| Food Network Launches 'Gourmet Next Door'
The star of Food Network's new show “Gourmet Next Door" literally could have been next door a year ago. The program is hosted by Amy Finley, who was the season-three winner of “The Next Food Network Star." Other “Next Food Network Stars" are on the menu in other shows on the channel. “The Gourmet Next Door" is scheduled to premiere Sunday, Oct. 14, at noon as part of the network's “In the Kitchen" daytime lineup. In the show, Ms. Finley demonstrates how easy living a gourmet life can be with time-saving tips and tricks for turning everyday meals into feasts and mixing flavors from abroad with favorites at home. Ms. Finley is an avid traveler who attended culinary school and wrote a travel book about Italy. In addition to writing, she is a stay-at-home mom who lives with her husband and two children in San Diego.
Local business people
FOOD SERVICE Lisa DiMartino has rejoined Harrison's Wine Grill & Catering as the catering sales manager. DiMartino has a degree from Johnson and Wales Culinary School and one from Penn State's Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management School. She has been in restaurant management previously at Maggiano's Little Italy in King of Prussia and Cleveland and Starbucks in Seattle. BANKING Donita Koval, president and CEO of Omega Bank, was recently named one of the top 100 people for 2006 by Pennsylvania Business Central, a business newspaper covering central and western Pennsylvania. Koval, who took over as CEO of Omega Financial Corp. last year, started at Omega Bank in 1987 as a credit analyst. U.S. Banker, a financial industry publication, named the Centre County resident to its 25 Women to Watch list, a national ranking, and she was one of eight female CEOs featured in the March 2007 issue of Community Banker magazine.
Lorraine Bracco to introduce new wine in Hamptons
Actress Lorraine Bracco is about to unveil Rosato, a new rose from Salento, Italy, the ninth wine under her Bracco Wines label. On Aug. 26, a lucky group of invited guests will gather at the Water Mill mansion of Bracco's friend, real estate principal/chef Andrew Borrok, for hors d'oeuvres and a tasting of the new import.
Borrok's home is a 20,000-square-foot neoclassical dwelling built in 2005. While he made his fortune in real estate (he recently sold a building Manhattan for $350 million, according to his publicist), Borrok is an accomplished chef who will now concentrate on his culinary career, his publicist said.
Also in attendance will be a retinue of real estate power players from the Corcoran Group, including Corcoran's president and chief executive officer Pamela Liebman, marketing strategist Neal Sroka, who heads Corcoran's Sroka Group, and Robby Browne, Corcoran senior vice president and one of the company's top agents in New York City.
Outdoor themed bar offers rustic menu, big beers
A new restaurant in Starkville is giving patrons a chance to enjoy top-drawer food in a unique environment. Rock Bottom Bar and Grill opened on University Drive four months ago in the building that previously housed Tonic, a martini bar that closed its doors earlier this year.
Bryan Kelley, a local attorney, and experienced professional chef Ty Thames own Rock Bottom. The pair also runs Bin 612, an Italian restaurant located just across the street from their new creation. While Rock Bottom still strives to provide its patrons with good food and drink, the atmosphere is undeniably different. With Rock Bottom, Thames attempts to recreate the rugged, outdoor atmosphere that he experienced while attending culinary school in Vermont.
"It's a mountain-themed bar with rustic food.
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