"secrets" news and stories

The competitors on Top Chef seem to endlessly complain when they have to work with an ingredient that they didn't make from scratch, repeating ad nauseum that they feel such things - namely, processed foods - are far beneath them. But using commercial ingredients isn't beneath all chefs, not even ones like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Bouley. Vongerichten serves his Two-Flavored Stir-Fried Shrimp in a sauce of Hellmann's Mayo and condensed milk. Bouley uses Heinz Ketchup in several sauces, including the one served with his Braised Hawaiian Yellowtail appetizer. Other secret ingredients in chefs' pantries include Gravy Master, Kraft Singles, canned creamed corn and Dr. Pepper.

How are high-end, starred chefs getting away with using ingredients that you could find at a convenience store? The answer is that they don't advertise it the same way that they highlight grass-fed beef and organic tomatoes on their menus.

A few weeks ago, we managed to find out that an upcoming episode of Iron Chef America would feature both Rachael Ray and Giada de Laurentiis, pairing Rachael with Mario Batali and Giada with Bobby Flay. Even the wordsmith host of the show thinks that this battle will be one for the record books, saying “The only way this battle could be better for the Food Network would be for them to have Emeril Lagasse as the secret ingredient” in an article in the Ithaca Journal.

The episode was actually filmed in January, but it is scheduled to air sometime in November, which means that Rachael and Giada have already done their thing in Kitchen Stadium – and both report that it was one of their most challenging experiences. Interestingly enough, the article also gives confirmation that the chefs learn about the ingredients in advance, as before the taping the ingredient was revealed to them: cranberries. Given the ingredient, the episode will most likely air in mid-November or around Thanksgiving, but we’ll have to wait until then to see how well the celebrity chef pairings worked together and to find out whose cuisine reigned supreme.

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In anticipation of the opening of the Manhattan Trader Joe's location, it seems that New Yorkers are eager to find out what will be in store for them. Since not everyone could wait, a very lucky New York Times reporter headed out to Southern California to see what all the fuss was about at Trader Joe's headquarters. While there, she met the tasting panel and learned the process that all Trader Joe's products go through on their way to the shelves and into the baskets of customers. Trader Joe's is always rotating out the bottom 10 percent of their products, about 300 of their 3,000 or so items that are stocked in their stores, so the tasting panel keeps busy. The regularly gather at the company's headquarters - during breaks when they are not scouring the globe for new products and ideas - to taste test everything from whole wheat pasta to truffled cheeses and to discern whether it is possible to replicate a particular Italian cafe's tiramisu into a premade frozen food while preserving the taste. The goal of the tasting panel and of the chain as a whole is to foster and facilitate a love of cooking in the people who shop at the store. While it may not rival the passion of the Hawaiian shirt-clad staff, it's certainly a passion that is catching because Trader Joe's customers are some of the most loyal and dedicated in the industry.

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