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Gordon Ramsay completes transformation into a cartoon character

Leader of the snack: the famous chef as he appears on Gordon Ramsay, at Your Service (Photo courtesy of Cuppa Coffee Studios)

Gordon Ramsay’s next television venture will have nothing to do with losing his cool around incompetent kitchen staff. Instead, he’ll be appearing as a valiant puppet in a new stop-motion animation series called Gordon Ramsay, at Your Service, which comes from the masterminds behind MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch. The irascible chef is reportedly thrilled at the idea and has signed a deal with Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee Studios—the largest stop-motion animation studio in the world—to be caricaturized and provide vocal talent.

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October 2, 2009 | 8:34 am

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Kobe beef dogs versus Shopsy’s, mac-and-cheese taste test, the science of successful wine labels

Hot dog, we have a weiner: Shopsey's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

Hot dog, we have a wiener: Shopsy's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

• A Kobe beef hot dog should be superior to the standard wiener, right? With high-end wieners recently making a splash in Toronto by being sold at the ACC (though those dogs are made of beef from North American Wagyu cattle, not the real Japanese deal), the Toronto Star set out to answer that question. The paper conducted a blind taste test of an array of hot dogs, including Kobe. The judges’ favourite comes as a bit of a surprise. While Kobe dogs hovered in the realm of mediocrity, plain old Shopsy’s dogs ranked the highest. [Toronto Star]

• Not to be outdone by the Star (see above), the National Post has done a taste test of the hot dog’s partner in crime: boxed macaroni and cheese. Their reviews of four brands, including Kraft Dinner and some other more obscure offerings, is intriguing on its own, but what is really fascinating are the reader comments. Many have submitted their far more interesting tips on how to cook KD and its doppelgängers “properly” (many point to ludicrously inaccurate cooking directions on the box). Some highlights: toss some jalapeños or curry powder into the mix, grate in some real brick cheese and use only a tablespoon of milk. [National Post]

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The Dish

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September 3, 2009 | 8:41 am

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The holy grail of ice cream, wagyu for $45 per pound, Farmville takes over Facebook

Farmville just earned the Most Annoying Update yellow ribbon on Facebook

• Facebook trends continue to follow those in the real world: first, there was the restaurant craze (known as Restaurant City on the ‘Book), and now there’s the back-to-the-farm craze. A new app called Farmville is storming the profiles of virtual locavores. Players can tend sheep and rabbits, as well as harvest strawberries, soybeans and eggplants. We predict a backlash app that involves pounding down virtual Big Macs and e-fries. [Globe and Mail]

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The Dish

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August 20, 2009 | 11:33 am

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Utah’s last liquor licence, Eva Longoria opens restaurant, Heston Blumenthal’s perfect rating

Hop to it: a global shortfall in hop production is good news for Canadian small farmers (Photo by James Cridland)

Hop to it: a global shortfall in hop flower production is good news for Canadian farmers (Photo by James Cridland)

• A global shortage has driven up the price of hops, turning it into a viable crop for small farmers again. For decades, U.S. subsidies and the might of multinationals has made it hard for Canadian growers to compete. A new generation of small farms is now growing the wily flower, which means we’ll be drinking more 100-mile brews. [Globe and Mail]

• The state of Utah will run out of liquor licences today, which means new restaurants will be able to sell booze only when another restaurant loses its permit. Over 80 per cent of Utah’s legislators, including the governor, are members of the alcohol-shunning Mormon Church. Governor Huntsman already angered conservatives when he eliminated the fee and application form required before patrons could enter a bar. That makes an increase to the liquor licence quota a tough sell. [Forbes]

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August 18, 2009 | 9:23 am

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The best chef in the world, butchers as sex symbols, Drake wants to open a T.O. restaurant

Vampire sighting: Kristen ??? was spotted in Vancouver

Vampire sighting: Kristen Stewart was spotted at a Vancouver sushi restaurant this week, dining with co-star Robert Pattinson (Photo by Laura Ramos)

• Rapper and Degrassi alum Drake says he wants to open a restaurant in Toronto, but he’s also planning another album and a few films, so the culinary dream might be a few years off. The “Best I Ever Had” singer is known to be a fan of Vivoli, so we wouldn’t be surprised if his potential menu included pizza and cocktails. [Rap Up]

• Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were seen celebrating at Miko Sushi in Vancouver last weekend. The pair is in town to film the third Twilight movie, Eclipse. We assume he left a generous tip this time; the servers at Il Cantinori in New York weren’t pleased when he left them a paltry 14 per cent. [New York Daily News]

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August 14, 2009 | 10:06 am

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Seth Rogen as Martin Picard, obtaining a perfect peach, America’s most bizarre restaurants

Life's a peach: this year's crop is the best in years (Photo by Bruce Tuten)

• The cool, rainy spring that kept tomatoes green has actually been good for the peach crop. The New Jersey Peach Council says this is the best peach season in years. While the Peach Council may be biased, we say bring on the cobblers. [New York Times]

• With the success of Julie and Julia, the National Post is predicting that more foodie flicks are on the way. Brad Frenette wonders why no one’s made a movie about Marie-Antoine Careme, the orphan turned pâtissière who cooked for Napoleon, George IV and Tsar Alexander. Other suggestions: a film about wild chef Martin Picard played by Seth Rogen, and a Daniel Craig rendition of Gordon Ramsay. [National Post]

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

July 29, 2009 | 12:38 pm

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Cookbook fracas: Susur Lee, Marc Thuet and other Toronto foodies displeased as Canadians left out of 100 Emerging Culinary Stars

Shut out: Canadian chefs have been left out of COCO

Backcountry bias: COCO: 100 Emerging Culinary Stars Chosen by 10 of the World’s Greatest Chefs snubs Canuck chefs

The country’s top chefs and food writers are outraged that an upcoming book profiling the world’s 100 most promising chefs does not include any Canadians. The 448-page book titled COCO: 100 Emerging Culinary Stars Chosen by 10 of the World’s Greatest Chefs will also contain recipes by these young, non-Canadian chefs. When Toronto writer Shaun Smith learned that there is still one slot left in the book, he promptly started a letter-writing campaign to the COCO’s British publisher, Phaidon, making the case for squeezing in some CanCon.

The letter (full text below) explains how disappointed the signatories are with the list. It’s an impressive collection of names: 24 of Canada’s top chefs and food writers have thrown their support behind Smith’s campaign, including Susur Lee, Jamie Kennedy, Marc Thuet, Anthony Walsh, Guy Rubino, Anne Yarymowich, Lucy Waverman and Toronto Life’s own James Chatto.

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July 3, 2009 | 10:16 am

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Gordon Ramsay’s humility, protesting a Harbord bistro, new organics standards

Meal of approval: this logo will appear on foods that meet Canada’s new organic standards (Image by Canadian Food Inspection Agency)

• Canada’s new organic foods standards went into effect this week. Produce that gets stamped with the new “Canada Organic” logo will have to be 100 per cent organic, while products with multiple ingredients will have to reach the 95 per cent mark. Products imported from the U.S will be stamped with the same logo as long as they fit similar standards enforced by the USDA. [CBC]

• Jamie Kennedy isn’t the only celebrity chef facing financial woes lately. Gordon Ramsay’s company, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, almost went bankrupt last year thanks to overly optimistic expansion. “We thought…that we could not fail,” Ramsay recently admitted in a rare moment of humility. [Telegraph]

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June 20, 2009 | 10:31 am

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Celeb chef scammer, legal limits on trans fats, the best restaurant in Uruguay

Trans toubles: Health food advocates are trying to encourage anti-fat legislation (Photo by Mykl Roventine)

Trans troubles: Health food advocates are trying to encourage anti-fat legislation (Photo by Mykl Roventine)

• The two-year grace period the Harper government gave the food industry to cut usage of trans fats ends Saturday—and there’s still a lot of trans fat out there. Critics want the government to get tough by creating enforceable fat maximums. [Canadian Press]

• The cost of locavorism is not just getting at Jamie Kennedy. Chefs across the country are having a tough time sticking to fresh and local (and pricey) ingredients. [Globe and Mail]

• A 39-year-old U.K. con man who scammed his way onto TV by claiming to have worked with Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver has been revealed as a big fat phony. [Sun]

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The Dish

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June 10, 2009 | 11:54 am

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Boxed wine benefits, stripping for seafood, Ramsay’s Aussie gaffe

Boxing clever: New wine storage methods are a hit (Photo by Michelle Ng)

• Traditionalists might turn up their noses at boxed vino, but a professor of wine science at Brock University is declaring that Tetra Paks are best at reducing the “green” taste found in some wines. Almost as bad for oenophiles, the très gauche screw cap is proving better than cork at preventing oxidation. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• The plight of the endangered bluefin tuna is the latest cause célèbre in Hollywood. First, A-listers boycotted tuna-serving restaurants, then chefs struck the fish from their menus, and now some celebrities are stripping for the cause. We expect the sight of Terry Gilliam naked to help the movement by ruining appetites the world over. [Telegraph]

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May 28, 2009 | 8:29 am

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The city vs. Ossington, Michaëlle Jean takes heart, more kitchen nightmares for Ramsay

Halted hip-ocracy: Restaurants like Pizzeria Libretto were lucky enough to open before the city stopped issuing licenses (Photo by Ingorrr)

Halted hip-ocracy: Restaurants like Pizzeria Libretto were lucky to open before the city stopped issuing licences (Photo by Ingorrr)

• Due to an increase in noise complaints from residents, the city has put a year-long moratorium on restaurant and bar licences being issued to spots on the Ossington strip. Restaurants that applied before Tuesday at 2 p.m., like Paul Boehmer’s upcoming resto-market, are safe. [National Post]

• The backlash over Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s ingesting a raw seal heart during a traditional feasting ceremony in Nunavut has reached international levels. PETA used the words “blood lust” and “Neanderthal,” and a spokesperson for the EU Environment Commissioner called the event “too bizarre to acknowledge.” Elsewhere, New York gossip site Gawker called her “Canada’s Sarah Palin.” [CBC]

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The Dish

Opening

May 8, 2009 | 12:01 pm

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Goodbye, Bite Me. Hello, Conviction: Marc Thuet’s new restaurant opens tonight, staffed with reformed criminals

Marc Thuet and Biana Zorich at Conviction (Photo by Karon Liu)

Two days before the opening of Conviction, chef Marc Thuet’s latest restaurant venture, the dining room has no tables, a fat orange cat is knocking over empty bottles on a scratched coffee table, and the staff is eating Chinese takeout in the gutted kitchen, which has only a deep fryer installed.

“When do you think we’ll get the ovens?” asks Thuet, slouching in the only chair not stacked in the corner of the small dining space.

“Monday or Tuesday,” replies his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, as she texts a reporter who wants to know what brand of cigarette her husband smokes.

“Fuck off.”

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The Dish

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April 25, 2009 | 8:41 am

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Metro makes money, sustainable sushi and Gordon Ramsay’s fiscal nightmare

Lily Allen fights with dairy (Photo by Douglas Cason)

• British pop star Lily Allen is fined $2,000 for starting an ice cream fight in her dressing room after performing at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Wednesday. Hey, at least it wasn’t mashed potatoes. [UK Sun]

• Dough makers: Jamie Oliver steals the title of U.K.’s richest chef from Gordon Ramsay. To make matters worse, Ramsay didn’t even make the list of country’s 2,000 richest people. [Evening Standard]

• Grocery giant Metro boasts higher than expected earnings, and is confident shoppers will be cooking at home for at least another two fiscal quarters. [Financial Post]

• Nova Scotia’s Ecology Action Centre releases a guide to ordering sustainable sushi. The dolphin maki-roll is a no-go? [Metro]

• UK’s The Guardian unleashes the long-awaited backlash against the gastropub trend and asks readers to construct “the perfect English menu.” [Guardian]

The Dish

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April 24, 2009 | 11:44 am

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Grilled cheese mania, ignoring Canadian restos, the LCBO’s bottom shelf

Is this the great grilled cheese comeback? (Photo by Robyn Lee)

• Is it just us, or is grilled cheese the new poutine? The kiddie comfort food takes centre stage at this weekend’s Grilled Cheese Invitational in L.A. and at Toronto’s own Good Food Festival, which kicks off today with a celebrity grilled cheese competition. [L.A. Times]

• Reach for the Skyy: Statistics Canada reports that Canadians are buying almost five per cent more booze since the recession hit—unsurprisingly, cheaper brands are selling best. [Globe and Mail]

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March 12, 2009 | 12:18 pm

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Guy Fieri tells all, Gordon Ramsay is re-imagined, David Lee wants kids to cook

Chef David Lee wants kids in the kitchen (Photo by Renee Suen)

• Splendido–Nota Bene chef David Lee regales us with childhood cooking stories and urges parents to show their kids around the kitchen. Here’s his suggestion of an easy yet sophisticated recipe that’s perfect for a March break cook-off with rug rats. [Globe and Mail]

• Karen Hawthorne chews the fat with the Food Network’s peroxided chef Guy Fieri, host of Guy’s Big Bite; Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; and the new contest show Ultimate Recipe Showdown, which premiered last night. [National Post]

• Hungarian food critic Egon Ronay envisions a better-behaved Gordon Ramsay, suggesting that he take a few cues from the iconic French chef Auguste Escoffier. [Guardian]

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