Williams-Sonoma is selling organic free-range turkeys from the Willie Bird ranch in Sonoma County, California. The turkeys are raised on certified organic grains without the use of hormones or antibiotics. They are certified by the Oregon Tilth to be free of artificial pesticides and chemicals. A 12 - 14 lb. costs $89.95. You have to place your order by November 20th for Thanksgiving delivery. The ordering page on williams-sonoma.com also provides a video that shows how the turkeys were raised on the Willie Bird ranch.
England is not really known for its wines, but actually there are thriving vineyards in the South. The climate has been getting warmer in England, which has helped the winemakers, where as the climate has been cooling in France and Italy which is not good for grapes. The British vineyard owners say their wines are not well known now, but they will be in the future as more people discover them. Take a look:
Martha Stewart and Meredith Vieira had an apple bie baking contest on The Today Show. Meredith used her mother's handwritten recipe and Martha used her recipe which has a homemade crust (Meredith uses store bought pie crust). Matt Lauer is the judge and he gets more and more nervous as he realizes that no matter who he picks, he is going to be in big trouble. You can see Jon Bon Jovi in the background laughing, because it's a very funny clip (who knew Meredith was so competitive about cooking?). So who won? Take a look:
Brazilian beer company Antarctica's has opened an amazing temporary restaurant in Brazil called Estacao Antarctica Sub Zero. The restaurant is kept at a cool 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The bar portion of the restaurant contains some icy furniture including a bar and sofa made with ice. The entire restaurant is kept inside giant inflatable igloo. Someone should make this cool concept permanent and open up a chain of ice restaurants and night clubs. They concept could be very popular in many cities during the summer. There are a couple more photos of the inside of the Sub Zero restaurant here. A making of video can be found here.
Chef Fabio Viviani, author of Cafe Firenze Cookbook and former Top Chef contestant, visits Kathie Lee and Hoda to demonstrate some Thanksgiving dishes. Fabio shows how to give an Italian flair to your stuffing for your turkey. For some reason Kathie Lee decided to give Fabio a really hard time, repeating over and over how much she hates green bell peppers. She was in a mood. Fabio was clearly puzzled, but he carried on like a pro. Take a look:
You can find Fabio's recipes for Italian Stuffing and Italian Macaroni and Cheese here.
The FDA has put on hold its plans to ban the sale of raw oysters harvested during the warm months of the year after criticism from oystermen and legislators from oyster-harvesting states. The FDA said it would continue to study the issue: oysters tainted with bacteria kill 15 Americans each year.
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), who is going after Senator David Vitter's seat, said that 15 people was a "pretty reasonable" number of people to allow to die given the size of the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it will conduct further studies before implementing a plan to ban raw, untreated Gulf Coast oysters during months when they are most likely to be infected with a harmful bacterium.
The plan had sparked outcry from Southern politicians who feared it would devastate the regional industry.
The FDA proposal, set to take effect by summer 2011, was an attempt to prevent the 15 deaths on average that occur in the United States each year from the consumption of raw oysters infected with the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus.
A number of post-harvest treatments have been developed to kill Vibrio, but some aficionados say treatment defiles the taste of a classic and simple culinary experience.
Many in the oyster industry also said that the treatment equipment is prohibitively expensive for the mom-and-pop oyster processors that dot the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. Few companies are equipped with the treatment technology.
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the FDA came in for stinging criticism from Democrats and Republicans who said they worried about the effect the April-to-October ban would have on an industry that supports 3,500 jobs.
The White House hasn't given up, though. The FDA is meeting with other agencies to see if there is a way to help smaller oystermen afford the equipment that can heat or freeze the raw oysters to kill the bacteria before they are sold. But that is unlikely to go anywhere, and opponents of the ban say freezing or heating ruins the texture of the raw oysters.
Business Weekreports that Starbucks' aggressive sales pitch for its new instant coffee Via is really irritating customers and baristas alike. Baristas seem themselves as bartenders, not sales people, and really hate having to push the new product. Customers don't like the hard sell either.
It's too early to say whether Via is a success. But judging from the coffee blogs, including the company's mystarbucksidea.com, for some baristas the pressure to sell the product is intense and unwelcome. "This is the most stressful promotion I have ever experienced, and I've been with the company for seven years," a barista wrote on starbucksgossip.com. Some customers are finding the hard sell a bit exasperating, too. As one wrote: "Please no more high-pressure Via sales pitches. It's annoying … it's completely out of line with Starbucks' vibe."
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Starbucks sees great potential in Via: Instant coffee is a $21 billion global market. And Starbucks made a significant investment in Via, the biggest product rollout in its history. Naturally, executives set ambitious sales goals. There, perhaps, lie the roots of the problem. Starbucks baristas typically think of themselves as akin to bartenders, not salespeople. "We were just told to place a Via 12-pack in the customer's hand while asking if they would 'like to add some Via to their order,' " blogged one barista. "I have seen more annoyed customers than enthusiastic ones from all these strong-arm sales tactics. ... Not to say it's not a good product. I think it just needs to be kept in the supermarkets next to the other Starbucks mass-market frill."
We've seen Via in our local Starbucks but so far no one has tried to sell us any. We haven't tried it, so we have no idea how it tastes. But then again we really don't drink instant unless we are in some kind of emergency situation where espresso is unavailable.
Four time James Beard award winner Chef Alfred Portale, of New York's Gotham Bar and Grill Restaurant, shows Harry Smith how to make a simple artichoke ravioli dish. You can find the recipe here. This is one of the recipes Chef Portale will be making for the Beard foundation's annual gala and fundraiser. They make their own ravioli at his restaurant but Chef Portale says the recipe works well with store bought ravioli. Take a look:
Author Katie Lee shared information about some new chocolate products on the Early Show today. One of the items is a chocolate body soap from Gnosis that is used for cleaning and not for eating even though it looks quite edible. She also mentioned Oliver Kita chocolate, which are organic vegan and fair trade chocolates. They include chocolate covered animal crackers and chocolate Buddhas. Katie Lee also mentioned Christopher Michael's Sizzling Bacon Bar ($7) which is made with pop rocks, sea salt, bacon and chocolate. Take a look:
White House pastry chef Bill Yosses provides a tour of the White House pastry kitchen and shows examples of some of the decoration they make. Bill Yosses says they get to know the President and First Lady's favorites after nine months. Bill Yosses says President Obama likes banana cream pie and really enjoys the crust. Take a look:
Saks has launched the Saks Fifth Avenue Collection food program to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Now through December 24th, 5% of the purchase price of select Saks Fifth Avenue Collection treats and New York Candy Company sweets -- identified by a green St. Jude sticker -- will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. All items are available in Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide and on saks.com and range in price from $13.50 to $55.50.
Chain Store Agereports that Pinkberry is expanding in the U.S. and in international markets. The frozen yogurt chain recently debuted stores in Kuwait, Dubai and Dallas.
"We receive an overwhelming interest from the franchise community and evaluate every potential partner against a strict set of criteria to determine if they will be a fit with our growth strategy and our brand," said Ron Graves, Pinkberry CEO.
Chain Store Age says the new U.S. markets Pinkberry is expanding into include Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Colorado, New Orleans and Mexico.
Chefs (and brothers) Matt and Ted Lee have a new book out called The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor. They appeared on The Today Show to show Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira how to make some traditional Southern recipes that have been modernized. The brothers cook up Pimiento Cheese Potato Gratin and Caeser Salad With Catfish Croutons. Take a look:
French chocolatier Patrick Roger is commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall with a 15 meter long and 12 meter high chocolate replica of part of the Berlin Wall. CCD has some photos of the chocolate wall here. You can also see part of Partick Roger's chocolate Berlin Wall in the clip below. Take a look:
Forbesreports that Seattle's Best, a coffee brand owned by Starbucks, will be sold at Subway. 9,000 U.S. Subway shops will carry Seattle's Best coffee by the end of this year.
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
The deal gives Subway a good gourmet coffee to sell which could make it a more attractive destination for coffee lovers. Some Subway shops sell more gourmet items than others. Those that have more gourmet sandwich fillings will likely to sell more gourmet coffee.
Business Week 
Chain Store Age 
Forbes 
