If you want to pamper someone special this Valentine’s Day season, you might consider a weekend in Newport, where one hotel has turned the evening bath into something straight out of a romance novel. more

The description reads like a reality TV show. Teams of culinary students compete to open, manage and cook in their own restaurant. They will be judged by restaurant owners, chefs and culinary professionals. The winner receives cash and the chance to go on to a national competition to win more cash. more

These days it’s not unusual to find a corporate sales force gathered in a meeting room at Newport’s International Tennis Hall of Fame. They’ll listen to a pep talk about upcoming goals, and then blow off some steam hitting balls on the museum’s courts. more

Just a year ago, Stephanie Hebert was a long-term unemployed woman in her mid-20s without a college education or high school diploma – exactly the population at risk for chronic joblessness and public-assistance dependence. more

In a world of tweets, posts and texts, the face-to-face lunch meeting is still a staple of how business gets done in Rhode Island, according to Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. more

“We brought home a silver but it should have been gold,” lamented Joseph Leonardi, executive chef of the Somerset Club in Boston. The competitor was reflecting on a successful performance, but the memory of finishing second overrode his triumph. Leonardi was back at his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University, on Jan. 16 to be honored as a distinguished visiting chef. But what everyone wanted to talk to Leonardi about was his stint as captain of Team USA. The team competed in the Culinary Olympics last summer in Erfurt, Germany, that was held just after those London athletic games, which received just a bit more media coverage. more

In a state so dependent on its hospitality and tourism industry, convention business is of more than a little consequence. more

When is Rhode Island going to get its just deserts, when it comes to desserts and other fine edibles? more

What is it that when we dine out is both eagerly anticipated and taken for granted? more

There are no brothers now at Scialo Bros. Bakery. The business that’s held a place on Atwells Avenue on Federal Hill in Providence since 1916 has been owned and operated by sisters Carol Scialo Gaeta and Lois Scialo Ellis, who grew up living above the shop, since 1993. more