Celebrity Chefs

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The sweet life of James Martin

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James Martin Desserts

James Martin’s culinary career started very early — by 12 years old, he’d cooked for the Queen Mother. (Well, it helps that his dad catered for Castle Howard.)

He started training when he was 16, training at Scarborough before Antony Worrall Thompson became his mentor. The two then traveled around France, before opening the Hotel and Bistro du Vin in Winchester. He was 22. Pressure was high. Did he buckle? Never. In fact, he changed the menu every day.

He’s become a well known TV Chef, starring in popular shows like Delicious! and Jamies Martin Sweet. Now, he’s part of Saturday Kitchen which airs on BBC.

Known for his desserts, he published James Martin – Desserts in Spring 2007. Here he shares his recipe for spun sugar:

1. Place 125g/4½oz caster sugar in a pan
2. Pour in just enough cold water to cover.
3. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has turned light caramel in colour.
4. Using a fork, carefully pull out the sugar threads from the pan and shape over the back of a ladle or large spoon.
5. When hardened, gently ease off into ball shapes. Repeat with the remaining caramel.

Originally posted on November 9, 2007 @ 11:05 pm

Criticism for TV chefs

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Some people say that TV chefs are like greasy pizza: all flashy marketing and bad food.

Their criticism bemoans the end of good cooking, when quieter though slightly snobbier culinary masters prefered to speak through their dishes.

Of course, there are chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsay who are excellent chefs and earned the right to dispense cooking advice to others. But what do you say about Rachael Ray or Paula Deen, who have no formal training and restaurant experience? Or the tendency of today’s TV shows to emphasize performance rather than kitchen knowhow? (Classic example: Iron Chef.) Comments welcome!

Originally posted on December 28, 2007 @ 2:28 am

Colicchio signs up with Sara Lee

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Tom COlicchio

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio has signed up with food empire Sara Lee Food & Beverage. Colicchio will lend his culinary skills to help the public create delicious sandwiches at home — and we don’t mean peanut butter and jelly.

Mr Colicchio said: “With the range of Sara Lee products, great-quality meats, cheeses, breads and condiments are at your fingertips to help you create a delicious and quick meal with just a few added ingredients.”

Colicchio will also give tips and a regular report on the “State of the Sandwich”.

Originally posted on November 8, 2007 @ 11:13 am

Female chefs face discrimination?

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It’s funny: while women are traditionally seen queen of the kitchen, the professional culinary world tends to be very discriminating of female chefs.

Daniel Rogov, wine and restaurant critic says: “Many men who encourage or ‘allow’ women to enter the kitchen often do so only at an entry level and rarely allow them to rise to that point where they will become serious competition for themselves.”

He adds that since 17th century America, the belief that women can only be chefs in taverns and corner restaurants, while the more exclusive places were ruled by men. In England, women handled the kitchens of Princes, Dukes and Earls, while men handled the meals of the King and Queen. “Not a single woman has ever been admitted into the ranks of the Royal Society of Chefs,” he says.

The belief is that women lack the management skills to handle the chaos of a large kitchen, even if in equally creative and pressure-packed industries like publishing and TV, they consistently lord over staffs much larger than the typical restaurant crew.

Originally posted on November 29, 2007 @ 11:28 pm

Taste Festival

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There’s a new festival to be held in Edinburgh this summer. It is called the Taste festival and will be at the Meadows from June 7 to June10. The event is jointly owned by Channel 4 and Brand events, a London based company.

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With a festival called Taste, you naturally have to have great tasting food and interesting guest presentors. Channel 4 has asked Gordon Ramsey and Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall to go and promote their TV shows, the F-Word and River cottage respectively. The chefs are expected to hold a live cooking demo and have a question and answer section as well.

The 15 best restaurants from Edinburgh have been invited to be present and have their own pitches. It’s a great way to attract more people to their restaurants and to Edinburgh. As of this time, Skipper’s, Restaurant Martin Wishart, and Duck’s at Le Marche Noir have signed up to take part.

A set fee will be charged of anyone attending the festival. This is a day pass that will allow them to sample everything at the festival – as much as they like. The top chefs will be preparing everything in front of them, showing off their culinary skills.

After Edinburgh, similar festivals are scheduled to be held in Dublin, Bath, Birmingham and London. There has been no details on these festivals at this time.

Originally posted on February 20, 2007 @ 12:15 pm