When Mario Batali calls your restaurant "the best meal of true Italian deliciousness" eaten outside of the boot, you know you've got something good going on. Marc Vetri, the chef behind an expanding empire of Philadelphia restaurants, turns out the kinds of meals that warrant such a compliment, not to mention a visit to Philly. In his latest cookbook, Rustic Italian Food, Vetri shares his take on hands-on Italian fare: crusty loaves of bread, pizzas with perfectly charred crusts, recipes for homemade salumi, and so many glorious pastas. Enter to win a copy! More

Last Last Sunday, on the lawn of Culver Studios, the chef-tacular second annual L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade benefit was held for pediatric cancer research. Deeply moved by Alex's story, Los Angeles chefs Suzanne Goin(AOC, Lucques, Tavern) and husband David Lentz (The Hungry Cat), plus Goin's business partner Caroline Styne, have collected an astonishing group of chefs, mixologists and vintners. Everyone came out to lend a hand, a grill and a copious amount of wine and whisky to support the cause. More