Can you shop online and have your specialty cheeses and fine dining too? iGourmet.com thinks so, and it seems plenty of others agree as it has been nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Gourmet Food category and was named 'best gourmet food website' by Forbes for five years in a row: from 2003 to 2007. It's a family business that originated from three generations of cheese importers and started as a mail order business (known as "International Gourmet") well before the internet was even invented. With no "brick and mortar" shop, igourmet.com has an extensive website complete with large photos, flavor descriptions, usage ideas, and recipes in an effort to not only offer exquisite edibles but also educate its customers so they really get what they're shopping for.

iGourmet.com offers everything from meats to sweets to oils and vinegars, but they especially pride themselves on their extensive line of gourmet cheeses imported from France, Italy, Sweden, and every other European country that exports it. They also offer a wide array of unique gift options for the holidays or any time of year in the form of luxe and beautifully packaged gift boxes, gift baskets, and cheeseboards plus a selection of 6 different gourmet monthly club options including Cheese of the Month (of course), Tea of the Month, and Connoisseur of the Month clubs.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

The Harrods Food Hall in London has been nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Gourmet Grocer/Food Hall category. Harrods is known worldwide for its opulence and grandeur, and the Food Halls are no exception. Harrods has been around since 1834, founded by Charles Henry Harrod and originally operating in a single room selling a mix of grocery goods, perfumes, and stationary items.

Today, it's grown to boast a series of food halls (a luxury food court of sorts) that each specialize in something different but combine to make for a total experience. Many visitors are struck by the sheer volume and selection of international goods, all presented in breathtakingly beautiful displays, counters, and luxury eateries. Harrods is known for offering everything from fine chocolates to lavish cuts of meat and seafood, cheeses, baked goods, and even fine wines, with tasting events scheduled in-house. There are also restaurants serving up gourmet meals, sandwiches, and snacks so you can taste before you buy (or simply enjoy a good meal).

The holidays are an especially grand time of year for Harrods, with many finding great gifts in their selection of food hampers. Prices vary but this year their most divine option is called The Supreme (£1,250) and includes the best of the Food Halls offerings from main courses through dessert, wine and spirits not to be left out.

Many of its products are available for purchase on its website, from pate, biscuits and jam to chocolate, coffee and an impressive selection of teas.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

From toast in the morning to sandwiches at lunch and freshly baked French and Italian loaves served at dinner, bread is a foundation of almost every meal these days. Storage is important if you don't plan to eat the bread immediately after it's baked, but not all breads can be stored the same way if you want to maintain optimal flavor and freshness.

Different breads have different shelf-lives, but as a general rule the more moisture a bread has in it the longer it will keep.

• 1-2 days French and Italian loaves
• 2-3 days White, Wheat, and Sourdough
• 3-5 days Rye breads

Bread Storage Basics:

• Breads with a hard, crispy crust should be stored in paper.
• Breads with a softer crust and more moisture should be kept in a plastic bag or other airtight container.
• All bread should be kept in a cool, dry place.
• Bread should never be kept in the refrigerator (actually makes it go stale faster)
• Bread should be allowed to sit in the open until completely cool or mold growth will be accelerated
• Bread can be frozen and will keep for several months. Just wrap tightly in plastic and freeze.

It's easy to see why the first artisanal cheese produced from the goats from the Beekman Farm has been given the name Blaak. It wears an edible black rind of ash. The ash helps mellow the acidity and promote ripening. The result is an Italian-style semi-hard cheese made from a 60:40 mix of goat and cow milk. The blend combines the best of both worlds, the slight tang of goat cheese with the delectable creamy mouthfeel of cow's milk cheese. The cheese is aged four months in the Beekman 1802 caves and is coated with ash at each turning to promote the ripening of the wheel. It's available at various purveyors in New York including Murrays Cheese, Garden of Eden, Stinky Brooklyn and Marlow & Daughters or you can order it online for $45 for a 2-3 pound wheel.

Bouchon in Yountville, California has announced the latest installment of their innovative France tasting menu. The menu available now celebrates the classic dishes of the Gascony region. The three-course prix-fixe option is also available with special wine pairings. Situated in France's rural Southwest region, Gascony is home to such prized delicacies as Foie Gras and Armagnac. The menu includes seared foie gras and duck confit rillettes with caramelized pears, Swiss chard and chestnut puree; braised pork shank with red wine braised cabbage, pruneaux d'Agen, watercress leaves and young turnips with Armagnac-pork jus; and roasted apples with crispy phyllo and whipped crème fraiche.

Bouchon Yountville's Chef de Cuisine Philip Tessier created the concept and vision of the regional menus. Each pays homage to the most treasured dishes of the featured locality, showcasing traditional techniques and flavors. Bouchon Yountville is open daily for lunch and dinner from 11:30am until 12:30am. The Gascony regional menu will be available as a 3-course prix-fixe option for $60 per person and accompanying wine selections will be available for $35 per person. This menu is only available until October 25. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 707-944-8037.

Get your taste buds ready, the third annual Taste TV Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon will be held on October 11th 2009, 11am-5pm at the Pasadena Center. It's even bigger this year, with over 16,000 square feet, over twice as much room as last year. Participants include over over 35 chocolatiers, confectioners, wineries and other culinary artisans, such as: Choclatique, Happy Chocolates, Rushburn Toffee Co., The Tea Room chocolate, Quady Winery, Chocolatl, Alter Eco Fair Trade Chocolate, Helen Grace Chocolates, Mignon Chocolate, TCHO, Amano Artisan Chocolate, Plush Puff Gourmet Marshmallows, Sweet Beauty Organic Chocolate Spa and many more. In addition to the delicious sampling opportunities there will also be demonstrations, chef and author talks, wine tasting and a chocolate chef competition. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

Wine, food and beautiful surroundings are the lures of the Taste Of The Beach Florida event. The four-day culinary and cultural celebration runs from November 5-8, 2009 on Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast and benefits children's charities. The festival is comprised of seven events ranging from wine tastings and film screenings to winemaker dinners and a charity auction all taking place in an area full of white sand beaches, boutiques and golf courses and other temptations. This stretch of Florida includes Escambia, Destin, Panama City Beach and many other towns an area that is often too warm in the summer months but very pleasant in the fall.

This year's events includes: Taste of The Harbor, Taste of Bay Wine & Food Experience, Al Fresco Reserve Tasting at Ruskin Place, Telluride MountainFilm on Tour, Seeing Red Wine Festival, a series of wine maker dinners at area restaurants, and the Taste of The Beach & Charity Auction. Various events range from $35 to $145. Tickets are available at the Taste of the Beach website.

Au revoir, Café des Artistes. One of New York City's most fabled restaurants, Café des Artistes, has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. The restaurant, which was located at 1 West 67th Street, just off Central Park West, was once regarded as one of the most sought-after and highly rated restaurants in Manhattan. Owner George Lang closed the restaurant in August for renovations with a planned reopening in mid-September. Sadly, it appears this is never to happen and the restaurant's doors have been shuttered for good. The bankruptcy petition lists assets of $84,500 and liabilities of nearly $500,000 owed to creditors.

Want Tom Colicchio of Top Chef fame to cook for you? How about Masaharu Morimoto of Morimoto and April Bloomfield of The John Dory too? On October 4, these chefs and other will present a special tasting dinner to benefit the new High Line park. The event is the latest in a series of dinners to benefit the park which recently opened in New York City. Mario Batali will also offer a special auction item for supporters for the first time. Leadership packages, which include 8 – 12 tickets, are $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. Individual tickets are $1,000 and $2,500. A limited allotment of $500 tickets is also available via the High Line website.

[via The Examiner]

What sort of event calls for a cocktail of Leblon Cachaca, Strawberry-Cinnamon "Conserva", Sweet Basil & Pop Rocks? You can drink the Sambista and other concoctions at the Brazilian Independence Day festivities at SUSHISAMBA 7 (87 Seventh Ave.; 212-691-7885) on Sunday, September 6. The event also includes performances by Arte Capoeira performers with Samba dancers. The food specials are also adventurous with treats such as the amazon roll of alligator tempura, smoked soy, chiles & bacon farofa. Now that's not your average Labor Day food!

I've talked before about the gradual influx of Scotch whisky and French wine into China but the push to bring all sorts of European flavors to a huge market of new consumers appears to be trickier than just getting the products there. BBC News has a fascinating piece on the introduction of European foods to this market. Food marketers are hoping that the growing Chinese upper and middle classes will be interested in consuming foreign foods. Right now they are interested not just for taste but for status. The BBC News piece shows that not all flavors adapt easily, stinky blue Stilton cheese, for example, is a bit of a hard sell with its unfamiliar look and pungent smell.

For some Chinese businessmen European foods are more about commerce than taste. The items have more value as gifts of prestige than as pleasurable experiences. These types of gifts are meant to showcase both the fine sensibilities of the giver and the honor shown to the receiver. The article makes the point that until these new flavors start to really appeal to the Chinese palate that the products will be limited in their appeal. I suspect this will happen sooner than we think. The tongue is universal, it's only a question of conquering the unfamiliar. The Chinese are passionate about food and concerns of texture, flavor, color, and aroma are key. Stinky cheeses aren't such a big leap from stinky tofu. And consider the case of chocolate, the sweet treat has quickly earned Chinese favor. Chocolate maker Callebaut is just one of the companies that has moved into the country and a report says that chocolate consumption has grown 10 to 15 percent a year.

Popcorn isn't generally considered gourmet fare but 479 Popcorn might change your mind. The company, which is named after the optimal Fahrenheit temperature for popping corn, offers heirloom organic popcorn in gourmet flavors: Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt, Black Truffle & White Cheddar, Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar, Fleur de Sel Caramel, Chipotle Caramel & Almonds, Ginger Sesame Caramel, Madras Curry Coconut & Cashew and Pimenton de La Vera. Flavors are shipped the same day they are made. The popcorn is sold in samplers which are five boxes of assorted flavors grouped with names like The Purist, The Foodie and The Sweet Tooth. Collections are canisters of three flavors, each serving four to eight people. Prices start around $30. What a way to spice up home movie night.

[via Notes On A Party]

Lovers of food and wine hardly need a reason to head to Yountville, California to eat at Thomas Keller's Bouchon but I'm going to give you a couple anyway, starting with the new Provence tasting menu. The Provence regional tasting menu will be available as a three-course prix-fixe option (accented by amuse-bouches and mignardise courses) beginning August 4th through August 9th. The menu showcases traditional flavors and dishes including Filet de Rouget en Escabèche which is a chilled rouget accompanied with garden radishes, artichokes, navel orange, pickled garlic, piquillo peppers and parsley; a traditional Bouillabaisse with monkfish, shrimp, crab and mussels; and peach clafoutis with lavender honey, and house made toasted almond ice cream. The prix-fixe menu is $60 per person

Bouchon is also showcasing local wineries through the Vin de Carafe wine offerings which feature unique selections specially crafted for Bouchon one single barrel at a time by Napa Valley winemakers.Each new installment will feature a different vintner, including both a red and white offering. Vin de Carafe is available by the glass or en carafe for the table to enjoy and will be an ongoing addition to the restaurant's customary wine list. The first selections include the 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay from Jason Kesner and the 2007 Coombsville Cabernet from Andy Erickson and Annie Favia. Vin de Carafe selections are available by the glass for $8 or en carafe with prices ranging from $25-$50. For more information or to make a reservation, call 707-944-8037.

Care for a little alfresco dining? A pair of New Hampshire and Maine farms along with four award-winning chefs combine for one fabulous evening that includes a four-course meal and event held in the fields of Weston's Farm on the Saco River. August 29th is the date for the Second Annual "Fields on the Saco", an event that offers up the best of the season's harvest in a lavish feast for 100 under tents set up in the field. The menu will be accompanied by paired wines and Maine Cold River Vodka and will be presented by Chef Bryant Alden of the Chef's Market in North Conway, Executive Chef Brad Southwick of the White Mountain Hotel and Resort, Chef Jonathan Spak, co-owner of the Oxford House Inn, and Chef Jim Harrison of the Flatbread Company.

Hors d'oeuvres will include sweet corn fritters and scallops wrapped in pancetta with an Amaretto reduction. The meal begins with an appetizer of roulade of pork gratin with braised baby beets and butternut-apple coulis. The salad is baby spinach with grilled peaches and goat cheese with a maple pecan apple cider vinaigrette. The entree will be a mixed grill of tournedos of beef, lamb sausage, and chicken kebob with summer vegetables on a potato nest. The meal finished up with a blueberry polenta pound cake with honey and chevre semifreddo.

The event actually begins at 1 p.m. in the afternoon and includes far more than the dinner. There are guided farm tours, farm stores showcasing foods, flowers and local products. Cold River Vodka and complimentary wines will be offered with live music provided by Jazz Meisters and a "wet art" auction (wet art refers to paintings created on site). Winners of the Art-A-Ron-Dack Chair judging will be auctioned, offering bidders the chance to take home a unique chair and artwork combined. A Border Collie exhibition at Nerefield Farm on East Conway Road and a bonfire will round out the schedule. Each person attending the dinner will take home a beautiful Lead Wine Glass by Cristal d'Arques of France and a gift bag. Tickets are $125 each and the event will be limited to 100 people. Info on ordering tickets can be found on the Mount Washington Valley website.

Hopefully you aren't at your desk right now but if you are and you are in New York City over the Fourth of July weekend Spice Market would like to suggest their outdoor patio in the Meatpacking district of NYC as a place to grab a bit of weekend enjoyment. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has added new dishes including Peeky Toe Crab Dumplings and Steamed Red Snapper with Shiitake Mushrooms exude the types of bold spices and flavors he is famous for. For dessert the Thai Jewels with Crushed Coconut Ice offer that a refreshing and sweet treat for a hot summer night. This weekend Spice Market NYC is debuting carafes of the signature Ginger Margarita or Sangria cocktails. They also serve non-alcoholic drinks including the new Ginger-Lime Soda, Jasmine Lemonade and Cherry Yuzu Soda. Spice Market's Tasting Menu is $48 per person and includes samplings of 10 flavors in five courses.