Starbucks said Subway will add the brew to more locations next year. Seattle's Best will also be served at 800 Canadian locations by late December.

"We want to be able to take Seattle's Best Coffee out of the shadow of Starbucks and really, for the first time in its history, have a life of its own," Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead said during a conference call Thursday evening

Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a conference call that a "more disciplined focus on operations" helped the company increase earnings and that it is seeing improvements in its surveys of customer satisfaction. During the quarter, Starbucks cut prices on so-called easy-to-make coffees, while lifting prices by as much as 30 cents for larger and more complex drinks, such as a venti caramel macchiato.

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Mr. Schultz said the company is encouraged by the national rollout of its Via instant-coffee product. Via is "resonating with customers" and is having little negative impact on traditional coffee sales at Starbucks, he said. Starbucks began making Via available in September in all its cafes in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in other locations such as hotels and bookstores. The company created Via, which costs $2.95 for a three pack, to try to reach consumers who aren't inclined to splurge on a regular coffee purchase.

Starbucks, which has about 11,000 U.S. outlets, reported $53.2 million in restructuring charges for its fourth quarter, almost all of which stemmed from store closings. The company said it had shuttered nearly all of the roughly 800 U.S. stores and 100 international stores in its previously announced store-closing plans.

For the shops, aligning with a premium brand is a way to differentiate themselves from chains and other independent shops--and to charge higher prices. At Caffe Greco in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, owner Hanna Suleiman says sales have increased by 10% and profits by 3% since the shop signed up with Illy a year ago.

Illy began signing up independent shops, mostly in Italy, three years ago in a program called "Artisti del Gusto," or Artists of Taste. It brought the program to the U.S. last year. Illy supplies shops with Italian espresso machines, coffee cups, artwork, drink recipes and intensive training, after which the cafe becomes a certified Illy purveyor. In return, the shop must agree to serve only Illy coffee for at least three years.

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There are currently 28 U.S. shops operating under Artisti del Gusto certification and Illy plans to add 100 more in the next three years. The company also is moving the program into Canada and Mexico.

Illy staffers in North America visit certified shops to check quality standards. The stores are routinely scored on how well they steam milk and clean the espresso machines. If cafes aren't performing up to par, Illy provides additional training while reserving the right to yank their certification, says Gregory Fea, chief executive of Illy's North American business.

Fox is expected to order 12-15 hourlong segs of the series, with production to start in the near future. Fox confirmed that it cinched a deal with Reveille but declined comment on other details.

"Masterchef," owned by Reveille parent Shine Group, has aired on the BBC in various incarnations on and off since 1990. In the series judges winnow a pool of 132 culinary amateurs for the title of Masterchef. An Australian version of the show bowed in April and quickly became a mammoth hit for Network Ten.

"This is a huge, nationwide search for the best amateur chef in America," said executive producer Howard T. Owens of Reveille. "It's about people who are lawyers, construction workers and stay-at-home moms but whose real passion is to make great food. This is their shot to prove they have what it takes."

The details for Fox's "MasterChef" are being worked out, but the show will most closely resemble the Australian edition. In each season, contestants from around the country audition by creating a dish for a panel of three judges to earn spots as semi-finalists. The remaining contestants compete each week via team-based and individual cooking challenges until only one remains.

"We have a lot of renovations and permitting and licenses we need to get, so it probably will be spring before we open," she said.

The restaurant will be a "steak and seafood restaurant" that will serve three meals a day, she said, adding that it will be family-friendly while selling alcohol.

The restaurant will be named Volterra after an Italian city that appears several times in the four-novel Twilight saga set in Forks.

"Just Desserts" will pit pastry chefs against one other in a weekly elimination competish similar to the original "Top Chef."

Desserts occasionally make an appearance on "Top Chef," but as Bravo exec VP-general manager Frances Berwick noted, even the show's top "cheftestants" frequently trip up while trying to whip up such concoctions.

"Their Achilles heel is usually the desserts," Berwick said of the "Top Chef" cooks. "As this has gone on, we've been thinking that it would be fun to do a 'Top Chef' with experienced pastry chefs. We've had a few pastry chefs on 'Top Chef,' but they haven't gone too far. It's just a different skill."

Berwick said there's no host or judges in place for "Top Chef: Just Desserts," but decisions will be made over the next few weeks.