René Redzepi is closing Noma

Award-winning restaurant Noma, which sat atop the list of World's 50 Best five times since its debut nearly 20 years ago, is slated to close at the end of 2024, according to a statement posted on the restaurant's website. But the restaurant, its pioneering owner, and unique team of fermenting researchers and avantgarde chefs, are not disappearing altogether. Rather, they… read more

Celebrity chefs take branding to the next level

Celebrity chefs and lifestyle gurus like Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray have created vast empires of branded products that include cookware and food products sold at various retailers ranging from K-Mart to Williams-Sonoma. More recently, this concept has expanded to include entire stores dedicated to a single chef's curated product selection. This allows these celebrities to become a presence not… read more

Bestselling Canadian cookbook author Jean Paré dies at 95

One of Canada's most prolific and beloved cookbook authors, Jean Paré, passed away in Edmonton, Alberta this week at the age of 95. Beginning in 1981 with the publication of 150 Delicious Squares (Company's Coming) through 2018, when she co-authored Instant One-Pot Cooking (New Original), Paré wrote 200 cookbooks. Paré ran the three-generation publishing business called Company's Coming. "My grandma… read more

Julie Powell, of Julie & Julia fame, dies at 49

We have just learned that Julie Powell, whose blog about her quest to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, died on October 26 at age 49. Powell's blog attracted the attention of NYT reporter and Food52 founder Amanda Hesser, who wrote about Powell's efforts. Powell wrote a book about her experience,… read more

Cookbook author Sheila Brass of The Brass Sisters has died

Today is a day of mourning as the world copes with the loss of one of its most iconic individuals, Queen Elizabeth II, England's longest-ruling monarch. Food & Wine published a feature earlier this year about how the Queen affected dining habits the world over. The term 'end of an era' is often overused, but it certainly applies here. Whether… read more

Andrea Nguyen discusses the cookbook business

Adam Roberts, one of the first breakout food bloggers, launched a new podcast earlier this year called The Amateur Gourmet Podcast (named after his blog and taking a bit of a turn from his previous podcast called Lunch Therapy). Several episodes feature the topic Eat Your Books Members love best: cookbooks, including the most recent episode, in which Roberts interviews… read more

Pioneering British chef Alastair Little has died

British chef Alastair Little, known as the ‘godfather' of modern British cooking, has died at the age of 72. Little's restaurant Soho, which opened in London's Soho neighborhood in the 1980s, was ahead of its time, with an open kitchen and an emphasis on seasonal, local ingredients. The chef influenced generations of other industry professionals including Jamie Oliver, who posted… read more

The foods that inspired chefs

Many chefs tell stories about the foods that led them to become interested in a culinary career. Sometimes it involves cooking with their mother or grandmother, while other times the inspiration came from outside the home. CNN recently profiled four chefs - two famous and two relative newcomers - about the foods that made them embark on their culinary journey.… read more

An evening with Yotam Ottolenghi

During his US tour Yotam Ottolenghi came to Minneapolis, and since it was so close to me and I am a huge fan of his cookbooks, I booked a ticket to listen to his talk. Although I had hoped to go in person, a sore throat (that is probably just allergies although I played it safe) made me switch to… read more

JBF Awards: Chef and Restaurant nominees; Lifetime Achievement; Humanitarian of the Year and Leadership

Today the James Beard Foundation announced its nominees for the 2022 Restaurant and Chef awards. These awards honor culinary talent across the United States, with nominations in each of twelve regions. The winners of the awards in all categories will be announced during a ceremony (and live-tweeted) on June 13, 2022, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The chefs nominated… read more

HBO series about Julia Child sets premiere date

It has been nearly two years since we first announced that HBO was producing a series based on the life of Julia Child. After this lengthy wait, we finally have a premiere date and photo stills from the show. People Magazine published several exclusive photos from the eight-episode program and provided additional details. HBO Max's new series, Julia | CREDIT:… read more

Ottolenghi says he gets ‘the rowdiest crowds’ in Australia

Update to the post: Ottolenghi announced on 11 January that he had to cancel this tour. If you had tickets booked, you will be advised of new dates as they are announced. Ahead of Yotam Ottolenghi's Australian tour in support of his 2020 book Ottolenghi Flavour, the renowned chef and bestselling author sat down with The Guardian to discuss the… read more

“Queen of Cakes” Sylvia Weinstock has died

Known as a luxury cake baker who created wedding cakes for the rich and famous, Sylvia Weinstock has died aged 91 according to People Magazine. Weinstock did not begin baking professionally until she was 50 years old, following a successful battle against breast cancer. She started with a small business that blossomed into a world famous venture. Unlike many wedding… read more

A legendary pastry chef returns to the Big Apple

Pastry chef Claudia Fleming is an icon in the baking world. Her 2001 cookbook The Last Course became such a sought-after item that it was reissued in 2019. Now the vaunted chef has returned to the limelight with a role in restaurateur Danny Meyer's empire, serving as Executive Pastry Director for Union Square Hospitality Group, a position she assumed at… read more

Mary Berry says she is never too old to learn

Dame Mary Berry has earned the right to retire from public life if she wants to, but the octogenarian is still going strong, hosting a new series 'Love to Cook' that premiered yesterday on BBC Two. In the first episode, Mary shows us that in addition to cooking, she loves to get in the garden and grow her own produce.… read more

Meet Dame Mary Berry

In a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, cookbook author and television host Mary Berry was made a Dame Commander, receiving the honor "for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity work." Prince Charles presented Mary with the award. Not only is Mary Berry beloved around the world by fans of her cookbooks and cookery shows, she is also a… 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

Gourmet Traveller 2022 Restaurant Awards finalists announced

Like many other restaurant awards, the Gourmet Traveller awards went on hiatus during the pandemic, but they have now returned in full force. Well, almost full force, as the planned awards dinner has been cancelled and instead the winners will be announced online on Sunday, 24 October. The announcement precedes Gourmet Traveller's November Celebration Special print issue, which will highlight… read more

Alton Brown will be back on tour

Alton Brown's legion of dedicated fans received good news this week: Alton is launching another live North American tour titled Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats which runs from October 13th through April 10th of 2022. What's more, he is looking for help on his tour, and you can take a quiz to be entered into the running to "help"… read more

Jamie Oliver’s new show is all about our favorite subject

This is exciting news - we just learned about a new TV competition brought to us by Jamie Oliver Productions and Plum Pictures that aims to "find the next big name in cookery". The new program, which is open to anyone from home cooks to chefs, offers a book deal with Penguin Random House as the main prize. Of course… read more

Michel Roux Jr’s new travel program showcases French country cooking

The past couple of years have been rough on Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr. He lost both his father Albert Roux (early this year) and his uncle Michel (in 2020), in addition to the pandemic wreaking havoc on the restaurant industry. Instead of dwelling on those events, the chef is instead focusing on the positives, such as a new grandson… read more

A tart and a tale

As I doom-scrolled through Twitter today, a tweet about Mayukh Sen's recent column for The New Yorker caught my eye, and I'm glad I clicked through. In the article, Sen shares a recipe for a late-summer tart by the indomitable Madeleine Kamman, but the piece is much more than just a short blurb and a recipe. Sen has a gift… read more

The cookbook that couldn’t find a home

Hundreds of EYB Members own Gina DePalma's 2007 book Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, which enjoys a five-star rating. What you might not know is that DePalma penned a follow-up travelogue/cookbook that explored the sweets of every Italian region. That's because DePalma died of cancer at age 49, before the book could be published. With a working title… read more

The many faces of Dorie (and cookbook covers)

Recently, Dorie Greenspan posted photos of her adorable grandbaby, Gemma on Instagram. This week, in the New York Times she shared a recipe for Strawberry baby cakes. (We will have this recipe indexed soon.) She made these lovely little bites for Gemma's first birthday. Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Sue Li. Prop stylist: Nicole Louie I… read more

Nach Waxman of NYC’s Kitchen Arts & Letters has died

One of the best known bookstores dedicated to cookbooks and other food-related tomes has just lost its founding father. We learned that Nach Waxman, who started Kitchen Arts & Letters in New York's Upper East Side in 1983, died suddenly yesterday. Before he became the “patron saint of food writers,” Waxman worked as an editor at Macmillan, Harper & Row,… read more
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