FOOD EDITOR

Lisa Cifelli thinks that some moms would like a break from their kitchen duties as a Mother's Day gift.

As a member of the U.S. Personal Chefs Association, she's in a position to do just that.

Cifelli and her fellow members of the South Jersey (including Mercer County) chapter, who cook in other people's homes for a living, are offering a holiday special: gift certificates for one to 10 meals so that mom doesn't have to cook.

"It could be a romantic meal for two, or as many as 10 meals," she said. Or a brunch for a whole family.

Cifelli, who calls her franchise "Dinner in a Snap," has been cooking as a personal chef for the past four years, after downsizing eliminated her job in corporate finance.

"I love it," she said of her second career, which takes her into clients' homes to prepare customized meals that are frozen for later use or eaten that day.



Read More

Caught in the wine web

I'm watching the sun rise over the Tuki vineyard as the harvest starts, all from the comfort of my own home. I'll not be putting in the hard graft with the pickers as I experience vintage activity vicariously via the webcam that's been monitoring proceedings at this Hawkes Bay vineyard.

Wine appears on the web in many guises, the most obvious being the recent explosion in bottles available to buy over the internet. From the virtual cellar doors of many wineries and the websites of a growing number of wine retailers, to 100 per cent online wine enterprises: wine is increasingly just a mouse click away.

One of the most intriguing developments, which frequently falls under the radar of mainstream media, is the rise of the wine blog. The US is awash with geeks keen to share their vinous finds and bicker about wine online; the UK has some serious bloggers such as the Wine Anorak, whose independent website launched him as one of the country's major wine columnists; and here in New Zealand the ranks of wine bloggers are slowly starting to swell.


Read More