Celebrity Chefs

Chasing Amy: Overcooked Reality and the Decline of Western Civility

Amy's Baking Company: Overcooked Reality and the Decline of Western Civility

Editor's note: After the insanity of the last two weeks, we decided that the Amy's Baking Company saga desperately needed some context. New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld graciously complied. A tall, thin man with long, gray hair and a pair of saggy but expensive jeans shakes the handles of tw ... More >>

Amy's Baking Company Shit Show Continues: Now With Grand Re-Opening Press Release

Seemingly moments after most of us were making Amy Bouzaglo's cat impersonation ("Meow, meow, meow -- meow, meow!"), uttered on last Friday's season finale of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, the ringtone on our cell phones, the Internet decided to blow up, bonkers-style. See also: - Meet Amy's ... More >>

Perk Eatery and Barrio Cafe Scheduled for Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in May

In January, spiky-haired chef Guy Fieri spent time with six Valley restaurants for the 14th season of his popular Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. See also: - Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale Is the Season Finale of Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay, Natch - Perk Eatery's Paul ... More >>

Chris Bianco on Jamie Oliver, the Local Chefs He Most Admires, and What Makes an Awesome Pizza Awesome

Chris Bianco Pizzeria Bianco, Bar Bianco 623 E. Adams Street, Phoenix, 602-258-8300; 609 E. Adams St., 602-528-3699 Pizzeria Bianco/ Trattoria Bianco 4743 N. 20th Street (Town & Country), Phoenix, 602-368-3273 Pane Bianco 4404 N.Central Avenue, Phoenix, 602-234-2100, pizzeriabianco.com See also: -- ... More >>

Vincent Guerithault on Who He's Cooked For and Where He Gets His Macarons

Vincent Guerithault Vincent on Camelback, Vincent's Market Bistro 3930 East Camelback Road 602-224-0225, www.vincentsoncamelback.com See also: -- Taste Maker #53: Vincent Guerithault -- James Beard Award-Winning Celebrity Chef Teams Up with Phoenix's Justin Beckett for Special Dinner (Spoiler Ale ... More >>

Jacques Qualin of J&G Steakhouse on Head Cheese, Being an Apprentice, and Daniel Boulud

Jacques Qualin J&G Steakhouse The Phoenician Resort 6000 East Camelback Road, Scottsdale 480-214-8000, jgsteakhousescottsdale.com See also: -- Matt Pool on Chris Bianco, Andreoli Italian Grocer, and Phoenix as a Food Town -- Chef Kevin Binkley a Finalist for James Beard Award This is part one of ... More >>

New Television Series Filming Three Valley Restaurants for Taco Wars (Oh, Canada!)

With all the television love Valley restaurants have been receiving lately, you can hardly get to a table without hitting your head on a boom mic. See also: - Set Your DVR to Stun: Kitchen Nightmares Candidate Amy's Baking Company Scheduled to Be on Check Please! Arizona - Guy Fieri Spends Time Wi ... More >>

Perk Eatery's Pauline Martinez On What It's Like to Be on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

If the Valley restaurant scene seemed "off the chain" this week, blame it on restaurateur and Food Network host Guy Fieri. The spiky-haired chef was in town quietly filming six Valley restaurants for the 14th season of his popular show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. See also: Guy Fieri Spends Time W ... More >>

Hasbro Announces Gender Neutral Easy-Bake Ovens Are On Their Way

Earlier this week we talked about McKenna Pope, a 13-year-old girl who launched an online petition for Hasbro to market their Easy-Bake Oven in a more gender neutral manner so it would appeal to her younger brother, Gavyn Boscio. Now Hasbro has addressed those concerns directly, inviting the family ... More >>

Epic Chef: A Cooking Competition Meets a Drinking Game

The first episode of Epic Chef, the brain child of extreme cooking show Epic Meal Time, hit the internet last week. If you're already familiar with the work of Epic Meal Time and the Sauce Boss, then nothing here should be surprising besides the amount of verbal abuse the team seems ready to dole ou ... More >>

Screaming, Expletives, and, Eventually, Police: All in the First Night of Kitchen Nightmares Taping at Amy's Baking Company

Yelpers went nuts over the weekend -- and guess who was the topic? Amy Bouzaglo of Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, who apparently cooked up a storm on Saturday. In fact, I reached out to one diner who was at Saturday night's taping of Kitchen Nightmares at Amy's. He got a very real dose of real ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain Has Some Corrections For The Reissue of Kitchen Confidential

Ahead of the reissue of Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, publisher Ecco has released a series of videos of Bourdain describing what a difference a decade makes. See Also: --Watch This: David Chang and Anthony Bourdain's New Show 'Mind of A Chef' --Chef Josh Hebert Dishes on Eric Ripert, Anthony Bo ... More >>

Aaron May Dishes About Why He Pisses People Off and Describes His Last Supper (You'll Love the Dessert)

This is part two of my interview with Aaron May, chef-partner of Praying Monk, Over Easy, The Lodge, Mabel's on Main and May's Counter in Tucson. If you missed part one, where May talks about whether he's a chef, a restaurateur or a party boy -- and what I learned (full disclosure) in a year of work ... More >>

Aaron May Dishes On Being a Chef, a Restaurateur and a Party Boy

Aaron May Praying Monk 7217 E. 1st Street, Scottsdale 480-398-3020 www.scottsdalemonk.com See also: -- Celeb Chefs Matt Carter, Beau MacMillan and Aaron May Cooking Up Four-Course Brunch at Superstition Farm -- Aaron May Heads Kitchen at Former Renegade Canteen, Now Called Renegade Tap Kitchen -- ... More >>

Paula Deen Performs Unnatural Acts on an Eclair

The New York Post recently released highlights from a purportedly raunchy Paula Deen gag reel. The gag reel is odd because it flies in the face of the wholesome image Deen's has cultivated over her many years as a TV personality and cook. See Also: Epic Meal Time Makes Paula Deen Look Like a Healt ... More >>

Watch This: Gordon Ramsay as a Judge On American Idol?

See Also: Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Trolling for Floundering Restaurants in Phoenix (A Shark Week Bonus!) Celebrity chef and professional asshole Gordon Ramsay was on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently and presented this nightmare scenario: Gordon Ramsay as a judge on American Idol. We're not sur ... More >>

For Sale: Script For Roadhouse Remake Starring Guy Fieri

The Craigslist sale is simple. The script to "Roadhouse 2012: Pain Still Don't Hurt," a remake of the 80's cult classic and Patrick Swayze heartthrob vehicle. The proposed star? None other than Guy Fieri because... We'll admit, we haven't exactly figure out why Guy Fieri would be suited to such a ... More >>

60: Denise Clayton

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

What's Your Favorite and Least Favorite Cooking Show?

Welcome to Chow Bella's Bites & Dishes, where Valley chefs and restaurateurs respond to a question New Times food critic Laura Hahnefeld has on her mind. Have a question you'd like to ask? E-mail laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com. Miss a question? Go here.Whether it's for education, entertainment, or a d ... More >>

Beau Mac Dishes on His Favorite Herb and What It's Like Being Famous

Beau MacMillan elements Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa 5700 E. McDonald Drive 480-948-2100 www.sanctuaryoncamelback.com This is part one of my interview with Beau MacMillan, executive chef of elements at Sanctuary Resort and Spa. Come back on Tuesday for part two. If Phoenix has a bon ... More >>

Chef Josh Hebert Dishes on Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain and the Cheat Ingredient

Josh Hebert Posh Improvisational Cuisine 7167 E. Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale 480-663-7676 www.poshscottsdale.com How long has Josh Hebert been obsessed with food? Let's put it this way: one of his first words was "breakfast." It's an elaborate family story his mother loves to tell, he says, addi ... More >>

Jacques Pépin and Barbara Fenzl Cook Southwestern Cuisine on PBS

If you love cooking shows that focus on teaching -- not drama -- you're in for a real treat at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 4. That's when Eight, Arizona PBS premieres Jacques Pépin Cooks for Eight, a two-hour cooking special starring world-famous French chef Jacques Pépin and Arizona's own culinary c ... More >>

Hell's Kitchen Casting Call: Get Yelled At on TV, Make Money

Do you crave long hours, low pay, and near-constant verbal abuse while you're filmed under unflattering lights? Then, boy, does Fox have a job offer for you! Celebrity chef and professional firebrand Gordon Ramsay has a new season of Hell's Kitchen coming out, and a casting call for his show is ope ... More >>

Point-Counterpoint: Alton Brown Is the Man and I Challenge You to Say Otherwise

We had so much fun chucking Chow Bella contributors Ando Muneno and Lauren Saria into the ring over food trucks, we decided to do it again. This week's burning topic: Alton Brown. Ando: Alton Brown is the man and I challenge you to say otherwise. Lauren: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Ando: Seriously, wha ... More >>

A Peek at the Homes of Your Favorite TV Chefs

​Who doesn't love peering into the lives of our favorite (and even our not so favorite) celebrities?Here at Chow Bella, we have food on the brain at all times and when we spotted this list of Top Ten Homes of Your Favorite Celebrity Chefs, we couldn't help but click through. We wanted to see what ... More >>

Street Eats Food Truck Festival With Tyler Florence Rolls Into Salt River Fields This Saturday

Looks as if the Valley's food truck phenomenon of 2011 is continuing into the start of the new year -- and this time, its bringing celebrity TV chef Tyler Florence and a bit of baseball with it. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., this Saturday, January 14, at Salt River Fields near Talking Stick Resort, the S ... More >>

Laura Hahnefeld's Year in Food: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

​In addition to food trucks making the scene in a big way in 2011 (see the article here), the year in food for the Valley was chock-full of other newsworthy goodies as well -- even chef Payton Curry managed to slip in a last-minute announcement. Here are a few of Laura's favorites:10. Chefs o ... More >>

Laura Hahnefeld Looks at the Year of the Food Truck

The Recipe Project Sets Recipes to Music

This last weekend on The Splendid Table, NPR's radio food show that airs here on Sundays at 2 p.m. KJZZ, the fabulous Lynne Rossetto Kasper interviewed Michael Hearst of the band One Ring Zero with a recipe project that marries food and music in an unusual way. Simply called "A Recipe Project," the ... More >>

Beau McMillan and Nine Other Celebrity Chefs to Compete on The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs

​If an Iron Chef is "a king among chefs" then what's a king among Iron Chefs called? A SUPER CHEF, YO, THE ONLY TITLE THAT MATTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In a move that has nothing to do with sagging ratings, the fourth season of The Next Iron Chef, premiering October 30 on the Food Network, ... More >>

Bobby Flay Signing New Cookbook at Sur La Table in Scottsdale's Kierland Commons

​Celebrity chef Bobby Flay, best known for his colorful personality, his interpretation of Southwestern food, his television shows, his two New York restaurants and, most famously, jumping up and down on a cutting table on Iron Chef, is coming to Scottsdale. Flay, who recently made a cameo on ... More >>

Food Fight

Bakers Wanted for the Second Annual Pie Social on Roosevelt Row

​Like a pie in the face, it hit us. It's time to start planning the Second Annual Pie Social, brought to you by Roosevelt Row and Chow Bella. We had such a good time at last year's pie tasting event -- featuring the culinary masterpieces of celebrity chefs and community members alike ... More >>

Follow Friday: Chefs/Cooks On TV

It's that time again. We've compiled a small but meaningful list of great Twitter accounts for any Phoenix foodie to follow. We've been spending a sad amount of time indoors this summer running away from the heat and searching out new food inspiration on the boob tube. Everybody is tweeting now, e ... More >>

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let's have one last look at the blog posts from this week. Lunch at Pizzeria Bianco: Same Great Pizza, Much Shorter Wait Chef Beau MacMil ... More >>

10 Alternate Movie Titles for Love's Kitchen With Gordon Ramsay

​What do you get when you mix Gordon Ramsay with Love Actually, a heapin' spoonful of sappiness and a stick of terrible acting? One plateful of awful. Love's Kitchen is a new movie which premiered yesterday and features TV's foul-mouthed chef, Gordon Ramsay (who plays himself), along with Sco ... More >>

Top 6 Celebrity Chef Parodies

Paula Deen chewing "butter gum," Rachael Ray at 7-Eleven, and wait -- is that Gordon Ramsay yelling at a nun in a soup kitchen? Like many celebrities, TV chefs get jabbed by the spoof stick, too. We don't mind, as long as it's all in good fun. And now that it's summer, we thought we'd chill inside ... More >>

Taking a Bite Outta Guy Fieri's Hot Wieners

The Virgin gets hands on with her wiener.​In honor of Guy Fieri's visit this Tuesday, June 7, with his Guy Fieri Road Show, I dug through the Food Network Top 100 Guy Fieri recipes and found a gem from Guy's Big Bite: Hot Wieners Rhode Island Style. Now, to us non-Rhode Islanders (or would ... More >>

Guy Fieri The Road Show -- It's Happening Tomorrow

Guy Fieri ​Just in case you've been living under a rock or need a friendly reminder, the spiky-haired Food Network star Guy Fieri will be on stage at Mesa Arts Center tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.. The National Pork Board (what's a "pork board"?) sponsored event promises to bring "the best elements of a l ... More >>

Rock Biters

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Pulled For Sweeps, Replaced With Celebrity Feet

​Bad news for those of us following the showdown between celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and L.A. Unified School District: ABC has pulled Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution from its schedule during the May sweeps. Uh, oh. No sweeps month. Guess that season one Emmy doesn't mean squat. Guess that mea ... More >>

Anthony Redendo of Sofrita and Redendo's Pizzeria

Courtesy of Anthony Redendo ​For Anthony Redendo of Sofrita and Redendo's Pizzeria, having a successful restaurant of one's own is not enough. Redendo is a teacher and mentor to his culinary students at Phoenix College as well as his followers on Facebook. Is this guy really a ch ... More >>

AZ Love from Jamie Oliver and Epicurious

Via JamieOliver.com​What a week. The Epi-Log on Epicurious.com gave props to FnB's gilfeather rutabaga dish the other day, and then explored whether Pizzeria Bianco is worth the wait. Meanwhile, celeb chef Jamie Oliver's website picked up the story about FnB's visit to a local schoo ... More >>

Chris D'Angeli of Slice Cake Studio

courtesy of Chris D'AngeliPastry Chef Chris D'Angeli​ In her 15- year career, pastry chef Chris D'Angeli has created an impressive resume. Since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chris has traversed the U.S., working in five star hotel properties like The Ritz Carlton, as well a ... More >>

Top Chef All-Stars Season 8, Episode 6 Recap: Fish 'n' Filler 'n' Boring Ahoy!

With last night's episode of Top Chef All-Stars, there was some serious hatin' going on in the aftermath of the dim sum elimination challenge last week where EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET thought Two-Stitch Jamie was goin' home. Nope. Still here. Still annoying. Plus, Dale and Teen Wolf Marcel are fighti ... More >>

Top Chef All-Stars Season 8, Episode 2 Recap: Fight at the Museum

She did not just say that! This season, Top Chef All-Stars ain't playin', yo, and it's only episode two. Shocks plus surprises equal quickly vanishing memories of the Top Chef D.C. snoozefest. Thank you, Bravo. Let's get started. Just when things are already awesome 'cause we're starting out in ... More >>

Top Chef All Stars Season 8, Episode 1 Recap (Season Premiere): It Shoulda Been Me!

We came so close!​Unpack those friggin' knives, yo! The so-close finalists from the past seven seasons of Top Chef ain't playin' this time around, as they compete to win the grand prize of $200,000 on Top Chef All Stars. Redemption? Saving face? Insults? How can this not be good TV? The premie ... More >>

Brady Breese: Urban Cookies

Carol Blonder Brady Breese​ Brady and Shaun Breese represent the best of a commitment to living local. They grew up in Phoenix, attended ASU, and after working in the corporate world, began to grow their hometown cookie business. Brady, formerly with the life insurance division of USAA, cr ... More >>