GBBO announces new co-host Alison Hammond

In an Instagram post, the Great British Bake Off just confirmed who would be replacing Matt Lucas as co-host of the program along with Noel Fielding. Alison Hammond, the presenter of This Morning, will enter the tent for the upcoming season of the show. Hammond will be the first person of color to host or judge on the show since… read more

JBF announces 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists

Yesterday the James Beard Foundation announced its slate of semifinalists for the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards. Nominees will be announced on March 29, with the winners feted at a gala event in Chicago on June 5. (The cookbook award winners will be announced on June 3.) If you live in the US, chances are you within driving distance of… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 3 – Bread Week

It was the oft-dreaded bread week which is always accompanied by the baker's fear of the Paul Hollywood's finger poke. You know how he likes to poke his finger into loaves of under/over proofed bread. Find out who was poked and who wasn't below. We learned at the beginning of the episode that Rebs and Abdul were under the weather… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 2 – Biscuit Week

During Cake Week, we said fare thee well to Will. This week find out how the biscuit (cookie) crumbled for the bakers. Signature: 18 decorative macarons in 2 hours and they must look like something else. The makers made burgers (Carole and Sandro), watermelons (Janusz), daisies (Maxy), carrots (Maisam), yo-yos (Dawn) and several other designs. Dawn and Maxy received a… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 1 – Cake

Last week, Jenny introduced this season's bake-off contestants and this week we were able to see them in action kicking off Cake Week. This year's GBBO news will be tagged #gbbo2022 and the cookbook which will feature recipes from this season is available for preorder The Great British Bake Off: Favourite Flavours (US: .The Great British Baking Show: Favorite Flavors).… read more

Gourmet Traveller announces 2023 Restaurant Award finalists

After combing the country to determine the best places to eat, Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine recently announced the finalists for its 2023 Restaurant Awards in five different categories: Best New Restaurant, Best Wine Bar, Best New Talent, Restaurant Personality of the Year and Best Destination Dining. The winners will be revealed soon at a glamorous gala evening at Shell House in Sydney… read more

Meet this season’s new GBBO contestants

The Great British Bake Off is scheduled to be back on UK screens on September 13th! Netflix has also confirmed that season 13 (labeled as collection 10) will be airing in North America on the Friday after each new UK episode as they have done the last two years. To prepare for its return, we'd like to take a few… read more

Fine Cooking’s last issue

Even though I knew the end was coming (I wrote about Meredith Corp.'s acquisition of Fine Cooking in October 2020), it was still a sad day when I received a postcard in the mail a couple of weeks ago announcing that Fine Cooking Magazine was no longer going to be published. As the magazine continued to hit my mailbox for… read more

Chowhound shuttering after 25 years

Earlier this month, founder Jim Leff of the pioneering culinary website Chowhound announced that the site would go dark - meaning all content would vanish and links would go nowhere - as of March 21, although the deadline was later extended to March 28. The post marked the end of an era and came as Chowhound reached its 25th anniversary.… read more

The Great British Bake Off / Baking Show Recap – Episode 3 – Bread Week

Darcie, Jane and I are back again for another recap. A reminder that narrative not labeled as Darcie or Jane was written or compiled by Jenny. I don't think I have laughed as much during an episode as I did this week. My only regret is that I wish I had thought of taking a shot each time a baker… read more

World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021

After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, World's 50 Best has returned and released its list for 2021. Landing in the top spot was René Redzepi’s Noma. That restaurant will now be placed on the 'Best of the Best' list and will no longer be eligible to be named in the top 50 again. Despite efforts toward inclusivity and a… read more

The Great British Bake Off / Baking Show Recap – Episode 2 – Biscuit Week

Before we begin our recap of this week's episode, I have a few notes: a member mentioned it took her a long time to find last week's recap. To locate the recaps quickly, I have tagged all 2021 GBBO related posts with #gbbo2021 - so bookmark that link. You can also use "Search this Blog" from the blog page -… read more

Meet 2021’s Great British Bake Off Bakers

As we shared in last week's roundup (that post shares GBBO related cookbook news and more), Channel 4 has confirmed that The Great British Bake Off will return on 21 September. Netflix will stream the shows in the US three days after the UK airing. Accordingly, the first episode will land in the US on Friday, September 24th. Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Matt Lucas… read more

This week: Ottolenghi YouTube series, Fortnum & Mason Food Award winners, GBBO air date confirmed, upcoming books from GBBO stars and more

Mark your calendars! Channel 4 has confirmed that The Great British Bake Off will return on 21 September. This is the second series to be filmed with strict regulations to reduce the potential spread of COVID on the set. The good news this year is that there appears to be no shortage of flour or yeast.  Netflix will stream the… read more

Bryant Terry To Launch 4 Color Books Imprint With Ten Speed Press

Bryant Terry's presence in the vegan/vegetarian cookbook genre is well established. His popular and critically acclaimed cookbooks, including last year's, Vegetable Kingdom are EYB member favorites. He is a James Beard award-winning author, educator, chef, and activist. Now he can add publisher to his impressive resume. Photo Credit: PRH Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, has announced the launch… read more

My new obsession – June Xie and accepting that I am less than perfect

I am always on the cutting edge of all culinary news - not. You can ask me about Diana Henry's cookbook that is slated for 2022 and I'm there with the scoop - by the way it is titled North. But when it comes to YouTube, Instagram or other internet sensations well let's put it this way "I am still… read more

Pioneering chef Albert Roux has died

We have sad news to report: Albert Roux, a chef who helped revolutionize fine dining in London, has died at the age of 85. Along with his brother Michel, Albert founded Britain's first Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Gavroche. That pioneering restaurant helped launch the careers of many of the UK's best known chefs, including Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White. Food… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Weeks 9 and 10

Because Darcie posted about the hate mail Laura received after making to the final, we decided not to bombard everyone with another GBBO post and combined the final and semi-final recaps into one. Each of us will take turns with our own impression of the last two episodes after the rundown of challenges. Reminder: New shows for those watching on… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Week 8 – Desserts Week – a.k.a. Desserts the judges have resurrected from the dead

Reminder: New shows for those watching on Netflix. On December 4th, Netflix will air season 3 of the holiday shows. Hooray! Christmas in the tent. Season 3 contestants, if I’m correct, will showcase Briony Williams (Series 9), Tom Hetherington (Series 8), Yan Tsou (Series 8), and Terry Hartill (Series 9). Here are our bakers: Dave, 30, Armoured GuardHermine, 39, AccountantLaura,… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Week 7 – The 80’s and the Curse of the Melting Ice Cream Cake

New shows for those watching on Netflix. On December 4th, Netflix will air season 3 of the holiday shows. Hooray! Christmas in the tent. Season 3 contestants, if I'm correct, will showcase Briony Williams (Series 9), Tom Hetherington (Series 8), Yan Tsou (Series 8), and Terry Hartill (Series 9). Back to the recap. It is always this way: the day… read more

Saveur sold to venture equity group

Years ago, Saveur Magazine was at least partly responsible for saving my job. I had a cantankerous boss who defined the terms micromanager and passive aggressive, and he went through assistants at lightning speed. At first I thought I was destined to join the others in the unemployment line because in my first week of work I made a mistake… read more

Good Eats Halloween Special airs next week

October keeps getting better! Not only is it Cookbooktober, the GBBO back on television, and we're getting a special Halloween-themed Good Eats episode next week. Titled "The House That Dripped Chocolate," the episode is filmed entirely in black and white and features creepy camera angles, creaking cupboards, and other effects "meant to evoke classic horror films while telling the tale… read more

Table for one

Once upon a time, sitting at a table for one might have drawn looks of pity from diners or wait staff, but after 2020, no one will give it a second thought for at least a generation. In fact, a few restaurants are actually going out of their way to accommodate solo dining, none more so that Ett, an Atlanta,… read more

An iconic cookbook store needs your help

It's no secret that we love independent cookbook stores - not only because they offer a wide selection of our favorite books, but also because they render so many great services. Whether it is author talks, cooking classes, or just insightful recommendations from knowledgeable staff, cookbook stores provide amazing benefits to food lovers. It is also no secret that cookbook… read more

Praise the baking gods, GBBO is back!

On August 10th I was feeling down and wrote Perspective is everything – an open letter to the Great British Bake Off which reflected my deepest desires for GBBO to bring some light into our crazy, mixed-up lives. My friend Tanya who was on the Great American Baking Show Holiday Edition in 2019 posted the above on Instagram today and… read more
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