Now get your culinary advice from the US's top chefs

Don't know what to order or where to eat while on a business trip? Now get your culinary advice from the US's top chefs

Print Edition: 20 Jan, 2013

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For all the times you've fallen victim to trial and error while choosing where to eat in a new city, Chefs Feed now ensures your next eating out experience is spot on. Superseding dozens of existing food apps like Foodspotting, Zomato and YELP, this particular app establishes itself as the ultimate dining authority.

Now the next time you're in New York on business, or making a pitstop in Boston for a conference, take tips from some of the top chefs in the country instead of relying on the amateur suggestions from locals and friends. When founding brothers Jared and Steve Rivera started developing Chefs Feed for the iPhone in 2011, they did an extensive round-up of 600 of the best chefs and added them to their roster of food curators. The key factor that sets their app apart is that only these 600 professional chefs can upload a dish or recommend a restaurant on the app. There's just one caveat: the dish or restaurant must not be one of their own.

While web and mobile apps have been instrumental in democratising restaurant reviews, the lack of discerning food critics to tell us where and what to eat has led to crowdsourcing. By soliciting everyone's opinion, the margin for error is high.

The next time you're wondering where to get the best steak in New York, don't just go by heresay. Instead, log on and check out where Wolfgang Puck gets his and you won't be disappointed.

Sotheby's to auction the El Bulli wine cellar

{mosimage}After 27 successful years at the top, El Bulli, famed as the worlds best restaurant shut its doors to convert itself into El Bulli Foundation, a culinary research and development center. In the aftermath of the restaurant's closing, famed Spanish chef Ferran Adria will be selling off the contents of the restaurant's wine cellar in two separate auctions to be held by Sotheby's in April this year. Offering bidders a chance to grab up to 8,807 bottles curated by the restaurant over its life, the auction is expected to rake in an estimate of $1.6 million with proceeds going towards the El Bulli Foundation and Bullipedia, a digital project touted as the culinary equivalent of Wikipedia. With lots going for as high as $47,500 for a trio of Romanee Conti 1990s, here's your shot at owning some seriously good wines.

Solely For You

{mosimage}Selfridges, London, has long held the tag of the Best Department Store in the World and it has now become a one-stop shoe shop for men. The luxury retailer currently houses the largest men's shoe department in the world, with as many as 72,000 pairs of shoes on sale in 3,200 styles and across 250 brands. Thats 10,000 square feet dedicated to satiating even the most obsessive of foot fetishes. The range of footwear stocked here ranges from relatively modest 25-pound Havaianas all the way to over-the-top 10,000-pound made-to-order Tom Fords, customised sneakers and bespoke brogues. And that's not all. This new department will soon feature two new salons: one dedicated to driving shoes, and another for create-your-own footwear from luxury brands Tod's, Prada and Tom Ford. The space has been organised by category, to match male shopping patterns. Stop by for that well-heeled look.

Get App-dated

The iPhone has introduced a new premium lifestyle application called iVIP Black to ensure that its users are kept in the know for the latest in luxury living. The only condition: prospective members must certify that their net worth of assets or income exceeds $1 million. Once approved, members are entitled to an introductory personal consultation where iVIP assesses the optimum manner in which to service the user's lifestyle. The app covers all aspects of luxury lifestyle from butlers and concierge services to private jets and personal styling. Members can geo-locate iVIP partner venues to avail unique privileges.