Popular food shows nominated for Tasty Awards
While it doesn't have the hype and heft of the Oscars or Grammys - yet - the 2010 Tasty Awards announced its nominees and promised a star-studded red carpet event.
Seriously folks, TasteTV, a media company that delivers lifestyle programs via online platforms, is feeding off our appetite for food, fashion and travel shows with a two-hour show that honors the best of TV, film and the Web. The awards will be presented Jan. 14 in San Francisco with food and travel celeb Zane Lamprey ("Three Sheets") as host; the show should air on stations nationwide in February.
Anthony Bourdain, Guy Fieri, "Top Chef," "Cake Boss" and "Project Runway" lead the awards finalists with several nominations each. Special Achievement Awards will be handed to Bourdain as well as Martin Yan, Paul Prudhomme, Alton Brown, Jacque Pepin, Meryl Streep and Tim Gunn and others.
Up for Best Food Program - TV, are "30 Minute Meals," "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," "Man v. Food," "Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie," "No Reservations" and "Top Chef." Best Food Program - Web nominees are "Average Betty," "CHOW Obsessives," "Cooking Videos With Dani Spies," "Delicious TV Veg," "The Culinary Institute of America" and "VendrTV."
For the nominees in all categories, head to TastyAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to attend the Jan. 14 show at the Sundance Kabuki theater. The $95 ticket gets you into the show and the VIP after party - you can't get close to the Oscars for that.
Hot, hot hot: While the Tasty Awards tell us what was hot in 2009, the National Restaurant Association predicts what will be hot in 2010.
According to a poll of the association's 1,800 chef members, in the coming year we'll see a continued focus on local and sustainable ingredients with the emphasis shifting to beer, wine and spirits.
Expect to see premium burgers, bite-sized desserts, ethnic breakfast dishes and nutritious children's meals appearing on more menus as well, the survey said.
Maybe even better news for diners, chefs see smaller prices (albeit along with smaller portions) in the future.
Mile-high munchies: Will you be among the nearly 40 million people flying this holiday season? If you're flying Continental, you have access to the best snacks, according to self-proclaimed Diet Detective Charles Stewart Platkin.
On his site, DietDetective.com, Platkin gives Continental's in-flight food program 4½ stars (out of 5) citing its variety of free, low-calorie, high-impact meals and snacks, including the Petite Cold Sandwiches with light mayo and cereal with low-fat milk.
While it may score points with passengers for its low airfare, Southwest Airlines ranks at the bottom of the list with 2 stars. "Not much variety, and not much in terms of nutritional value," Platkin notes.
Meet the chef: Award-winning Chicago pastry chef, restaurateur, Food Network Host and author Gale Gand will demonstrate recipes from her latest book "Gale Gand's Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal" at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 at Bloomingdale's Home & Furniture Store in Oakbrook Center.
Gand also will sign copies of the book in the demo kitchen on the second floor.
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4524. Listen to her discuss food and restaurant trends on Restaurant Radio Chicago, 5 to 6 p.m. Saturdays on 560 AM WIND.