Peggy Hernández

1 week ago | asianamericans.einnews.com | Peggy Hernández

BROOKLINE — Veo Robert has spent most of his professional career as a chef mastering European cuisine in some of Boston’s best restaurants. Now, in the wake of homesickness for the food of his youth following the COVID-19 pandemic, he is staging pop-up dinners to test the area’s appetite for the dishes of his native Laos.

1 week ago | bostonglobe.com | Peggy Hernández

BROOKLINE — Veo Robert has spent most of his professional career as a chef mastering European cuisine in some of Boston’s best restaurants. Now, in the wake of homesickness for the food of his youth following the COVID-19 pandemic, he is staging pop-up dinners to test the area’s appetite for the dishes of his native Laos.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Peggy Hernández

In the last few years, fresh takes on Asian cuisines have grabbed Greater Boston by the taste buds. There’s Quincy spots Rubato with its Hong Kong-style cafe and Lê Madeline, a modern Vietnamese bistro. Over in Brookline Village, Mahaniyom is drawing crowds with its flavor-popping Thai dishes. Now Veo Robert hopes to bring Lao-inspired dishes to fore.

Nov 19, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Peggy Hernández

James E. Kukstis, who last year was a Food Network Christmas cookie challenge contestant, has a wealth of knowledge about how to improve the taste of cookies made at home. The Scituate native, 36, has been making cookies since he was a child and runs Mr. Butterscotch Bakes, his personalized cookies business, when not at WHDH-TV, where he’s a journalist. Below are some of Kukstis’s tips on how to save money, where not to skimp, and how to generally make the baking process easier.

Nov 19, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Peggy Hernández

HANOVER — Justine Rota was launching her Sweet Standards baking business in 2021 when, on the advice of her mom, she headed to Lorraine’s, Inc. Cake and Candy Supplies for baking pens, spring forms, and cake boards — and also found informative chat with store manager Laurie Bourke. The Hanover baker — who last December was a finalist on the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship (Season 10) — remembers being stunned by Lorraine’s offerings of 400 frosting tips.