Word: colicchio
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Colicchio hasn't looked at food prices in a long time. "Wow, pasta is more expensive than I thought it was," he says, scanning the shelves of the Ralph's supermarket on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Colicchio, the head judge on Bravo's Top Chef, hires people to buy food for his Craft, CraftSteak and 'wichcraft restaurants across the country. Plus, he's rich...
...little freaked out trying to come up with--at my editor's request--a recession-gourmet meal for four people for around $10. And Colicchio is not mistaken: the average retail price of a 5-lb. (2.3 kg) bag of flour has jumped 34% from last July, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The costs of other staples like eggs and cheddar cheese have also gone way up. And since Americans have been spending about 10% of their income on food for the past 25 years or so, rising prices do not mean people are eating less--they...
...Colicchio has the same instincts as most consumers. In fact, when I asked a bunch of famous chefs to come up with a family meal for around $10, almost all of them gave me recipes for chicken or pasta. I had expected them to load up on organ meats or weird cuts people only eat in other countries. But Colicchio is in deep contemplation over a London broil steak for $6.75. Ham is too expensive, as are asparagus, fresh fish and even (when I bring them to him giggling) cow's feet. Instead, Colicchio considers first a beef stew...
...Though Colicchio has quickly become an expert at using Ralph's vegetable scale, when we go to the register, the tab is more than $12. We put back one of the zucchini, but that cuts off only 50¢. Eric, our register guy, lets us scan a Ralph's Club card, and we're down to $11.88. Eric is a man who can feel the pain of a superstar chef on a magazine's expense account trying to pull off an arbitrary economic experiment...
...head to my house, since Colicchio figures he'll be too tempted to cheat at Craft by stealing from the pantry. He snips some basil from my garden, takes some Parmesan from my fridge and spends half an hour doing what he calls cooking and what I call making me realize how lame I am. I didn't know I am supposed to sharpen my knives every time I use them. Or that I should use so much oil. Or clean as I go along. He made fun of me for wanting to time things and for buying prepeeled garlic...