Chefs Lend Names to Product Lines

May 12, 2004 -- You've watched their cooking shows and tried their recipes. Now, the new generation of celebrity chefs hopes you'll also keep their cookware in your pantry.

The past decade has seen the rise of the superstar chef, accompanied by the type of fanfare once devoted to top athletes or supermodels. While gaining a following, the food experts have emerged from their kitchens, extending their reach to cooking shows, publishing deals and household products.

That means, these days, a browse through a housewares store or catalog seems more like a celebrity event than a glance at a kitchenware business as famous faces promote a slew of new products.

Name a media-savvy chef, and they probably have some merchandise. Emeril LaGasse's All-clad Emerilware line includes a "men only" cooking set, while Wolfgang Puck's Bistro Line is promoted with his cooking tips on HSN.com.

New York-based chef Rocco DiSpirito used his Rocco Cookware on recent episodes of The Restaurant, while Nigella Lawson's Living Kitchen products give her fans a chance to emulate her style. Her pale-colored measuring cups and bowls look as if they came straight out of her British garden home. Also in the game: "The Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver, who has his own cookware line with T-fal."It is clear that celebrity chefs have had an impact both on the visibility and the style on a wide variety of products," notes Perry Reynolds of the International Home & Housewares Show, an annual industry event attended by 18,500 buyers. "[That] includes cutlery, tabletop products, kitchen tools, bakeware — virtually any kind of food preparation product for the home."

For consumers, the items carry an inherent appeal.