Ashes to Ashes, Chips to Dust
Fredric J. Baur, creator of the iconic Pringles can has died at age 89. Per his request, "Baur's children buried him in one of the cans by placing part of his cremated remains in a Pringles container in his grave."
Silverton, Mozza, and More
The Financial Times tracks the career of Los Angeles chef and baker Nancy Silverton and her Mozza venture with Mario Batali. The article hints at a possible take-out only outlet of the popular pizzeria, and Silverton's designs on opening more Mozzas in London and Santa Monica.
Man of Taste
The New Yorker profiles chef Grant Achatz, whose sense of taste has been ravaged by tongue cancer and his treatment regimen. More: A slideshow of Achatz's culinary creations.
Obit: David W. Eyre
David W. Eyre, journalist, editor, and creator of the legendary (and beloved) David Eyre's Pancake (more here as well), has died at age 95. Our sympathies go out to his family.
Obit: Ernesto Illy
Ernesto Illy, chairman of Illycaffè for more than 40 years, has died at age 82.
Batali on Batali
Mario reflects on celebrity chefdom.
Obit: Jean-Claude Vrinat
Jean-Claude Vrinat, owner of the legendary Paris restaurant Taillevent has died at age 71.Obit: Ed LaDou
Ed LaDou, the pioneer of the gourmet California pizza revolution, has died at 52. LaDou was the first Pizza Chef at Wolfgang Puck's Spago and was responsible for innovations in pizza toppings like duck, barbecued chicken, and shrimp.
"Rock Star of Ramen"
The Los Angeles Times visits with Rickmond Wong, aka the Rameniac. See also: Wong's picks for Southern Californian ramen.
Dining with Ducasse
The master chef enjoys the occasional chicken McNugget: "Yes, they can be nice, although, obviously, I don’t have them a lot."
Morphine and Truffles
Chef Fergus Henderson shares the story of brain surgery to treat his Parkinson's disease. A special delivery of truffle risotto lifted his spirits: "Yes, through a morphine haze, one can still feel that musk of white truffle very easily. I highly recommend it to anyone who is lying on a hospital bed."
Obit: Karen Hess
Culinary historian Karen Hess has died at age 88.
Surreality of Celebrity Chefdom
Culinary it boy David Chang gets the New York Times "Publc Lives" treatment, self-deprecates about his star status, drops hints of a Las Vegas Momofuku, and slams restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow: "Jeffrey Chodorow is the anti-Christ."
"Organic Food's First Lady"
The Guardian profiles Alice Waters and the rise of "eco-gastronomy."
Buford on Ramsay
In the New Yorker, Bill Buford tracks the rise of Gordon Ramsay, touches his calves, and follows the chef's New York debut: "'When I came here,' Ramsay told me, 'I expected to get kicked in the nuts. I have been. I have also been knocked down.'"
Obit: Ernest Gallo
Winemaker Ernest Gallo, co-founder of the world's largest winery, has died at age 97.
Spice Whisperer
Lives: Jing Tio, "spice whisperer."
Bourdain: Daddy?
Lives: Bad boy chef Anthony Bourdain to spawn a baby girl in April: "Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but I always loved the idea of raising a little wild child." Via cbb.
Obit: Momofuku Ando
Obit: Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles, has died at age 96.
Obit: Henry M. Beachell
Obit: Henry M. Beachell, a plant breeder who crossed rice plants to create what remains one of the highest-yielding rice varieties, has died at 100.
Love on the Farm
Lives: "Sometimes he would put his gargantuan head on my shoulder and drool great globs on my shirt, or lower his nose nearly to the ground so that I could scratch his massive head. His sweet spot is right on the top of it, and a few scratches calm him instantly. I never imagined that I could love a steer.
Obit: Rose Mattus
Obit: Rose Mattus, who co-founded Häagen-Dazs with her husband, Reuben, has died at age 90.
Jim Leff, Alpha Dog
Lives: The New York Times catches up with Jim Leff, Arepa Lady acolyte and founder of chowhound.com.
Hated It
Lives: Restaurateur Danny Meyer "can't stand sweet potatoes, blue-cheese dressing, Kumamoto oysters, and hazelnut as a flavor in anything" (also, fyi, "hospitality is a hug"). Earlier: Actor Richard Dreyfuss hates rice pudding.
Nigella Shops
Lives: The New Yorker goes shopping with Nigella Lawson: "'Everything is so big in America!' she said. 'It makes Britain look like toytown.'"
Obit: R. W. "Johnny" Apple Jr.
Obit: Legendary political reporter and food and travel writer R. W. "Johnny" Apple Jr. has died at the age of 71.
Bouley's Betrothal
Lives: For his recent wedding in the Loire Valley, chef David Bouley flew in a staff of more than 20, including a maitre d', chefs from New
York and Barcelona, along with heart of palm express-shipped from a
favorite producer in Hawaii (slideshow).
Ice Cream Hater
Lives: Author Colson Whitehead on the world of the ice cream hater: "Say what you will about ice cream haters -- pity us, condemn us, take us off your guest list -- but we don’t need anyone’s validation. We are content in ourselves, and at the feast of life, we happily dine alone."
On Food Writing With One Arm
Lives: J.J. Goode on the challenges of making a career as a food writer when you have only one arm: "For every glass I accidentally knock over, for every fork I clumsily drop, I receive from my waiter an apology so earnest, so heart-wrenching, you'd think he had just given a switchblade to an infant and watched the little guy cut himself."
A Day in the Life
Lives: An hour-by-hour look at a day in the life of Lesley Covitz, sous-chef at New York's Il Buco.
Bourdain on Bourdain
Lives: Anthony Bourdain on gastro-pubs, Billy Joel, and celebrity chefdom: "The plan? Nothing was ever in the plan. Even now, I still think, this is all going to come crashing down; I'm always slightly staggered that I'm actually getting away with this."
Mario Hearts Rachael
Lives: Mario Batali hearts Rachael Ray, who has been named to the Time 100 ("The People Who Shape Our World"): "Dinner at her house with my kids is tastier than I could have imagined." Via gothamist.
Carnal Knowledge
Lives: In the New Yorker, Mario Batali biographer Bill Buford recounts his apprenticeship with famed Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini (pictured at right). Plus: A Q&A with the author.
Who Would Play Batali?
Lives: In a huge profile in Time magazine, Mario Francesco (née "Francis") Batali says that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is "the only one of size" who could play him in a film.
World's Richest Organic Grocer
Lives: Meet John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods and the "world's richest organic grocer."
O’Neil Broyard
Obit: O’Neil Broyard, owner of New Orleans' legendary Saturn Bar (and recently profiled on this site by oral historian Amy Evans), passed away on December 22, 2005. A memorial is planned for Saturday, January 28, at the Saturn Bar. For more details, visit the Southern Foodways Alliance.
Garlic and Memory
Lives: Author Gary Shteyngart reflects on garlic and his gastronomical awakening.
Mario's Fridge
Lives: Inside Mario Batali's refrigerator: "I'm not sure what ground flaxseed is doing in the fridge, but I think I will throw it out."
Queen of the Food Bloggers
Lives: In the Observer Food Monthly, Jay Rayner on Pim Techamuanvivit, "queen of the food bloggers."
Lost Flavors
Lives: In the Houston Chronicle, restaurant critic Alison Cook mourns the lost flavors of New Orleans.
David Shaw
Obit: Reporter, media critic, and food and wine writer David Shaw has died at age 62. He wrote the "Matters of Taste" column in the Los Angeles Times food section (more).
TV Dinner
Obit: Gerry Thomas, the man who invented the TV dinner, dies at age 83. Though he took pride in creating the concept, he apparently did not dine on his creation. Of her late husband, Mr. Thomas' wife told the BBC: "He was a gourmet cook. He never ate the TV dinners."
Chef Gabrielle Hamilton on Her Mentor
Lives: Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune, remembers her mentor, Misty Callies.
Salt Collector
Lives: Janet Cam, collector of salt.
Gastronomical Voyeurism
Lives: Feed your appetite for gastronomical voyeurism with a peek inside the kitchens of celebrity chefs (at right, Mario Batali's white carrera marble counter).
From CIA to CIA
Lives: Trained at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), Fred DeFilippo now cooks for the "other CIA" (Central Intelligence Agency): "No news is good news around here. I look for empty plates, happy faces."
Frank Perdue Dies
Obit: Chicken hawker Frank Perdue dies at 85.
French Women Live Large
Lives: French women don't get fat, but they do live in phat West Village apartments.
Mammoth Lobster
Lives: Bubba, a mammoth 22-pound lobster caught near Nantucket, Massachusetts, and shipped to a Pittsburgh fish market, may be more than 100 years old. "He could have survived two world wars and Prohibition," reports CNN. "He also could have been dinner." Via bb.
Soup Nazi
Lives: Seinfeld Soup Nazi has ambitions for a chain of soup shops.
Keira Cannon, Baker
Lives: Keira Cannon, chief baker at just opened Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Inspirations: French butter, Steven Seagal, and salt from the marshes of Brittany.
Birth of a Food Writer
Lives: "Men buy cars, boats, and watches to make up for their shortcomings; some even purchase stoves. Food writer David Leite looks back on the path that led him to 15,000 BTUs."
Dreyfuss and Rice Pudding
Lives: Actor Richard Dreyfuss hates rice pudding: "We didn't eat it a lot when I was a child, but it was enough for me to abhor it. The whole idea of it gets me very angry."
The Count & I
Lives: "She was just out of college, with a vague fantasy about one day becoming a chef. Suddenly, this young American was living in a grand chateau, preparing just-killed duck for a bunch of French aristocrats."
Butcher to the Stars
Lives: Hugo Desnoyer, "butcher to the stars."
Sex for Salami
Lives: Ex-pornographer Al Goldstein "trades sex for salami," takes $10-an-hour job at 2nd Avenue Deli. Via curbed.
Obit: Julia Child
Obit: Julia Child, pioneering cookbook author and television chef, dies at age 91. See also: Julie on Julia.
Domenico DeMarco
Lives: Pizza philosophy from Domenico DeMarco, owner of famed Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, Brooklyn: "I do this as an art. I don't look to make big money. If somebody comes over here and offers me a price for the store, there's no price. There's no money in the world they could pay me for it. I'm very proud of what I do."
Obit.
Obit.: Oved Shifriss, geneticist and plant breeder who created the Big Boy tomato, dies at 89. The disease-resistant tomato he developed "revolutionized home gardening." Also: "Frugal Gourmet" Jeff Smith dies at 65.
"Confessions of a Hired Belly."
Nothing elicits mock pity at cocktail parties faster than when I complain, “Food writing is a really hard job.” "Confessions of a Hired Belly."
Cooking with Christopher Walken
Cooking with Christopher Walken. [via list]
Obit: Joel Dean
Obit: Joel Dean, co-founder of Dean & DeLuca, dies at 73.
"Terrified" Thomas Keller
Lives: A "terrified" Thomas Keller.
Akiko's Ramen
Akiko's Ramen, or My Own Private Tampopo.
Expounding on Offal
If you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing. Fergus Henderson expounds on offal.
Q&A with Ari Weinzweig
Lives: Q&A with Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s.
Remembering Alan Davidson
Lives: Remembering Alan Davidson.
Competitive Pizza
Competing for the U.S. Pizza Team.
The Runaway Chef
Mr. Poutine
Lives: Goodbye, Mr. Poutine.
