Food TV

OK, so I am mildly obsessed. I have been watching cooking shows since I was about 5 years old. Even then, with Julia Child hunched over a mixing bowl, I was enamoured. I would watch and learn, and then pretend I was her, only without the accent and with slightly better posture. I loved the way the finished product was waiting in the oven, and really appreciated the preparation that went into having each stage ready to swap out. Through food media, I have learned a ton - like how to make my own buttercream, appreciate new ingredients, and roast a killer turkey for Thanksgiving. So while Amy reigns as the new Food Network Star and the battle for the Top Chef title ensues, I will continue to be my own culinary queen and hopefully encourage you to be one too.

Calling all Executives

Busy professionals, after 8+ hours at a desk what better to do than...cook? While it may seem like the last thing you want to do after a long day in the office, cooking is a great creative exercise, allows you to spend quality time with others or enjoy a peaceful night with yourself, and it's healthy because you control what you eat. Take-in, no matter how fast and convenient, just doesn't provide the same benefits. The Baker's Lady(R) recently started a new division, Executive ChefTM, that provides in-office cooking demonstrations to show people how they can balance work and life and encourage people to get in the kitchen. So far, the program has been a huge hit. We have found that most professionals really do want to cook or learn how to cook, but they don't know how or just find the task daunting. After demonstrating how easy and delicious it can be, most people walk away feeling empowered to cook more often. And that's good news for everyone. So share recipes with friends, watch a cooking show, or ask your employer to sponsor an Executive Chef workshop, and good food prepared by your very own self might find its way into your ordinary day. For more information about our workshops, visit http://www.exec-chef.com/.

Brand Snob

I am, admittedly, a brand snob. I am not talking Ralph Lauren or Prada, but rather Delmonte, Chiquita, and Dole. I do not believe that all brands are created equal when it comes to preparing food. I have personally found that certain brands just taste better - they are higher in quality, cut a certain way, or have better flavor. While the rise of private label manufacturers has made generic brands a thing of the past, the change is largely a shift in marketing and perception than product differences. Some brands cost less and access to them allows cooks on any budget to be able to easily use a variety of ingredients - this is a great thing. However, among various brands, there are differences in taste, texture, and even product size, so figure out which you like best and which fit with your lifestyle. If something you prepare doesn't seem as good as it did when you ate it at your friend's house, it might not have anything to do with cooking skill, but simply be a matter of ingredients. Quality is not necessarily the same as price, so experiment and find the one that is right for you.