Chef’s Cards: Collect Them All!

A TV commercial shows two little boys avidly collecting trading cards of loan officers, rather than sports figures. America’s chefs haven’t tested their popularity with trading cards yet, but Chefs Collaborative 2000, a group of chefs into organic and locally grown produce, has put together a deal with Gibson Greetings Inc. to make chef-oriented greeting cards. You write your own message, but the card shows a dish and gives its recipe, along with a biography of the chef who created it.

Of course, the Two Hot Tamales, Rick Bayless and Chris Schlesinger are already pretty famous, but anybody who finds these cards (we have yet to see them) will learn about some lesser-known stars, such as Jimmy Gheradi, Odessa Piper and RoxSand Scocos.

Many More Peet’s

Peet’s Coffee & Tea--which owns the Bay Area, coffee-wise--started expanding into our part of the state last year. It sharply picked up the pace in July, when it began opening shops in Bristol Farms Markets around the Southland from Mission Viejo to Westlake Village. All the coffee is sold within seven days of roasting; any left over is donated to charities. At the moment, the Bristol/Peet’s shops sell just coffee beans, but this fall they will introduce on-the-spot coffee drinking.

Compatible With Compari

Campari was a happening liqueur in the swinging ‘60s, but its maker feels a younger American generation needs to discover it afresh. To judge from the ads, which show it being served with orange juice, Campari either thinks we like rich red-orange colors or fears even the slight bitterness of Campari is too much for our Coke and Snapple palates.

A Mustard Kernel

The Mount Horeb (Wis.) Mustard Museum is now using the slogan “A day without mustard is like a ballerina without a chain saw.”