"take-away" news and stories

Have you ever bought take-away food and tried to pass it off as homemade? As James mentioned before, it seems to happen with a fair amount of regularity. Too bad that the survey couldn't cover how often the eaters of the semi-homemade meals were actually fooled.

One thing that the survey did reveal was that young British women said they were more impressed by a man who could cook than by a man with a flashy car. Since cooking classes are significantly cheaper than cars, it could be well worth a shot, guys. But don't ditch that car entirely. One of Freud's most famous questions was "what do women want?" after which he concluded that "women were meant to be loved, not understood." Since women in the survey were twice as likely as men to pass off take-out food as homemade, it seems that perhaps some women don't value actual cooking ability as much as the appearance of it.

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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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