Latex & Liquor

Skyy Vodka is serving a shot of controversy with its new ad campaign. Strong, tall, blue-bottled Skyy can now be found between long, red latex’d legs. Would you call it pornography? That’s a pretty big stretch. Skyy ads have always been lips, legs, and lingerie -- and keeping wholesome people gawking. I don’t see anything so different in this provocative ad. They’re not even showing skin this time around. Skyy is selling vodka – and not the high end type. Just like their consumers they’re trying to have a little more fun. Skyy has been selling sexy for years and I’d have to say “Really?” to anyone who’s just now offended by Skyy’s not-so-risqué ad campaign. Many of their ads are blatantly exaggerated, to the point of being humorous. This not-so-new ad, features a filthy rich woman with a man crawling all over her and the vodka is placed in the foreground, I’m sold!


Bottoms Up!



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A Real Kitchen Nightmare... For Gordon Ramsay

Joseph Cerniglia, a New Jersey Chef that had once been featured on FOX’s Kitchen Nightmares, was found dead in the Hudson River Friday, Sept 24th. It is confirmed that Cerniglia had committed suicide and now Chef Gordon Ramsay is taking an abundance of heat from the media.

In 2007, Gordon Ramsay paid a visit to Cerniglia’s restaurant, Campania, and found the kitchen in complete disarray, sporting an unruly/juvenile wait staff, precarious management, and the New Jersey restaurant's rapidly mounting debt. Ramsay, in his famously acrimonious style, castigated Cerniglia and staff for their "boring" cuisine and wasteful ways. But what caught the media’s attention was Ramsay stating to Cerniglia: “ Your business is about to swim down the fucking Hudson”, after Cerniglia admitted to losing approximately $120k in restaurant expenses. A phrase the media seems to be endlessly echoing and labeling as “harsh” and “haunting”.



But if you actually pay attention to the Kitchen Nightmare's episode (s01e04), Ramsay and Cerniglia’s interaction wasn’t so volatile, as the media has portrayed. Ramsay’s signature speaking style is all about the abrasiveness and profanity – that’s been his secret sauce to fame. Yet, unlike many other chefs, whom Ramsay has driven to tears, Cerniglia never cowered, nor disregarded Ramsay’s feedback or guidance. In fact, their rapport was actually amiable. Ramsay was almost patriarchal and even went so far as to defend Campania’s re-vamped cuisine against the “old bag” on their re-opening night.

And while I'm nowhere near a fan of Gordon Ramsay TV – his speaking style grates on me like Freddy Kruegar’s nails on a chalkboard – I actually feel for the guy. It’s clear that he had a soft-spot for Joseph Cerniglia and it’s very likely that he’s feeling a loss for the much-loved New Jersey Chef.

It looks like Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares isn’t just about the restaurant anymore. According to The Daily Mirror, the Kitchen Nightmares’ star and executive producer has added a number of irrelevant questions to the Kitchen Nightmares contestant application. How much a contestant weighs, as well as their height, eye and hair color are just a few of the questions that have been added. But my favorites of all of them are these:

• Have you ever had a restraining order filed against you?
• Does your family have a history of depression?
• Are you easily upset?

Actually, the one regarding a history of depression seems to be fair.

A friend of mine had filled out an application for Chef Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen (as a joke) and told me that they had similar questions on the application he filled out, which he thought was strange. Considering that Kitchen Nightmare’s is supposed to be focused on the restaurants and not the contestants, asking such personal questions doesn’t seem right.

Moreover, Chef Gordon Ramsay should be focused more on cleaning up his muddied image instead of adding to his laundry list of drama and evil doings.

Are those questions even legal? But then again, does he really care?

More on Gordon Ramsay and Hell's Kitchen:

New! Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares: ISO Hot Restaurateurs

Gordon Ramsay Sued for $2 Million

The Sharks that Gordon Ramsay Killed: The Movie (warning: video contains graphic violence)

Gordon Ramsay Tossed to the Sharks (Warning: Contains graphic photo)

Kitchen Nightmare's Gordon Ramsay Explains His Puffy Face

Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait is Worth the Watch

Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay Should Be Shark Bait

Hell’s Kitchen Winner, Holli Ugalde, Rejected By Gordon Ramsay Again? Media Claims Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Head is Melting…
Gordon Ramsay Became ‘Shark Bait’ after being Held at Gun-Point
Gordon Ramsay may Melt in Hell’s Kitchen
Gordon Ramsay's Cookbook May Be Fatty, But Fatty Ain't Bad

Atlanta Chef, Nona Sivley is the winner of Hell’s Kitchen Season 8!

The Savoy Grill May Be Gordon Ramsay’s Saving Grace

Gordon Ramsay: There’s Serious Hell in His Kitchen

Hell’s Kitchen: A Hell of an Embarrassment

Hell’s Kitchen: A Hell of a Let Down

A Real Kitchen Nightmare... For Gordon Ramsay

A Beautiful Kitchen Companion

"Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking" is a six-volume cookbook being developed that strives to intermingle beauty and simplicity. Science and learned techniques are shared to better understand the method behind the madness of meal preparation. It isn’t scheduled to come out until spring of next year, but the pictures I’ve seen are stunning. Instead of just satisfying the readers’ stomach, the authors are working to engage the readers and revolutionize cooking technique. This seems to be a cookbook set that has gathered the information of the ages and is sharing it gorgeously.


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The Battle against Healthy Food

The founder of Heart Attack Grill was just interviewed and considers himself someone leading the pack against the healthy food movement. He has given courage to other establishments who want to put items on the menu with absurd amounts of calories. With all the hype about salads and eating your fiber these guys are making a stand, if they can.

What is the Heart Attack Grill? It’s a fine eating establishment in Arizona where you are no longer a customer, but a patient-hospital gown and all. The waitresses are sexy nurses who weigh you and if you’re over 350 pounds, you eat for free! The biggest burger you can get is the Quadruple Bypass Burger at a lovely 8,000 calories. Everything boasts to be greasy and bad for your body. Once you’re done with your burger, shake and bottomless fries they can wheel you out with a packet of unfiltered cigarettes- also on the menu.


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Food Truck Strive

Food trucks are all the rage, but the city is getting fed up-and not full of Kebabs. The rules are getting strict in NY & DC, by piling on the fines to trucks that have gotten 3 tickets. “The Man” is trying to pass a bill that will not allowing them to park for more than 30 minutes in one location or within 100 feet of a restaurant. Yes, we don’t want only food trucks to dominate the city, but those poor guys are racing and slaving hard for our quick lunches and drunken munchies. We need to give them a break after all the breaking they’ve done for us.
The laws are not passed, so represent for your favorite food on the fly. In the mean time check out these apps you can download to find the most delish food trucks in your big city.
[Image from OC Weekly]


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A Delicous Comedy

Today’s Special is a new movie about the struggle of a chef determined to get the recognition he deserves, but his plans all change when the family Tandoori Restaurant goes bankrupt. Aasif Mandvi, from the Daily Show, stars in this Independent Foodie film. This comedy comes out October 8th, so Curry up and make Naans to see it!


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Wrath of the Panda

Big, fluffy, loveable Panda will wreak havoc on all who refuse his cheese. Panda won’t take no for an answer in these ads for Mozzarella. Enjoy these Panda Cheese ads and the fear they instill OR ELSE!



How do you threaten people to eat your food? I infuse fear with the threat of starting Tofu Tuesdays!



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The Culinary Mile High Club

Inflight meals are a virtual rarity nowadays - B.Y.O.S. (bring your own snacks) should be written on the passengers’ plane tickets. There are just a select few airlines left that still provide meals to their passengers and they’re going the extra mile to do the right.

But the leader of this culinary-mile-high-club is Singapore Airlines. Singapore being the latest destination for Bravo TV’s Top Chef DC finale, it’s no wonder Singapore Airlines took the time to make their own cookbook, titled “Above & Beyond, A Collection of Recipes from the Singapore Airlines Culinary Panel”. The airline not only has its own panel of chefs, trained by the world’s top 10 culinary geniuses, but they also offer a service that allows children to pick their favorite meal before their flight. These guys don’t mess around.

Over the years they’ve featured many great chefs on their flights, and now they’ve taken an appetizer, entrée and dessert from a select few. If you don’t have the opportunity to fly Singapore Air anytime soon, you can still have a somewhat virtual experience and try the “Above & Beyond” recipes at home.

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Ramone Macaroni

Punk Rock has just gotten much saucier, now that Marky Ramone has his own red sauce on the market. The flavor is Brooklyn’s Own and you really can’t go wrong with that. The rocker has decided its best that profits go to benefit the US troops and their families.

If this made you hungry for more celebrity snacks check out this oldie: Frank DeCaro must have made this page in the early days of the internet, but I couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculous pictures and off the wall celebrity recipes, from John Travolta's Dover Sole Meuniere to Boy George's Chick Pea Corruption. It’s a kitchen time trip visiting some of America’s faves.


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Classy Ketchup

Now that tailgate season is in full swing, why not add a spoonful of class to your bratwurst. Sir Kensington’s Ketchup comes in a small jar and you can choose from the more traditional taste or a bolder, spicier spread. The cost to dish out is $9 for 11oz, but that is a small price to pay for BBQ bliss. If your tailgaters are the craft beer, organic meat type, why not bring this tasty lil topper to the table.

Daniel Humm Teaches the Masses

Since dining at Eleven Madison Park isn’t a regular thing for most of us it’s a treat for their Executive Chef, Daniel Humm, to teach us his ways, even if we only have 40 bucks to spare. He is appearing tomorrow on the Early Show on Saturday Mornings (CBS) to demonstrate how to cook a three course meal for the cost of two KFC Variety Buckets. Humm received the James Beard Award for "Best Chef: NYC” this year and therefore is now the gourmet authority. Watch and see, or just check out the recipe wisdom on CBS’s site.

Top Chef Finale

Who’s going to win Top Chef tonight??? I love a show that will make established, successful people yell and scream at each other. If you had a chance to go to one of these chefs restaurants or taste their cooking it would probably be amazing. Analyzing every detail and the help of editing always makes for a more entertaining show. So which boy will take all tonight? I’m kind of hoping for Ed. He has a good presence and noticeable dishes throughout the show. Angelo’s attitude is a little obnoxious and Kevin hasn’t made as much of an impression. Guess we’ll find out tonight!


More on Top Chef:

• New! Top Chef All Stars Episode 10 Sneak Peek: Lock Down
• Top Chef’s Fabio Viviani Cooks with Love for Valentine's Day
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 9 Recap: Falling for Fallon
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 9 Sneak Peek: Falling for Fallon
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 8 Recap: An Offer They Can't Refuse Refuse
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 8 Sneak Peak: An Offer They Can't Refuse
• Bravo TV's Top Chef NOW CASTING: Top Chef 9, Top Chef: Just Desserts 2, Love Calling
• Top Chef All Stars' Marcel Raps Like He Wants To Be Eminem
• Top Chef All Stars: Dale vs. Marcel. Marcel Please Pack Your Knives and Go!
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 7: RESTAURANT WARS RECAP!
• Top Chef All Stars Episode 7, RESTAURANT WARS: Dale vs. Marcel Showdown!
• Bravo TV Renews Top Chef & Top Chef Masters – What a Surprise.
• Top Chef All Stars Recap: Episode 6 "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat"
• Top Chef All Stars – Episode 6: Who’s Ahead, Who’s Behind and Who Will Pack Their Knives in the End
• Is Bravo TV's Top Chef the Next "Hell’s Kitchen"?
• Top Chef All Stars: Jamie Lauren survives at the expense of Casey Thompson
• Top Chef All Stars: Dim Sum Lose Sum Episode Recap
• San Francisco gets a Top Chef Pastry Shop!
• Top Chef All Star’s Jamie Lauren Cooks Nothing and Evades All
• Top Chef All Stars: Week 4 Recap

Cheese Sandwich Sprinkled with Gold

British Chef, Martin Blunos, has crafted a £111 ($171) Cheese Sandwich that features West Country vintage farmhouse cheddar blended with white truffle and is speckled with gold dust. The first crowd that set eyes on it was at the Frome Cheese show, where Blunos was a judge for the “World’s Best Cheese Sandwich.” I guess he didn’t want to take any chances at being outdone by the contestants. The truffles are the reason for the high price tag, but if you're going to fork up that much you may as well top it off with some edible gold. When it comes to my cheese sandwiches I prefer grilled, but I wouldn’t pass up this one up with a pint of British cider on the side.

World's Biggest Chocolate Bar!

In Armenia the Grand Candy factory has created the world’s biggest chocolate bar at a whopping 9,702 pounds! Hersey’s has got nothing on that. The company is celebrating their 10th year in business, by having it up for grabs in the capital’s main square on October 16th. I can only imagine the mad house that’s going to be, think Walmart on Black Friday.
In the mean time if you’re not in Eastern Europe you can swing by Chocolate, a restaurant that is dedicated to serving you up what you know and love. Chocolate comes in endless forms like pizza, egg rolls, and dusted on the fried. They try to stay true to the tastes so many of us are addicted to.

Renaissance Faire Fare

I’m off to a Renaissance Faire today to eat over-sized turkey legs and drink booze from a gauntlet. I am completely shameless and am going in costume. I love being ridiculous by dancing with gypsies and watching jousting. What I want to know is, do renaissance fairs exist that are not embarrassing and cheesy? Medieval Times is an acceptable establishment of mainstream dining. But what I want is a Shakespeare in Love ball, where a delicious five course meal is served and the wine never stops flowing. Versus:

At least something I feel moderately classy attending.

Ben and Jerry’s Memorial to the Deceased

At Ben and Jerry’s oh so delicious Vermont Creamery they have set up a graveyard for all of the flavors that have melted our hearts…and dripped down our hands, but sadly lost popularity. They remember the past flavors and the good times they had with a plastic grave stone. To all those who have loved and lost, we can go pay our respects. If you can't get to Vermont you can travel the inter webs to the Virtual Grave Yard before summer is kaput.

Smooth & Sexy Carrots for All

Baby Carrots Hip & Cool Marketing


Vegetables have never been sexier. Being the world’s most obese country, it’s about time. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t take much effort to convince me to eat a quick burger, smoke a pack, and get buzzed- on a good night. Carrots, on the other hand, are not a likely snack when there are cookies around. They even have an iphone game you can play to better brainwash yourself into eating “healthy.” Those sneaky advertisers!

Raw Exposure

Lady Gaga shows off her rare tastes mingling food and fashion in a dress made entirely out of raw meat. I hope this dinner/dress picks up in the trends before BBQ season is over. So animalistic, love it!