"GailSimmons" news and stories

Have you ever wondered what the celebrity chefs of America do on Thanksgiving? The editors over at YumSugar reached out to chefs like Gail Simmons, Eric Ripert and Jose Andres and asked what their favorite part of turkey day was. Click here for the full gallery.

Celebrity Chefs Reveal Favorite Part Thanksgiving Over Twitter

Between candied bacon and bacon cupcakes, it may seem as if we're on a bacon jag around here. Dear Vegetarians: My apologies. I promise more non-omnivore posts ahead. But when blogger iammommy (as in, "hear me roar?") added roasted chicken, smooth avocado and peppered bacon to a classic BLT, we changed our lunch menu. If you can get your hands on some of the peppered bacon from venerable Wisconsin maker Nueske's, it may be BLTs from here on in.

And if you like things on the spicy side, try a Gail Simmons recipe for a BLT with avocado and slathered with chili mayo.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Memo to Bravo: Can you bring back this week's Top Chef Masters contestants? Like, for a whole season? Whatever casting mojo you conjured to create the alchemy of this final group of five utterly-professional-but-unpredictably-funny pros, keep it coming.

Pot jokes, unvarnished egotism, shoeless cooking, radish carvings so intricate they looked like origami -- it was all there and more. Oh, and great-looking food -- although, ultimately, the judges' ratings suggested otherwise.

Maybe it was the multicultural, multiregional, melting-pot quality of the cheftestants. Maybe it was their obvious kitchen smarts. Or maybe they were just the kind of people you'd not only want cooking for you, but hosting the dinner, as well -- not to mention getting a little drunk and telling you stories about becoming a chef.

We asked Gail how she felt about this honor, here's what she said:

"I am so surprised and flattered. It is very exciting! And I love that our show got so much play. I so appreciate what our chefs do everyday and how hard they work on the show, treating them and their food with respect is my priority. Honest but constructive has always been my philosophy, which I used to think was not "critical" enough for reality TV, but I am thrilled to know people are taking notice. Just goes to show, you do not have to be mean to be heard."

Longtime "Top Chef" judge Gail Simmons will host the latest spinoff of the popular reality cooking show, "Top Chef: Just Desserts," Eater National reported.

Bravo announced it was creating the show, this time featuring pastry chefs, back in October. The second season of its other "Top Chef" spinoff, "Top Chef Masters" is set to air April 7. Like the original, but unlike Masters, the pastry contestants will live together during filming.

"We're finding people really love this franchise, and there seems to be no end to the interest in it," Bravo exec VP-general manager Frances Berwick said when the show was announced last year.

The announcement that Simmons will head up the dessert fest has sparked speculation she's in line to replace "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi if and when she goes on maternity leave.

Gail Simmons gives us the inside scoop about her future role on Bravo in our exclusive interview.