Chef Barb’s B Sweet rolls out Bread Pudding product line

Bread Pudding 4-Flavors-Side

Frozen bread pudding may not sound appealing to foodie purists, but to many people it sounds like manna from heaven. And frankly, it’s pretty darn good, especially Chef Barb’s B Sweet‘s new product line. That explains why it has just been picked up for retail in more than 250 Super Target stores nationwide.

Bread Pudding 4-Flavors-TopThe bread pudding comes in the same size containers as ice cream, and the flavors range from Fudge Brownie and Apple Pie to Cookies & Cream and Glazed Donut. In the TasteTV office, the Apple Pie was a big hit, and there was much discussion about how after we had heated it in the microwave, we should have gone ahead and added a big lump of ice cream on top.

The only drawback is that it really is best served hot, so if you don’t plan on consuming what you have on your plate right away, then save some for later (or give it to the drooling friend staring at your plate).

Bread Pudding Stack-CelebIf you don’t know who Chef Barb is, here is a quick summary:

Barb Batiste founded Chef Barb’s B Sweet© in 2010 as a way to bring back the homemade taste in food and desserts we all love. From her kitchen at home, to now her third commercial kitchen, she continues to remain true to her “handmade like grandma used to make” ways. Barb and her committed team strive to create new recipes with an old-fashioned twist every day.

Chef Barb’s B Sweet© was named Best Dessert of CitySearch Los Angeles, has been a featured chef at the prestigious L.A. Food and Wine event for the past three years and was a featured chef at the Los Angeles Times’ The Taste.

Beyond desserts, Chef Barb’s B Sweet© is a full-service catering company with clients that include Disney, Nike, Apple, E! Television, Sony, the cast and crew of Modern Family and NCIS and more. Chef Barb’s creations have been seen on TV shows like The Bachelorette, local and national news and prominent talk shows. Chef Barb’s B Sweet© also has a fleet of mobile food trucks that cater daily to the local Southern California community. B Sweet™ is growing quickly, and the proof, as they say, “is in the pudding”! 

Bread Pudding-truck

More good news:

Chef Barb not only has her fleet of food trucks out in force, but has also just opened up their first brick and mortar store this past weekend in Los Angeles.

Bread Pudding -store

TNT Cosmetics expands into Retail Outlets

View of guests inside Dylan Keith Salon

View of guests inside Dylan Keith Salon

TNT Cosmetics is going from online-only to an actual physical presence in a retail space. In this case, it’s at the Dylan Keith Salon in Burbank, California.

To celebrate this expansion, TNT hosted a red carpet celebrity event at the Salon in July. “Dylan Keith Salon is a gorgeous space and a clientele that matches our own demographic,” says Tasha Castagna. “There isn’t a better venue for us to partner with for our first retail outlet, or a better place to host an event!”

Makeup artist Robert Hensley and Hair stylist Ruzanna Kirakosyan touch up actress Danielle Inks on the Red Carpet.

Makeup artist Robert Hensley and Hair stylist Ruzanna Kirakosyan touch up actress Danielle Inks on the Red Carpet.

Celebs who attended included Valarie Pettiford (Jumping the Broom, True Blood, Tony Award  Nominee), Scott Baio (Arrested Development, See Dad Run), Galadriel Stineman (True Blood), recording artist Vano Kimmel, Veronica Alicino (Alvin and The Chipmunks, HOP), director Tobias Daniels (Black Velvet), Jillian Clare (Kitchen, Alien Abduction), recordign artist Acacia Brinley (lead singer WATERCOLORS), Celeste Thorson (How I Met Your Mother), Lela Brown (America’s Got Talent finalist), Gabriella Hillan (Children of the Dead), Sophia Strauss (Cooties, Bukowski), Paris Smith (Nickelodeon’s Every Witch Way), recording artist Lundon Knighten (featured in Cosmopolitan’s March 2014 issue), model Nadia Dawn, and Jennifer Jolliff (New Series Callbacks).

Owners of TNT Cosmetics - Hoyt and Tasha Castagna

Owners of TNT Cosmetics – Hoyt and Tasha Castagna

Dylan Keith Salon, named for salon owner Kristin Best’s late son, is a full-service salon, offering hair, nail and skin services. Best’s resume includes studio work, celebrity clientele and is noted for her dedication to customer service. TNT will fill the void left by the discontinuation of Dylan Keith’s signature line of cosmetics.

TNT Cosmetics is a full line of all-natural mineral cosmetics. Products in the line include mineral powder foundations, blushes, shadows, lip paints and nail colors. TNT will be placing a selection of their best selling items with the salon, rotating seasonal colors throughout the year.

 

Lots and lots of shadows!

Lots and lots of shadows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A guest having makeup done at the launch event.

A guest having makeup done at the launch event.

 

Photography by Renee Appell Photography

 

TV Spot Pick: Kelly Osbourne Unwinds at Home with Wheat Thins

The TV Spot (Commercial) Pick of the week is

“Kelly Osbourne Unwinds at Home with Wheat Thins”

The Fashionable “Love Fashion Hotel” in Bali

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FashionTV, a global media network dedicated to all things fun and fashionable, has a new boutique hotel in Bali, called the Love F Hotel. It’s not hard to guess that the “Love F” could stand for “Love Fashion,” among other things. Interestingly the hotel goes by both names, just in case.

LOVE_F_HOTEL_LEGIAN_PRESENTATION1The goal is for the Love FH to be a glamorous destination for not only the fashionista, but for the fashion-enticed.

FashionTV explains:

“Located at the haute Legian district of Bali, most popular for its posh boutiques, dazzling bars, famed surf breaks, and magnificent sunsets, fashiontv’s Love Fashion Hotel, Bali is a stroll away from endless shopping, dining, and entertaining options.

Fashiontv’s Love Fashion Hotel, Bali is designed by the internationally-renowned firm, Marques and Jordy, who transformed the prestige and glamour of fashiontv’s brand into opulence and chic living. The hotel features a sensational catwalk lobby, 202 couture yet comfortable guest-rooms and suites, two casual dining options, a fine dining restaurant, a stunning bar, pool area with Jacuzzi and private cabanas, a tranquil spa, the exclusive Love Fashion Store, and an outdoor deck with magnificent sunset view.”

 

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LOVE_F_HOTEL_LEGIAN_PRESENTATION6 LOVE_F_HOTEL_LEGIAN_PRESENTATION2b LOVE_F_HOTEL_LEGIAN_PRESENTATION 5

 

More information:

Jalan Raya Legian No. 121, Kuta Badung 80361,

Bali – Indonesia

T : +62-361 8496 688

F : +62-361 8496 699

The Sugar Lab’s 3D Sugar Printing System

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INNOVATOR PROFILE: The Sugar Lab

Milestone

Winner of the 2014 Innovation Award by the TASTE AWARDS. Acquisition by 3D Systems. Press coverage in major media, as well as launch of Los Angeles studio space.

Founders or Inventors

Liz and Kyle von Hasseln, co-founders of The Sugar Lab.

Their background

Kyle and Liz both have backgrounds in molecular biology, but about 5 years ago they decided to transition to architecture, and graduated from SCI_arc with Masters of Architecture. SCI_arc makes it a point to embrace emerging technologies as design tools, and that institutional stance meant that they were exposed to a lot of cool technology during their time there, and were encouraged to use it in novel ways. Throughout graduate school both Kyle and Liz were fascinated by free form fabrication in general, and unorthodox 3D printing configurations and materials in particular. Their graduate thesis, although it had nothing to do with sugar, centered on the development of a novel fabrication system. Their shared curiosity for the range and utility of 3D printing definitely contributed to an interest in applying the technology to the genre of food.

Concept & Innovation

The Sugar Lab is a micro-design firm for 3D printed sugar. 3D printing transforms sugar into a structural, sculptural element that can interact with food on different terms. 3D printed sugar can be used to sweeten or to ornament, but it can also start to define the form of the food instead of the other way around, or even to support it structurally. For example, Kyle and Liz are very excited to be working right now with several talented cake artists at a well-known bakery in Hollywood. The goal is to design a four-tiered wedding cake with a 3D printed sugar cake-stand, plus 3D printed sugar-tiers supporting cake tiers. It will be a traditional cake silhouette in which sugar plays anything but a traditional role.

That’s an exciting part of 3D printing sugar — transforming sugar into a structural, sculptural medium that can start to define the form of the food instead of the other way around, and even to support it structurally.

Inspiration

sugarlabIt started about two years ago, when they were graduate students in architecture. Kyle and Liz were living in a tiny apartment in Echo Park (Los Angeles) with a correspondingly tiny outdoor kitchen. They didn’t have an oven, and when they realized that meant they couldn’t bake their friend Chelsea a cake for her birthday, it was decided to try to 3D print one instead. Eventually Kyle and Liz managed to print a simple cupcake topper that spelled out ‘Chelsea’ in cursive sugar. Chelsea loved it! After they graduated, they optimized the printing process and started The Sugar Lab.

Company URL http://www.the-sugar-lab.com/

EXCERPTED FROM THE SEPIA REPORT
SugarLab02

The Canary Home Security System

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INNOVATOR PROFILE: The Canary Home Security System

Milestone

Crowdfunded $1,960,884 on Indiegogo.com

Founders or Inventors

Canary was cofounded by CEO Adam Sager, CTO Chris Rill, and Design Director Jon Troutman in New York City.

Their background

Adam Sager: Former Israel

Defense Forces, security advisor to CEOs and Fortune 100 companies, founder of nation’s largest security non profit organization. Chris Rill: Built embedded systems and electronics for the US military, startup technical co-founder, FIRST robotics mentor. Jon Troutman: User Experience & Product Designer, former product design lead at General Assembly, former art director at brand strategy agency.

Concept & Innovation

Canary is a single device that contains an HD video camera and multiple sensors that track everything from motion, temperature and air quality to vibration, sound, and activity to help keep you, your family and your home safe.

Controlled entirely from your iPhone or Android device, Canary alerts you when it senses anything out of the ordinary — from sudden temperature changes that can indicate a fire, to the sound and movement that could mean an intrusion. Instantly receive, view and act on the alerts wherever you are. Over time, Canary learns your home’s rhythms to send you smarter alerts.

Canary packs all of the technology necessary to keep your environment safe within one beautifully designed device, and learns your household’s habits and behaviors to constantly provide better security, at a price point available to anyone.

Containing an HD camera, audio, temperature and other life-safety sensors, Canary connects directly to your mobile device and alerts you or your designated loved

ones when anything is out of the ordinary. Canary empowers individuals – whether they rent or own their homes – to take control of their own security.

canary2Inspiration

Canary came out of personal experiences. Both Chris and Adam had looked for security solutions such as this: simple, intelligent, and designed for their homes.

The first thing they did was think through what security in the home really is, and what it boils down to. It isn’t about placing sensors everywhere, nor is it about alarms that alert call centers. Rather, security is about two things: receiving the right information from your home about what is going on at any particular time, and knowing who to communicate with should there be a problem. With Canary, they are innovating in both ways, and have built a smart home security device for anyone.

Company URL http://canary.is/

EXCERPTED FROM THE SEPIA REPORT