Business

We're pretty sure that when you hear "Campbell's soup" an image of a bowl of steaming tomato soup or chicken noodle soup with a side of crackers being slurped down by some cherubic kid on a blustery winter afternoon instantly comes to mind. (And through the window you can catch a glimpse of the snowman that above mentioned angelic child built. Okay, okay, we're willing to concede that Campbell soup conjures up Rockwellian fantasies for us).

It's pretty safe to say that Campbell's soup does not invoke images of haute cuisine or fancy-schmancy dining. But might change in the near future.

The giant soup company just appointed Thomas W. Griffiths, 49, to a newly created position as senior executive chef and director of Campbell's Culinary Institute.

Griffiths is no slouch in the culinary world. He was the associate dean for culinary arts at the C.I.A. (No, he wasn't whipping up dishes for cunning secret agents. It's the other C.I.A - the Culinary Institute of America). His extensive and impressive resume includes medals at the International Culinary Olympics, a stint at Le Cirque in Manhattan, and the prestigious post of executive pastry chef at the United Nations.

Being fat will cost you if you work at Whole Foods.

In an effort to trim its health insurance costs and promote healthy living for its work force, Whole Foods is offering employees who have lower body mass indexes, cholesterol and blood pressure and who refrain from smoking greater discounts on its products, the New York Daily News reported.

"The program is designed to provide tools and incentives to encourage healthier lifestyles, and it is completely voluntary," Whole Foods spokeswoman Libba Letton told Slashfood.

"It directly supports two of our company's core value: supporting team member happiness and excellence and the second one is promoting the health of our stakeholders through healthy eating education," Letton said.

In 2007, Whole Foods' controversial and colorful CEO, John Mackey, reduced his salary to $1 a year, and has continued to keep his salary low. The value of his total compensation (including bonuses), however, shot up from $33,831 in fiscal 2008 to $653,671, according to the Associated Press. (The large increase over last year's bonus is mainly the result of Mr. Mackey being paid out in 2009 for assets that were frozen in 2006 when he announced his salary reduction.)

Mackey donated the after-tax proceeds of his 2009 compensation -- $379,636 -- to Global Animal Partnership, an animal welfare group that's "committed to working collaboratively to improve the lives of farm animals," according to a statement on the organization's website. Wonder how Mackey chose the group? It turns out that he's on the board.

If you happen to live in the vicinity of Frisco, Texas, and feel like picking up some staples like milk, bread, eggs and a sofa, you're in luck. Tomorrow Kroger Marketplace is opening up a new 123,000-square-foot store that greatly expands upon the products the supermarket typically sells.

Not only will it house the usual food products and pharmacy, this Kroger's will also sell home furnishings like dining room sets, bookshelves and lamps. Oh, and if on the way out you suddenly experience the urge to splurge on a diamond pendant or pick up an engagement ring, a Fred Meyer Jewelers is conveniently located at the front of the store. (It turns out that Kroger, the country's second-largest grocery chain, also owns the Fred Meyer Jewelery chain, which happens to be the nation's third-largest jewelry retailer).

British chocolate maker Cadbury accepted a $19.5 billion buyout bid from American giant Kraft Foods in a move that will form the world's largest candy company, the Associated Press reported.

Both Kraft and Hershey were bidding for the U.K. chocolatier. Shareholders are expected to accept Kraft's bid.

Kraft, maker of Toblerone chocolate, Velveeta processed cheese and Oreo cookies, will gain ownership of products including Dairy Milk chocolates and Dentyne gum. Combined, Kraft and Cadbury would have 40 candy brands each with over $100 million in sales, AP reported.