"2005" news and stories

Considering a career as a chef or elsewhere in the restaurant industry? StarChefs.com has released the results of its annual salary survey of restaurant industry professionals. Executive chefs, perhaps unsurprisingly, make more money than most in the industry, though they also work the longest hours. The results may be skewed by the fact that some chefs make dramatically more than others, pulling up the average. Salaries also vary by region, with pastry chefs in Las Vegas making over 30% more than their colleagues in California and Florida. Age, job satisfaction and both ethnicity and gender were also taken into account in parts of the survey, so the results are a good starting point to learn about potential careers and where to start them.

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We may have covered most of the "best of 2005" lists, with topics from MMMM to NNNNN, but funny food videos is one we missed. Fortunately, Saute Wednesday didn't miss this important topic in their slightly belated Best of 2005 List. They picked out a Flambe Disaster! clip, which really shows the value of having a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, in addition to being funny. Incidentally, the apartment kitchen in which it takes place looks shockingly like my college apartment. I kept my extinguisher under the sink, guys!

The best clip of the year was definitely from an episode of Saturday Night Live, where they paid tribute to Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes in the most highly esteemed of media: a rap song.

But first, my hunger pangs are sticking like duct tape
Let's hit up magnolia and mack on some cupcakes
No doubt, that bakery's got all the bomb frosting.
I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling
2 no 6 no 12, bakers dozen!
I told you that I'm crazy for these cupcakes, cousin!

Update: The YouTube video (above) was removed, but you can hear the song here.

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The Accidental Hedonist has just announced that the voting is now open for the 2005 Food Blog Awards. The polls will be open from January 5th through January 18th, with the winners to be announced sometime shortly thereafter.

The list of finalists was compiled from large lists of nominees by a panel of judges, who selected their favorites. The favorites were compared and narrowed down even further in a second round of judging until there were five finalists in each category. Each blog that made it to the finals is excellent, though many of the nominated blogs are at least equally good, so review all the nominees if you have a chance. 

Click here to place your votes!

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Forbes Top 100 Celebrities list includes 3 celebrity chefs this year, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Palmer, in spots 85, 86 and 100, respectively.

Emeril Lagasse rose in the ranks from spot 90 to 85 this year. The top rated chef on the Food Network is on more than one channel now that he has signed a deal with Crest toothpaste to appear, using one of his signature phrases, "Bam!", in their ads. Emeril made over $9 million dollars this year, but this could increase during 2006, as his line of signature produce is scheduled to hit the shelves.

Wolfgang Puck was ranked number 85 last year, but his pay of over $12 million dollars eases the pain of being bumped out of position by Emeril. Puck is expanding his line of gourmet take-away offerings and "express" restaurants at airports all over the country, which should do well as airlines cut back on inflight meals.

Charlie Palmer does not have a TV show, but he does have 11 restaurants on both coasts and over $4.7 million dollars in the last year for his efforts. Working with only one major investor, this driven but low-key culinary player's roster of restaurants includes the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, Aureole, Astra, Astra West, Metrazur and Kitchen 82, with a chain of high-end grocery stores in the works. Jean-George Vongerichten held the 100th spot last year.

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It is probably no surprise to learn that the most common resolution people make every January 1st is to lose weight. This could be fueled in part by the misconception that people gain 5 to 10 pounds over the holidays, when in fact the average weight gain is much closer to one pound. But a pound at a time can add up, so resolving to lose weight it not necessarily a bad thing. Dieting, however, is. A much better thing to do is to make some simple changes in your lifestyle which will help you to maintain a healthy weight throughout the year.
In the next week, this series will feature some tips to help you lose that one stubborn holiday pound, eat a little less and eat a little smarter. We’ll even point you towards some healthy options. We allow cheating here at Slashfood, but keeping our strategies in mind from time to time will prevent those pounds from adding up.