and Jacob Beringer, who founded Beringer Vineyards, will be inducted as "Pioneers," a category for those those who made a significant contribution to the California wine industry and passed away prior to March, 1989.

You can take part in the day-long Celebration of California Wine and Food that ends with the Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Celebrity Chef Walk-Around Reception on March 14 at CIA Greystone. The morning includes a pair of food and wine salons followed by luncheons and tastings held at local wineries including Beringer Vineyards, Cardinale, Hundred Acre, Quixote Winery, Rudd Oakville Estate, Schramsberg and Viader Vineyards. The main event includes the chance to meet guest chefs Michael Chiarello, Todd Humphries, Christopher Kostow and Charlie Palmer at the reception in the CIA Greystone's Teaching Kitchens followed by the Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. A ticket costs $300 for reception and dinner ($150 is tax-deductible) or the full day package can be purchased for $500.

Is Blancpain going overboard with the big watch craze? This image points to yes, but this is actually part of a trophy that Blancpain gave out. If you aren't a serious foodie you might have never heard of the Bocuse d'Or, one of the world's most coveted cooking competitions and awards. The 2009 winner was Geir Skeie, a chef at the restaurant Mathuset Solvold, in Sandefjord, Norway. I can't pronounce the chef's name, the name of the restaurant, or even the city in Norway, but what I do know is that I covet the watch part of the award.

Swiss watch maker Blancpain co-sponsored the event and awarded a Blancpain Flyback Chronograph Grande Date watch to the winner of Bocuse d"Or this year. With incentives like that I might join the competition myself next year! This year's Bocuse d'Or was the 21st occurrence of the event, and unsurprisingly, was held in Lyon, France.

Watch makers and chefs have had a long positive history. Not only does cooking require careful and often overlapping timing, but chefs, like watch makers, are detail oriented and focused on perfection. Blancpain chose wisely in participating with the Bocuse d'Or, and I have to admit the styling of the Blancpain Flyback Chronograph watch fits well with the culinary theme.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Add a little shimmer to your day by carrying this silver-with-a-pinkish-hue Ombre Zucca Jacquard Chef bag by Fendi. Iridescent zucca jacquard leather with ombre effect paired with a pouchy shape make this bag what it is, along with accents like gold hardware, rolled leather handles, and an oversized metal pull etched with the Fendi logo. It also has a fabric-lined interior with a zip pocket and a nameplate. It's a great way to carry a pretty much neutral bag without feeling dull or dreary. $1,810

Gallery: Fendi Ombre Zucca Jacquard Chef Bag

One of London's top celebrity chefs has gone belly up leaving his suppliers scrambling for money. The Telegraph gives us the tale of Tom Aikens, shown at right with wife, Amber Nuttall. Aikens is one of London's handsome and temperamental Michelin starred chefs. His Chelsea restaurant, Tom Aikens, has won 22 awards since opening in 2003. But last week it was announced that the companies running the restaurants had been placed into administration and now a whole host of suppliers, reportedly 160 businesses, are waiting to get paid.

The Telegraph reports you can still book a table and Aikens and his chefs are still cooking. Tom's Kitchen and the Tom Aikens restaurant were acquired by TA Holdco Ltd, allowing Aikens and his business to continue. Some suppliers are continuing to supply the restaurant in the hopes they will be able to get at least some money out of the situation. Others are angry that the business continued to buy from them as it slid into trouble. Some suppliers have had to lay off workers as a result of the money loss. The status of Aikens's personal wealth is not known at this time.

Celebrity chef Tyler Florence is opening his first restaurant. San Francisco boutique hotel company Personality Hotels has signed a deal with the Food Network chef to open a restaurant in Hotel Vertigo (currently the York Hotel). The 97-room York Hotel is currently undergoing a $5 million renovation and will be renamed Hotel Vertigo this summer, after Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic thriller staring James Stewart and Kim Novak (Novak's character lived in the York Hotel during the last half of the film). Florence's restaurant will also open this summer.

There are many people in the world who fly frequently and as such are often subject to airline food, despite it's nasty reputation of being nothing but reheated cardboard. Some airlines, however, are seeking to change that in a major way for their first class passengers -- even to the extent for some of having a chef on board (Gulf Airlines) and serving exotic gourmet dishes.

Among others Singapore Airlines offers a choice of Dom Perignon or Krug champagne, several airlines serve caviar as appetizer, and Malaysia Airlines serves their meals on fine china. Would you (or do you) choose your airline based on the first class meal options?

Think about it....who really has a second kitchen? A full second kitchen? They're rare indeed, but the new trend in luxury housing is to start changing that.

People with money to spend want kitchens for both themselves and for their personal chefs and caterers, and they don't want to be bumping around together in the same space. But it's not just about whether or not you can afford it, as the building has to be approved and depending on the rules and regulations in the area an additional full kitchen may or may not be allowed. But in the areas where it does work houses generally run in the $5 million range and higher when they include 2 kitchens.

Tasting menu's don't come cheap, but the range of flavors and the chance to experience more of the chef's repertoire is worth it for many. Some of the best restaurants in the world have gone to serving nothing but tasting menus, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago for example, and others simply offer them as a luxury for those who can afford it and want something a little different. So where to go if you're really looking to drop some cash and enjoy the great tastes of the best tasting menus? Well the single most expensive tasting menu in the world belongs to L'Arpege in Paris and runs $466, with the second and third most expensive also going to restaurants in Paris: Alain Ducasse Plaza Athenee ($437), and Guy Savoy ($402). Masa, in NYC, comes in at 4th with their tasting menu priced at $400 for 25 courses.