Posts Tagged ‘Gordon Ramsay’

Season 7 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant and chef, Jason Santos, is celebrating the first year of opening his own successful restaurant, Blue Inc., by revisiting the show that made him famous. Tonight, Santos will be hosting a reunion of fellow contestants from season 6 and 7 of the popular Fox cooking competition, including chefs Salvator Coppola, Fran Waters-Klier, Jim McGloin, and Ed Battaglia. The event, called “ A Night Back in Hell’s Kitchen,” will feature a meet and greet with the chefs, passed appetizers created by the former contestants, craft cocktails, and a special viewing of the current season of the show. Special guests are invited for an exclusive three-course dinner prior to the cocktail hour, and all festivities will be taking place at Santos’s restaurant in the Financial District.

Santos, a native of Medford, Massachusetts, appeared on the show in 2010, eventually making it all the way to the finals, before losing to chef Scott Leibfried. After returning to his job as head chef at Gargoyles in Somerville, Santos decided to strike out on his own, and created Blue Inc. A week before the restaurant was set to open last summer, chef and curmudgeonly host of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Gordon Ramsay, traveled to Boston to surprise the runner-up, check out the new spot, and wish him well. Any patron who visits Blue Inc., which is so named for the color of Santos’s hair, will find that clips of season 7 of “Hell’s Kitchen” regularly plays on the TVs behind the restaurant bar, and a framed, autographed picture of Ramsay hangs by the front entrance.

He might not have won the title, but that doesn’t mean Jason Santos is burying his head in the sand.

The former “Hell’s Kitchen” season 7 contestant, who was one step away from winning it all on the Fox reality show, has instead left his post at Cambridge’s Gargoyles on the Square to venture out on his own. Blue Inc., which opened on the evening of Monday, July 11, in the Financial District overlooking the Greenway, takes over the former Lobby Bar and Kitchen space, and is now serving a variety of creative culinary treats and delicious libations. Dine on delectable bites like lobster and summer truffle soup, calamari spaghetti with squid puffs, and fried chicken with habanero barbecue syrup, or sip sumptuous cocktails like the Fat Boyz Margarita, Chilled Chocolate Afro Puff, or the The Anorexic Model.

Santos was not alone in getting his project off the ground. Turning to his other TV connections, the chef called upon Taniya Nayak, host and designer of HGTV’s “Designed to Sell” and “Destination Design”. Nayak, a Milton, MA resident, can be found on other HGTV shows like “Showdown”, “Bang for Your Buck”, and on the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible”, where she helps chef Robert Irvine to renovate a failing restaurant in under 24 hours. The woman certainly knows her stuff, as the space was still in shambles only one week before opening.

Boston’s South End is a mythical land for many people, even those who have resided in the Hub for years. Since the T doesn’t go there, and you would never find your way wandering through the South End on your way to anything, its easy to understand why many are unaware of the neighborhood’s charms. Surprisingly, the once stagnant area has been revived in recent years, becoming one of Boston’s chicest neighborhoods, with hidden gems waiting to be discovered, not the least of which being a number of famous faces.

On Tremont Street alone, there are a number of names those in Boston are likely to be familiar with. A former tenant of the fancy Atelier 505 complex, former WCVB-TV Channel 5 anchor Natalie Jacobson just sold her condo in May 2009 for just over $2 million. Jacobson received $2.05 million for the unit she bought for $1.56 million in 2004,

Other residents of the posh place include former Red Sox player Nomar Garciaparra, and his wife, soccer star Mia Hamm. The pair purchased 2 spots in the early naughts, one right above the other, and connected the two with a spiral staircase to make one giant pad, facing the Charles River. However, shortly after the deal went through, Garciaparra was traded by his beloved Sox to the Chicago Cubs, right before the Sox went on to win the World Series. Garciaparra and Hamm still own the property.

The neighborhood is also host to a number of famous foodies. While not a resident of the area, don’t be surprised if you run into celebrity chef Andy Husbands, who owns restaurant Tremont 647 and bar Sister Sorel, and is often in the neighborhood. The chef also happens to be a former contestant on “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox. While Husbands did not win the competition, he did last several weeks before an unfortunate incident with a mandolin, and host and resident curmudgeon, Gordon Ramsay, figuratively cut the talented and tattooed chef.

Just down the street, Stephanie Sokolove, the owner of Stephi’s on Tremont, though not necessarily a famous face herself, is married to attorney at law James Sokolove, whose commercial advertisements have been a mainstay of Massachusetts television for years.

Not too far from the crew on Tremont, Joanna Chang, owner and head chef of Flour Bakery and Cafe on Washington Street, as well as co-owner of restaurant Myers + Chang, was once challenged by Bobby Flay on his popular Food Network show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”. They competed in a “best sticky bun” bake-off, and Chang beat the famous chefs, hands down.

The neighborhood has also played a part in movies and TV. Many scenes for Tom Cruise’s Knight and Day were filmed there, including the scene were Cameron Diaz is kidnapped from the restaurant Gaslight, on Harrison Avenue. The 1980s TV show, “St. Elsewhere” was fictitiously set at a urban teaching hospital in the South End. Most recently, Mark Wahlberg and crew have been spotted in the area shooting scenes for his new movie, Ted.

Everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed chef, Gordon Ramsay made a stop in one of Boston’s hip tourist destinations to fix up a struggling, North End eatery.  The famous British chef shot an episode of his show “Kitchen Nightmares” at Italian Restaurant, Davide.

Davide, once a hot spot in the 80′s, declined steadily over the years due to an owner’s issues with substance abuse and embezzlement.  In this episode, Chef Ramsay must end the decade-long rift between Davide’s owners, brothers Anthony and Frank Gesualdi, before he can start work on the restaurant.  Ultimately, Chef Ramsay builds up Frank’s confidence as a chef and Davide’s new menu even impressed the food editor at Boston Magazine.

The show originally aired in February, but you can watch the entire episode on Hulu.

Exercise and Diet Tips

Most people believe that eating less is the most effective solution for weight loss. However in reality, it is not about ‘eating less’. The main consideration should be about having a proper eating habit management. The pre requisite of a healthy dieting is eating in the smartest way. Shunning the food does not help in weight loss, it is about shunning the bad eating habits. Better dieting research shows there are a few healthy dieting tips that one should consider in order to have the best results.

Have patience – Be patient and do not try to change your eating habits overnight. Take few things at a one go and remember that things take time. Follow a plan that is suitable for you and make little and gradual changes to your daily diet regimen.

Eat a balanced and big breakfast – Studies have shown that a heavy breakfast with carbohydrates and proteins helps in keeping the blood sugar levels steady, making you feel less hungry before and during lunch. Opt for a breakfast that is healthy and satisfies your hunger pangs until lunch. Whole wheat toasts, eggs, oatmeal or bacon are the perfect breakfast choices.

Go green – Eating fruits and vegetables gives you a full and satisfied feeling thus stopping you from barging in on the fat rich foods. If you are eating meat products, you also intake unwanted fats. Not only this, apart from curbing your hunger for a longer time, you also get benefited from fruits and green leafy vegetables as they are a rich source of various vitamins, minerals and are very good intoxicants as well.

Drink a lot of water – Most of the times, the feeling of hunger can be just a disguised thirst. We all know the benefits of drinking water and apart from keeping the hunger at bay, water will help you in cleansing the toxins from your body and maintaining a proper metabolism. If you do not like drinking plain water, mix it up with some fruit juices or other flavors.

Include healthy foods in your diet – One of the most common delusions is refraining from certain types of foods. You can have any kind of food unless it is not in excess. Maintaining a balance is more important than just abstaining from any particular food. Try to include healthy foods in your diet such as whole grains and foods rich in fiber and cut your alcohol intake.

Dieting is more of a psychological exercise and requires a healthy lifestyle rather than starvation and abstaining from certain foods.

Reference: Sensa Weight Loss System

Calling all amateur chefs! If you’ve got a spatula and a dream, make sure you’re in Boston on Saturday, November 13. That’s when the Fox reality show, “Masterchef” will be casting for season 2 of its cooking competition where everyday people without any culinary background or training will compete to win a grand prize of $250,000 and will have their own “Masterchef” cookbook published.

The show, which is hosted by famous curmudgeon chef Gordon Ramsay, completed its first season in September when 22 year old Whitney Miller from Poplarville, MS won with her simple Southern fried chicken steak over David Miller, a software engineer from Boston, Massachusetts’ beef wellington.

The open casting call will take place at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, at 215 First Street in Cambridge, MA. The casting session will start at 10AM and last till 6PM. All entrants must bring with them; one prepared dish to be served at room temperature, as well as a current photo of themselves, and a photo of the plated dish.  All participants will be given a few minutes to plate their dish at the casting location, but kitchen facilities will not be available for cooking purposes whatsoever. All entrants should also download and complete an application, and also bring that with them to the casting call.

Wednesday night, two reality show cooking competitions had their series finales, and both of them featured New Englanders. On Fox, “Master Chef”, hosted by the always acrimonious Gordon Ramsay, the contestants had to cook the “meal of their lives”, including one appetizer, entree, and dessert.

David, a software engineer from Boston, Massachusetts faced off against Whitney, a Southern 20-something known as the “Pastry Princess”. David chose the bold route, cooking a beef wellington for his entree, and was even told by Ramsey “I love your confidence” for picking such a difficult dish that took Ramsay himself years to perfect before making it one of his signature dishes. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and the Pastry Princess’s simple Southern fried chicken steak beat all for the $250,000 prize as well as a publishing contract to release her very own cookbook.

On the Bravo network, recent Emmy winner “Top Chef” featured their showdown between the 3 finalists, including chef Angelo Sosa, who originally hails from Cheshire, Connecticut, and chef Ed Cotton, who got his start in Boston. Angelo struggled greatly throughout the finale, suffering from an unknown illness that left him in bed while his sous chef completed much of the prep for the final meal in Singapore. Angelo was able to make it to the kitchen after receiving an antibiotic shot, but still was not able to rally himself enough to win the competition, and Ed’s meal did not please the judges, making chef Kevin Sbraga the winner.

Following the “Top Chef” finale, a new spin-off show, “Top Chef; Just Desserts” debuted. This show is comprised exclusively of pastry chefs who will compete in challenges that combine their baking know-how with their sense of creativity for the grand prize. Repping for New England on this show is Tania Peterson, who hails from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Watch chef Angelo Sosa make his signature sandwich on this video:

Head Chef Andy Husbands of swank eatery Tremont 647 made his national TV debut last night on Fox’s newest season of their hit reality series, “Hell’s Kitchen”. As a contestant, Husbands got put through the paces by internationally renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay, a surly curmudgeon of a man, known for his foul mouth and amazing food. The 2-hour premiere of season six featured eight male and eight female contestants, all culinary minds from across the country, engaging in challenges that test their creativity, professionalism, and taste palettes. Though Husbands was nominated for elimination, it was not revealed who would be leaving the show this week, as the final scene featured a fellow chef losing his cool and challenging Ramsay to a physical altercation.

While Husbands is not at liberty to discuss any secrets of the show, he is featuring a weekly special at his restaurant throughout the length of his stint. Every Monday at Tremont 647, diners can sample competition menu items featured on the show, then view the latest episode, followed by a live commentary with Husbands and other guest chefs featured on the show. The eventual winner of the show will win a head chef position at Araxi in Whistler, BC. As the author of his own cookbook, Fearless Chef, we’ll all have to wait and see if this Boston boy can take the heat.