"BlackAndWhite" news and stories

The much-loved Le Creuset has already given us a variety of colors -- orange sunbursts, somber browns, vivacious yellows and greens -- not to mention a variety of shapes. One would think they've hit everything with the rainbow they usually offer, but they've been missing some basics.

Finally, we're getting black and white! Both can be found over at Bloomingdale's, under the names "Black Onyx" and "Shiny White." Now they say that these puppies are exclusively at Bloomies, but as The Kitchn points out, Sur La Table also has the white. Hmm. Maybe theirs isn't "Shiny White," but "Ivory White"? It's not really "exclusive" when you have two stores and don't list the other! Cheaters.

Whatever the case, these new releases are beautiful, and I'm really wishing I had an old retro kitchen. Can you imagine how amazing these would look alongside black and white tiles and other retro kitchenware? Or, conversely, tres moderne in a sleek kitchen.

They'll be available at these stores for the time being, and roll out to others later this year.

About a year and a half ago, I posted about the work of photographer Michael Harlan Turkell, particularly his Back of the House Project, a great series of 25 very candid black and white photos of restaurants and their staff. Turkell recently dropped Slashfood a line, pointing out his photo blog, as well as what appears to be a new photo series called "mise en place". It had been a while since I checked Turkell's site, so the blog was news to me. It appears he's also been commissioned by New York City restaurant blog Eater to photograph the subjects of their "Gatekeepers" series, which profiles "the very folks that stand between you and some of your favorite impossible-to-get-tables." If you've ever worked in the restaurant industry, or if you're just a lover of food, dining and photography, do yourself a favor and check out Turkell's website as well as his blog.