Restaurateurs and chefs are fond of saying that this time of year is “quiet” in the food business. If that ever was the case, it certainly is not this year. No sooner had we hung up our new calendars (or waited that nanosecond for our electronic devices to update their calendar settings) than we are already off and running with a full slate of food festivals and wine-tasting events that should make the winter fly by. more

A bit of patience on our parts will be well worthwhile as some of our favorite local restaurants take a break this winter to freshen up and put on a new look. more

Chef Joseph Leonardi, executive chef at the Somerset Club in Boston, conducts a two-hour demonstration to Johnson & Wales University culinary students on Jan. 16. Leonardi returned to his alma mater for the event as the 168th distinguished visiting chef and was honored at a luncheon. Joining him during the demo was Celia Cordeira, rear, a junior in the culinary-arts program, who received a $2,000 scholarship in his name. more

“We brought home a silver but it should have been gold,” lamented Joseph Leonardi, executive chef of the Somerset Club in Boston. The competitor was reflecting on a successful performance, but the memory of finishing second overrode his triumph. Leonardi was back at his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University, on Jan. 16 to be honored as a distinguished visiting chef. But what everyone wanted to talk to Leonardi about was his stint as captain of Team USA. The team competed in the Culinary Olympics last summer in Erfurt, Germany, that was held just after those London athletic games, which received just a bit more media coverage. more

Warwick Ice Cream owner Jerry Bucci Jr. is the third generation in a family business founded in 1930. He hopes one of his sons will one day run the company. more

“We’ll take a booth, please.” According to restaurant designers, one of the appeals of booths is that they can create perceived barriers between us and the rest of the diners in the restaurant. A booth can give at least the perception of privacy. The conventional wisdom from the other side of the table is that restaurant guests want to be able to carry on private conversations and enjoy their own personal space, even when they’re out in public. more

Brown and Roger Williams Universities ranked on The Daily Meal’s list of the 52 Best Colleges for Food in America. more

Rhode Island’s projected 2.3 percent restaurant-sales growth for 2012 is among the worst in the country, besting only Vermont and West Virginia, at 2.2 percent each, and can be at least partially blamed on its slow population growth and high unemployment rate, according to National Restaurant Association research. more

Two Providence-area chefs – Nemo Bolin and Benjamin Sukle – are in the running for Food & Wine’s list of the 10 most brilliant up-and-coming chefs. more

In a world of tweets, posts and texts, the face-to-face lunch meeting is still a staple of how business gets done in Rhode Island, according to Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. more