celebrity chefs


April 8, 2013

Flashback Fave: Erin aka Culinography + The Forest Feast

by Erin Gleeson

Starting today, we’ll be going back in time to reflect on the most memorable posts, picked by eight of our main writers. This was no simple task — over the last six years, Umami Mart now has over 2,200 posts that spans five continents. WOW!!! From this, our writers have chosen their own favorite post(s), whether […]

June 26, 2012

MOTO Restaurant Review: Le Bernardin: Disagreeing with 4 Stars

by Moto Yamamoto

I recently became a permanent resident of this country, and to celebrate my newly acquired freedom, we went to Le Bernardin. Though I know a lot about food, I haven’t been to many top-notch restaurants because I end up bitching about its flaws. If you are paying $250 a person for a dining experience, don’t […]

August 22, 2011

Culinography: Dinner with Top Chef Kevin Sbraga

by Erin Gleeson

I recently had a fun evening shooting in the kitchen at elements with chef/owner Scott Anderson and guest chef Kevin Sbraga (above), who won Top Chef last season. The dinner was a special prix-fixe event (scroll down for the menu). I got to try a few of the courses–absolutely delicious! COURSES 1st: Jersey Blue Crab […]

August 16, 2011

SF Chefs 2011

by Yoko Kumano

SF Chefs spanned three days, August 5-7, and looked like it landed from somewhere in outer space, onto Union Square (notice how the tent is “punctured” by the Dewey Monument pole in the photo below). I went on Sunday around 1pm and the sides of the ginormous tent were lined with 25 chefs’ booths. We […]

September 28, 2010

The Man in the Orange Crocs

by Kayoko Akabori

Mario Batali‘s Del Posto restaurant in NYC was just awarded FOUR STARS by Sam Sifton of the New York Times. Usually I could give a shit, but this really excites me– mostly because I am a huge Batali fan, deep deep down. This makes Del Posto one of only seven restaurants in all of New […]

August 2, 2010

Happy Hour: Tales Recap Pt. 3 (John Besh + Kermit Ruffins = happy mouth & ears)

by Payman Bahmani

PREFACE: Tales of the Cocktail Recap Part 1 Tales of the Cocktail Recap Part 2 New Orleans is perhaps most famous for its great food and rich musical tradition. They’re what folks often point to as the most tangible markers of a New Orleans culture that’s sometimes too intangible to define. So despite a schedule packed […]

January 5, 2009

Vegasaholic: L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

by Kayoko Akabori

In Vegas, every other thing that came out of my mouth was, “Let’s go to Robuchon!” My parents were not so enthusiastic, as they are growing tired of overly rich french cuisine in their old age (ok fine, they’re not that old, but French Laundry totally ruined French food for them). But come on, he’s […]

September 15, 2008

Little Gordon, Pt. 3: UnFuckingBelievable

by Kayoko Akabori

Just found another one!!! Watch the other two here.

April 2, 2008

Batch & P*ONG (NYC)

by Erin Gleeson

Everything about Batch, Pichet Ong’s new bakery on West 10th Street, is just as lovely, adorable and amazing as he is. Pink walls, yellow peonies and eclectic hand crafted chandeliers made me almost as happy to be there as the first bite of chewy crunchy peanut butter cookie right out of the oven. Then came […]

August 5, 2007

NOW CASTING FOX’S HELL’S KITCHEN!

by Kayoko Akabori

Via Erin: FOX’s sizzling unscripted series Hell’s Kitchen is now casting. Do you have the stamina to meet world-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay’s extremely high cooking standards? “Hell’s Kitchen” will follow the aspiring chefs 24/7 through the perils of working in Chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, capturing the wrath, heated emotion and adrenaline rush that comes with […]