Participating in The Big Waste on Food Network was as eye opening for me as it was to watch it. I consider myself fairly well-informed in matters of buying, selling or, most simply, eating what I buy for my restaurants and home. In short, I didn’t think there would be much to learn doing this show. Or at least that there wouldn’t be much I hadn’t already seen. I was wrong. There were small amounts of precious, expensive things wasted, like chocolate, espresso and prosciutto. There were the stunning amounts of vegetables like corn, in bulk quantity, that I was surprised to learn would never “make the cut” and have a chance to even be bought.
Here are a few things we can all think about when shopping and cooking that can help reduce the amount of food waste:
1. Don’t pick through an entire pile of tomatoes to find the biggest, most perfect one. Settle for a few of the nice, small ones on top. Moving the pile around and shifting the fruit can bruise them and increase the likelihood than people will leave those other bruised fruits behind. Same goes for peaches.
Five more tips to reduce the amount of food waste »
- Your Caption Here
The playing field is once again even on Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off, with only three competitors remaining on both Rachael Ray’s and Guy Fieri’s famous teams. In this Sunday’s episode, the remaining six finalists will not compete together as Team Rachael versus Team Guy but individually, one-on-one.
Who better to evaluate this head-to-head battle than Chefs Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli and Marcus Samuelsson, who have judged countless Chopped competitions. Here these all-star chefs look on curiously as the Cook-Off finalists race against the clock to execute plates that are prepared to impress. Will Judges Scott, Alex and Marcus be pleased with the contestants’ efforts or will the dishes leave more to be desired?
Before you tune in this Sunday at 9pm/8c to watch the action unfold, we’re challenging you, Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off fans, to write your best captions (tastefully appropriate, please) for this moment in the comments below.
Every Sunday, two of Food Network’s most popular personalities, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri, go head-to-head in Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off. Divided into Team Rachael and Team Guy, the celebrity contestants face intense weekly challenges that have them racing against the clock to prepare elaborate meals for up to 150 guests. The winning and losing teams are chosen by guest diners and after six episodes, the last celebrity standing will win a cash donation to his or her favorite charity.
Every week, FN Dish brings you exclusive exit interviews with the latest Celebrity Cook-Off exile to get the boot.
This week, Alyssa Campanella, winner of the 2011 Miss USA Pageant said goodbye.
Find out what Alyssa had to say »
Did you know about 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is never eaten? For every American, 200 pounds of perfectly edible food ends up in the trash each year — that’s enough waste to fill a football stadium every single day, according to Food Network’s The Big Waste, a food-waste special, which aired Sunday night.
The show brought to light just how much food America’s convenience stores, restaurants and supermarkets throw out every year: about 27 million tons. Chefs Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschelli were given 48 hours to create a multi-course gourmet banquet using only food destined for the trash heap.
Scouring grocery aisles, produce farms, orchard lines and garbage piles on the streets of New York City, the chefs were astounded at the things people discarded.
They weren’t the only ones shocked. The show created quite a buzz on Twitter and Facebook when we asked fans “Tell us: What is one thing you will do to cut down on food waste?”
The reaction from fans on Facebook and Twitter »
- Bobby is putting his mother Paula Deen's recipes on a diet.
Staying slim with celebrated Southern chef Paula Deen in the kitchen? It ain’t easy, y’all. But that’s what Paula’s son Bobby has managed to do. His secret? Remaking his mama’s most crave-worthy recipes so they’re lighter, leaner and still just as delicious.
In Bobby’s new show, Not My Mama’s Meals, he slims down Paula’s most indulgent dishes to match his lifestyle. Tonight at 9pm ET on Cooking Channel, Bobby remakes Paula’s famous Pimento Cheese spread into a delicious grilled cheese sandwich, that’s just a little lighter. But you’re still gonna love it…
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Two of Food Network’s most popular personalities, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri, are going head-to-head in a new series, Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off. Both Rachael and Guy serve as coaches and mentors to eight multi-talented celebrities, ranging from an Olympic gold medalist to Grammy-winning artists to a Golden Globe-nominated actor — contestants who are all passionate about food and cooking.
Food Network recently caught up with Guy to talk about the show and Team Guy on Twitter and Facebook.
@Rbrittenham: What are you going to do to make your team stand out? What will set you apart?
GF: I want them to be individually creative and do their best.
@jcaonguyen: Which celebrity had no cooking experience at all prior to being on the show?
GF: All had some sort of experience, but I can’t give away insider info. You’ll be surprised just how strong they really are.
More from Facebook and Twitter »
The Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off is heating up between Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri’s famous contestants. With just one week of the challenge under their belts, the seven remaining finalists have realized that this competition is anything but a cakewalk and that they’ll need to step up their games to win $50,000 for the charity of their choice. This week, the celebrities show off their skills in one of area of the kitchen that comes naturally to few: baking.
In this behind-the-scenes shot of Sunday’s episode, music superstar Joey Fatone takes a quick break from preparing his sweet surprise to show his team leader a little friendly affection. Is Joey thanking Guy for giving him the secret to baking success? Will Guy’s dream team have what it takes to pull off a second win over Team Rachael, currently down one member?
Before you tune in this Sunday at 9pm/8c to find out which celebrity goes home next, we’re challenging you, Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off fans, to write your best captions (tastefully appropriate, please) for this moment in the comments below.
Back in August 2011, FN Dish announced that Bobby Flay would be joining season three of Worst Cooks in America, battling it out against seasoned undefeated champ Anne Burrell. Now you can officially mark your calendars — starting Sunday, Feb. 12 at 9pm/8c, Worst Cooks returns with Anne leading one team and Bobby another. The country’s most hopeless cooks will compete for a $25,000 prize, which will be awarded to the winning contestant who achieves the most progress and best performance, in addition to bragging rights and victory for his or her culinary mentor.
In the season premiere, the 16 “recruits,” each nominated by family and friends for their atrocious cooking skills, arrive at Base Camp and attempt to impress Anne and Bobby with their signature dishes. Each week, the contestant with the least successful dish on each team will be sent home, while the remaining competitors will cook on.
Tune in: Sunday, February 12 at 9 pm Eastern/8 pm Central
Which team will you be rooting for? »
There is little doubt among the judges that Chef Zakarian (or Iron Chef Zakarian, as he should now rightfully be called) will make a mighty fine addition to the roster in Kitchen Stadium. Throughout the competition, he offered not only consistently the best technique on the show, but also some of the tastiest food placed before us and, of course, Alton Brown.
He was not alone, however. If my calculations are correct, I believe that I worked my way through nearly 100 dishes during the series and, while we were there to judge and offer criticism of their dishes, the truth is that the majority of what the chefs offered up would have received a definite thumbs up in any restaurant.
There were a few clunkers, of course, but I will get to that later. For the moment, let me just share with you the dishes I consider the very best of this season of The Next Iron Chef.
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The fourth season of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs has come to a close and Geoffrey Zakarian has been crowned the prize so many would-be chefs covet: joining the ranks of Iron Chefs Marc Forgione, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, Cat Cora, Jose Garces and Michael Symon.
While Geoffrey has won the final battle, we can’t forget his worthy and very talented opponent, Elizabeth Falkner, who fought to the very end. Each week, she’s proven herself more than a pastry chef; in fact, she can do it all. However, we still had to say goodbye to her.
FN Dish: You mentioned in this last challenge that you’ve really stayed away from the pastry side and haven’t called upon it until the finale. Why?
EF: I wanted to show people that I cook everything and actually have been doing so from the beginning of my career. I focused on pastry for the first chunk of years because I love the artistic side to it and the discipline. It helped me become a better savory chef. I love all kinds of food, cooking and learning about it all.
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