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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.4

                                  DEAN & DELUCA
                                  560 Broadway
                            New York, New York 10012

April 20, 1999

Mr. Brian Bodell
127 West 79th Street, Apt. 8G
New York, NY  100245

Dear Brian:

It is my pleasure to confirm our offer of at will employment at Dean & DeLuca
Brands, Inc. ("D&D") as Vice President-E-Commerce Technology and Strategic
Relationships.

As Vice President-E-Commerce you will report to me and be responsible for site
development, strategic relationships, and the development of our affiliate
program. You will have responsibility for site construction, and be accountable
for supervising all aspects including design, layout, architecture, coordinating
of the third party vendors, and the integration of the site with other software
systems. Additionally, you will be responsible for identifying and recruiting
strategic virtual partners to build our internet reach.

In the execution of all your duties, you will be expected to encourage full and
open communication, and to foster a working environment which embraces the
principles of continuous improvement and excellence in execution. I will expect
you to communicate with me on a regular basis, so there are no surprises. You
should feel free to express yourself candidly about matters affecting your
position; just expect a lot of questions from me, and healthy debate. Finally,
you should employ market based management principles in all of your commercial
decision making, and act with a sense of urgency in executing your plans.

Your start date will be April 26, 1999 and your annual salary will be $130,000
with an opportunity to receive a bonus of up to 23% on your first anniversary
based on your job performance. You will receive standard health benefits after
90-days of employment and will be eligible to participate in our 401K plan on
your first anniversary date. These and other benefits and responsibilities are
more fully defined in Employee Handbook.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to participate in our non-qualified
employee stock option plan after one year of employment. The granting of these
options will be based on your job performance, and is strictly discretionary at
the will of the committee responsible for administering the

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plan. The granting of options is subject to a vesting schedule and other terms
and conditions which are set forth in the stock option plan and stock option
agreement, which you will receive upon eligibility in the plan.

Brian, I know I speak for all the people you have met at Dean & DeLuca in
expressing our enthusiasm about the prospects of you joining our team. Your
professionalism and combined with our commitment to quality and excellence,
shall prove to be a winning combination.

Yours sincerely,

/s/ DUMINDA DE SILVA
------------------------
Duminda De Silva
Vice President

Agreed and Accepted:

/s/ Brian Bodell
------------------------
Brian Bodell

4/20/99
------------------------
Date

cc:  Dane Neller

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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.5

                                  DEAN & DELUCA
                                  560 Broadway
                            New York, New York 10012

September 23, 1999

Mr. Jim Bartlett
44 Hillside Drive
Wheat Ridge, CO  80215

Dear Jim:

It is my pleasure to confirm our offer of at will employment at Dean & Deluca
Brands, Inc. as Vice President of Operations for our Internet and Catalogue
division based in Wichita, Kansas.

As Vice President of Operations you will report directly to me, have profit and
loss responsibility for the Wichita operating facility and be accountable for
supervising all aspects of fulfillment operations, including order fulfillment
and warehousing, call center operations, purchasing, MIS, staffing, and
coordinating of third party vendors. Your objective will be to build the
infrastructure necessary for growth and develop an operating culture that
reflects the superior quality, excellence, and ambiance associated with the Dean
& Deluca brand. Your complete responsibilities will be further defined upon your
arrival at Dean & Deluca.

Your overall mission is to build a world-class distribution system for Dean &
Deluca. In the execution of all your duties, you will be expected to encourage
full and open communication, and to foster a working environment which embraces
the principles of continuous improvement and excellence in execution. I will
expect you to communicate with me on a regular basis, so there are no surprises.
You should feel free to express yourself candidly about matters affecting your
position; just expect a lot of questions from me, and healthy debate. Finally,
you should employ market based management principles in all of your commercial
decision making, and act with a sense of urgency in executing your plans.

Your start date will be October 11, 1999 and your annual base salary will be
$125,000 with an opportunity to receive a bonus of up to 30% on your first
anniversary based on your job performance. Additionally, to cover your
non-vested options at Staples you will receive a sum of $50,000, $10,000 as a
sign-on bonus and $40,000 on January 01, 2001. We will also reimburse you for
reasonable moving costs between Wichita and Denver, 90 days temporary housing in
Wichita, including a couple of trips per month back to Denver from October
through January.

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Additionally, you will be granted 15,000 options pursuant to our non-qualified
employee stock option plan, upon the earlier of six months or the commencement
of our IPO. The exercise price shall be the fair market value of the option
shares at the time of grant, which should approximate the IPO value. You will be
vested as to 25% of your option shares upon your first anniversary date of
employment with the balance of your options vested 25% per year upon each
anniversary date thereafter. A further grant will be made based on your job
performance, and is strictly discretionary at the will of the committee
responsible for administering the plan. The granting of options is subject to a
vesting schedule and other terms and conditions which are set forth in the stock
option plan and stock option agreement, which you will receive upon eligibility
in the plan.

Jim, I know I speak for all the people you have met at Dean & Deluca in
expressing our enthusiasm about the prospects of you joining our team. Your
professionalism and combined with our commitment to quality and excellence,
shall prove to be a winning combination.

Yours sincerely,

/s/ DUMINDA DE SILVA
------------------------
Duminda DeSilva
Senior Vice President

Agreed and Accepted:

/s/ Jim Bartlett
------------------------
Jim Bartlett

9/29/99
------------------------
Date

                                       2<PAGE>
                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.6

                                  DEAN & DELUCA
                                  560 Broadway
                            New York, New York 10012

                                February 23, 2000

Mr. Curt Gray
3246 Kara Court
Salt Lake City, UT  84121

Dear Curt:

It is my pleasure to confirm our offer of at will employment with Dean & Deluca,
Inc. ("Dean & DeLuca") as Executive Vice President ("EVP") of the Retail
Division.

As EVP of the Retail Division, you will report directly to me and have direct
P&L and operations responsibility for all Dean & DeLuca markets and cafes. Your
main responsibility will be to optimize the operating performance of existing
and new retail units, which will include, among other things, driving sales,
maximizing profits, standardizing best practices, and enhancing brand awareness
and consistency. You will also have responsibility for all new store openings,
including site identification, construction, design, staffing, training and all
related matters pertaining to the roll-out of new Dean & DeLuca markets and
cafes.

We would anticipate that for the next year, you will need to travel extensively
and can operate out of a home office during this period. Thereafter, you will be
expected to relocate to San Francisco, and office out of the corporate
headquarters.

Your annual base salary will be $215,000, with a $25,000 sign-on bonus payable
when the company goes public. Additionally, you will be eligible to earn a bonus
of up to 50% of your base salary, payable on your first anniversary date, based
on achieving mutually acceptable targets and objectives, although 50% of the
bonus will be guaranteed. The entire bonus, however, is contingent upon Dean &
DeLuca successfully completing an IPO. Your annual base salary will be subject
to adjustment based on a documented formula which measures the difference of
cost of living between Salt Lake City and San Francisco. We will also pay
reasonable travel and shipping expenses from Salt Lake City to San Francisco.

Finally, you will be granted 120,000 options to acquire the common stock of Dean
& DeLuca at $4.18 per share, subject to our four-year vesting schedule (the
options become automatically vested in the

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event of change of control). A copy of the stock option plan and stock option
agreement is enclosed with this letter.

You will also be eligible to participate in our 401K plan after one year of
employment and participate in our standard healthcare plan, upon completion of
90 days of employment (we will reimburse you for your COBRA payments during this
90-day period). You will be entitled to three weeks of vacation during your
first year.

Curt, Dane and I are extremely pleased that you will be joining our team, and
believe you will make a valuable contribution to the company as it embarks on
its exciting new growth initiatives. We look forward to you joining us within
the next three weeks. Please let me know your firm start date.

If the terms of this letter are consistent with our understanding, please sign
below and fax to Dane at 212-965-1765 upon receipt. Otherwise, call me if you
have any questions or comments.

Yours sincerely,

/s/ JOHN RICHARDS
------------------------
John Richards
President

I accept employment with Dean & DeLuca according to the terms set forth above.
My start date will be March 20, 2000.

/s/ CURTIS L. GRAY            2/23/00
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Signature                     Date

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