Chefs Casey Shiller and Dana Holland hard at work on Cupcake Wars | Food Network

Congrats to Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe (8509 Delmar Boulevard, Ladue; 314-993-5455), two time winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars! Back in February, Jilly's cupcake chef, Casey Shiller, and its executive chef, Dana Holland, duked it out against other past competitors for a chance at redemption. The theme was the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in Miami, and Jilly's represented the Midwest in what became a battle of the regions.

Shiller couldn't tell us much about the episode when we spoke in April, but the episode aired on Sunday evening, so now the secret's out. Jilly's cupcakes took home the grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to have its own display at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival.

See Also:
- Jilly's Cupcake Bar Seeks Redemption at Cupcake Wars
- Chef's Choice: Casey Shiller of Jilly's Cupcake Bar & Cafe

Screen caps from the episode as well as details about the winning flavors after the jump.

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The first time they were on Cupcake Wars, they took home the grand prize and all the glory. When they returned for the "Battle of the Champions," they got cut back down to size. On May 5, Jilly's Cupcake Bar (8509 Delmar Boulevard; 314-993-5455) is back in the competition, duking it out against bakers from across the country at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

The local cupcakery known for its jumbo stuffed cupcakes filmed the episode back in February. Though they can't tell us too much about the outcome, the Director of Baking and Pastry, Casey Shiller, did sit down with us to talk about the experience of being back on Cupcake Wars for a third time.

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This morning, Gut Check received a tweet from Five Star Burgers (8125 Maryland Avenue, Clayton; 314-720-4350) that piqued our interest:

A #stl chef will make our city's @artculinairemag debut next week. Wondering if @stlmag_relish @evanbenn @ianfroeb @saucemag has the skinny?

— 5StarBurgersSTL (@5StarBurgersSTL) April 23, 2013

We thought a chef profile in Art Culinaire, the publication that looks at food as a visual art form, sounded pretty exciting, so we set off to find out who the talented and photogenic chef might be...

Update after the jump.

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Update: We still have gift certificates to participating restaurants to give away! Find out how to win them after the jump!
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In 1991, ActionAIDS, a Philadelphia-based agency to help those suffering from AIDS, organized the first Dining Out For Life event. ActionAIDS encouraged local restaurants to donate a portion of their proceeds from one day to the organization, which would use the funds to fight AIDS in the community.Since then, Dining Out For Life has expanded to more than 60 cities across the U.S.

On Thursday, April 25, more than 150 St. Louis area restaurants will donate at least 25% of your check to Saint Louis Effort For AIDS. A full list of participating restaurants and the amount they are donating is available at the St. Louis Dining Out For Life webpage.

But wait! We have gift certificates for five of the participating restaurants, and we want you to have them. Find out how to get one after the jump.

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A word of advice to St. Louis vampires: Steer clear of Saleem's West restaurant (14560 Manchester Road, Manchester; 636-207-1368). According to the Travel Channel, it's a garlic paradise.

Back in July, a crew from the show Food Paradise filmed at Saleem's for an episode devoted to garlic. The episode will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, and Saleem's is holding a viewing party to celebrate.

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Todd Owyoung

In recent weeks rapper Rick Ross has made headlines for his controversial verse in rapper Rocko's song "U.E.O.N.O.," with lyrics that describe date rape. Last week Reebok dropped Ross' contract, and he made a public apology for the lyrics.

And now Ross is in the news again for eyebrow-raising song lyrics, though the subject matter is much less knotty -- and much more food blog-friendly.

It's called "Panera Bread."

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Dana Loesch RFT cover shoot | photo by Jennifer Silverberg

File under: "If you can't stand the heat."

Last night St. Louis' vociferous conservative talker/tweeter Dana Loesch called out the chef de cuisine of Clayton's Little Country Gentleman after he took to Twitter to take a shot at fans of her radio show.

image via

Won't be eating at @lcgentleman since it seems as though the chef told my listeners to shoot themselves. #mo #tcot

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 19, 2013

Responded Loesch, host of The Dana Show, which airs weekday mornings on FOX News Radio's KFTK (97.1 FM): And you wonder why I'm in favor of the Second Amendment...

See also:
- "Patriot Dame": 2010 RFT profile of Dana Loesch

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Gut Check extends a hearty congratulations to former Riverfront Times staff writer Mike Seely, who on Tuesday shared first-place honors in the "Writing about Beverages" category of the prestigious Bert Greene Awards, the journalism branch of the International Association of Culinary Professionals' annual awards extravaganza.

Seely won the award for a January 2012 article in the Seattle Weekly titled "Murray Stenson's Accidental Tourists." (At the time he wrote the article, Seely was the editor of the Seattle Weekly; he stepped down from that position earlier this year.) The eponymous Stenson is a legend of the Seattle bar scene -- a scene, by the way, that Seely knows better than most; he literally wrote the book on the city's dive bars -- a bartender with incredible skills and an unbelievable memory.

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All right, Food & Wine, you've played with our emotions for the last time.

Or at least we go through this whole cycle again next spring.

Last week, the magazine announced its first and presumably annual "People's Best New Pastry Chef" competition. As with its "People's Best New Chef" competition, anyone could vote online for one of the nominated pastry chefs in each of three regions. The pastry chef who received the most votes overall would be named "People's Best New Pastry Chef."

See Also:
- Sidney Street Café's Robert Zugmaier Up for Food & Wine Magazine's "People's Best New Pastry Chef"
- St. Louis Doesn't Have Food & Wine Magazine's "People's Best New Chef"

Gut Check is always hungry for more restaurant news. Feed us your tips.

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Karlie Kloss when RFT profiled her in 2008, age 16 | Jennifer Silverberg

When Gut Check last checked in with St. Louis native turned international supermodel Karlie Kloss, she was collaborating with star pastry chef Christina Tosi of New York City's Momofuku Milk Bar on a line of "wholesome" cookies and an intentionally cheesy video to promote said cookies.

But Kloss' diet isn't always about gluten-free this and dairy-free that.

Sometimes, she reveals to Food & Wine this month, she's downright daring.

See Also:
- St. Louis Supermodel Karlie Kloss and Momofuku Milk Bar Have Collaborated on Cookies and a 1980's-Style Exercise Video
- OMG! Karlie Kloss Gets New Haircut!
- "Best Local Girl Made Good" 2012: Karlie Kloss

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