Food & Travel Spotlight

Nov. 15: Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Hosts 1st Annual Varli Culinary Awards with Co-hosts Manu Narayan and Pooja Kumar in New York

Posted by Lia Chang - on Monday, 01 October 2012

Nov. 15: Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Hosts 1st Annual Varli Culinary Awards with Co-hosts Manu Narayan and Pooja Kumar in New York
Manu Narayan Photo by Lia Chang After much-acclaimed success with Varli Magazine, the Varli Food Festival, and the Varli Cook-Off, the Varli brand continues to expand its reach with the first annual Varli Culinary Awards on November 15, 2012, at The Altman Building, 135 W. 18th St. in New York. The evening will be hosted by internationally acclaimed Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, along with Bombay Dream star Manu Narayan (The Love Guru), fresh from his electrifying turn...

Travel Channel Series 5 Takes Comes Home to the USA

Posted by Lia Chang on Sunday, 05 November 2006.

Zach Yonzon, Lena Toepan, Timothy Bloxsome, Jamie Tan and Bevis Song are five travel journalists from Asia on an 8-week adventure across the United States.

Zach Yonzon, Lena Toepan, Timothy Bloxsome, Jamie Tan and Bevis Song are five lucky travel journalists chosen from over 4,500 applicants across Asia-Pacific for 5 TAKES: USA , the international travel series that capitalizes on the real-time advantage of internet/television convergence and lets viewers craft the itinerary. Sounds like a dream assignment to me.

Bevis Song, 21, is from Taiwan; Jamie Tan, 28, is from Singapore; Lena Toepan, 26, is from Indonesia; Timothy Bloxsome, 24, is from Australia; and Zach Yonzon, 32, is from the Phillippines.

Tune in as the Travel Journalists (TJs) embark on their 8-week journey across major cities throughout the United States. First up is Las Vegas, Nevada for non-stop entertainment in the city that never sleeps. From the desert heat of Nevada, the TJs are off to the glaciers of Anchorage, Alaska for an expedition into the snowy wilderness. Washington D.C., will provide the TJs with an inside look at the inner workings of government and politics. From the Northeast, they will head south to the sandy beaches and theme parks attractions of Orlando and Miami, Florida; Memphis,Tennessee for a taste of our southern hospitality; New York City to visit the historical sites and buildings of the city; and Austin, Texas for lessons in ranching, rodeos, and football. Their final stop, in California, will be determined by an audience poll between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Each traveler will have a Mini DV camera and laptop editing facilities to produce independent short daily blogs and weekly vlogs (video blogs) of their experiences for the Travel Channel website http://travelchannel.com. A production crew will film their entire journey for the weekly series airing on Travel Channel within seven days of being filmed. As the TJs document their first-hand experiences, viewers can interact directly with them in real-time via the Travel Channel message boards to offer insight and suggestions for the itinerary.

5 TAKES: USA premiered on the Travel Channel throughout the United States on Saturday, October 28th, and airs on Discovery Travel & Living in Asia-Pacific this November. 5 TAKES: USA premiered in Australia on Thursday, November 2, and in Asia on Saturday, November 4.