Celebrities

Tabloid: Paula Deen Hiding Diabetes

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 28th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Paula Deen Photo: Jason Merritt / Getty Images

Is it time for Paula Deen to lay off the fried butter? The Daily Mail has picked up on a National Enquirer report that Paula Deen was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago, yet still "continues to tout exactly the type of butter or sugar rich high-fat recipes that bring on diabetes."

A friend of Deen's told the Enquirer, "Ironically, the very thing that made her rich and famous turned her into a poster child for what could happen if you follow in her footsteps." But source says that Deen has modified her diet and eating habits, which has supposedly resulted in weight loss as well.

Interestingly enough, on PaulaDeen.com, there is a discussion board thread relating to diabetic-friendly Paula Deen recipes. Our guess? They're giving Deen's Donut Bread Pudding a wide berth. (The recipe calls for two cans of sugary fruit cocktail, a can of sweetened condensed milk, an entire stick of butter, a whole pound of powdered sugar and -- ready? -- 24 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.)

Filed under: Celebrities, Chefs

Guy Fieri Joins Lawmakers to Promote Family Dinners

COMMENTS 2

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 27th 2011 @ 4:00PM

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo

Yes, his overbearing manner and spiked blond hair can rub people the wrong way, but at his core, Guy Fieri seems like a pretty decent guy. Recently, the host of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" used his clout to try to convince the California legislature to adopt a resolution urging the families to meet and cook weekly meals together every Sunday, reports the Associated Press.

Fieri, who helped pass a 2008 initiative to make the second Saturday in May "Cook With Your Kids Day" says he thinks cooking at home builds healthy habits.

"Let them stand there and work the saute pan, let them do the plate up, let them deliver it to the family," Fieri told the lawmakers. "Start them off slow. Educate them as you go."

Filed under: Food Politics, Celebrities

The 7 Biggest Celebrity Fad Diets

COMMENTS 0

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 27th 2011 @ 12:00PM

baby food Photo: justmakeit, Flickr

We all know the "secret" to losing weight: Eat less and exercise more. But where's the fun in that? Celebs have been trying out zany alternatives to the sensible path to fitness for years, and The Daily Meal has a list of seven of the weirdest ways high-profile stars have tried to drop pounds. The Babyfood Diet is just sort of silly (though eating green-hued unseasoned purées would make anyone lose their appetite) but it was good enough for Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Brooke Shields preferred the Cabbage Soup Diet, while Kim Kardashian opted for the sounds-better-than-it-tastes Cookie Diet.

Want to see if you've tried the same fad diet as a celeb? Check out the full list at The Daily Meal.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Celebrities

Jon Bon Jovi To Open "Pay What You Can" Restaurant

COMMENTS 17

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 25th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Jon Bon Jovi Photo: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

If you've ever listened to the lyrics of Bon Jovi's 1986 signature anthem, "Livin' on a Prayer," you know Jon Bon Jovi sympathizes with those down on their luck. (Remember? Poor Tommy used to work on the docks, but union's been on strike...).

Now the singer, already well-known for his philanthropic works through his non-profit Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, plans to open a community restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey. Soul Kitchen, which is slated to open this spring, isn't just any restaurant, though. The eatery will serve low-cost or no-cost meals to diners and ask they they volunteer at the restaurant in return. (If this model sounds familiar, it's because a similar restaurant exists in Denver.)

It's a feel-good model that works for everyone. And if the food's good, it might just start a trend.

Filed under: Celebrities, Restaurants

Flavor Flav Ditches His Fried Chicken Restaurant

COMMENTS 4

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 25th 2011 @ 12:00PM

Flava Flav Photo: Jeff Kravitz / WireImage

After a turbulent four months of bounced checks and low staff retention, Clinton, Iowa-based Flav's Fried Chicken has shuttered, reports WQAD. Flav claims that restaurant manager Nick Cimino wasn't running the business right, while Cimino believes that Flav is a "fraud" and he is glad to be "free of somebody like Flavor Flav." TMZ learns that Flav also had issues with the food itself, after discovering potato salad on April 2 that was being served, despite being expired since February 28. Flav is still looking into pursuing other restaurant ventures, including a Las Vegas place called "Flavor Flav's House of Flavor," expected to open May 30, and perhaps another restaurant in Davenport, Iowa as well.

Filed under: Celebrities, Restaurants

'Famous Food': VH1's Restaurant Reality Show is Life on the B-List

COMMENTS 0

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 21st 2011 @ 3:00PM

Danielle Staub, Jake Pavelka, and Heidi Montag Photos: Marc Stamas/Getty Images; Michael Buckner/Getty Images; Steven Lawton/FilmMagic

Just in case you've been dreaming about eating in a restaurant that was launched by the likes of reality star Heidi Montag, former prostitute Ashley Dupre and Real Housewife of New Jersey Danielle Staub, this is your lucky day. VH1 is launching a new 10-episode reality show this fall, aptly named Famous Food. The show's title is also the name of the to-be-launched Los Angeles restaurant in which the television stars will work with Mike Malin and Lonnie Moore of the Dolce Group (Ketchup, Angels & Kings, Geisha House and Dolce) to open the joint and undergo challenges "related to renovation, concept, marketing, menu, staffing and opening."

TV Squad explains: "At the end of the eight-week process, the celeb who Malin and Moore think worked the hardest will win a partnership stake in the restaurant, while the rest will go on to ... other things. (Probably more reality shows.)"

Other contestants include The Bachelor's Jake Pavelka, Three 6 Mafia members DJ Paul and Juicy J, and former Sopranos star Vincent Pastore.

Filed under: Television/Film, Celebrities

Curtis Stone Addresses His Haters, Plans to Open LA Restaurant

COMMENTS 11

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 21st 2011 @ 12:00PM

Curtis Stone Photo: Casey Rodgers / AP Images for Bravo

YumSugar interviews omnipresent celebrity chef, "Top Chef Masters" host and "America's Next Best Restaurant" judge Curtis Stone and finds him "surprisingly grounded and impressively well-spoken." Stone has recently caught some flack for being more of a pretty face (those eyes!) than, well, a chef. Eater recently asked the question on everyone's mind, "Who the Hell is Curtis Stone Anyway?").

In the YumSugar interview, Stone admits that his detractors almost have a point. "If you're going to say you're a chef, you need to cook somewhere, which is why I'm opening a restaurant. I miss cooking in a restaurant, and that camaraderie, and that art of perfection that I was talking about."

Stone hopes his Los Angeles restaurant will be "a nice little place, where you can still cook for people the way you want to...I want it to be relaxed and special; I think 40 or 50 seats would see me out." Don't worry ladies, the man still has a few tricks up his sleeve (note: he is involved with the actress Lindsay Price). When asked what he wants to be remembered for, the cheeky Stone answered, "A few things spring to mind that I shouldn't say out loud."

Filed under: On the Blogs, Celebrities

Royal Wedding Menu Heavy on the Appetizers, Light on Everything Else

COMMENTS 2

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 2:00PM

Royal Wedding canapes from Buckingham Palace Photo: Nick Ansell, AFP / Getty Images

With 650 guests invited to celebrate Kate and Wills' big day, and the Buckingham Palace kitchens only equipped for formal dinner service for around 150, the menu for the Royal Wedding will not exactly be a five-course affair. In fact, it will consist of nothing more than a "modest spread of Champagne, wedding cake and two-bite appetizers, or canapes," reports the New York Times.

The 21-chef kitchen plans to make 10,000 appetizers, which comes to about 15 canapes per guest. Among them, mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream (above left, being prepared by sous chef Mark Stewart), and bubble-and-squeak confit with lamb shoulder (above right, being arranged by Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, Head of Kitchens at Buckingham Palace). Other house specialties include smoked salmon, herbed crèpes and Cornish pasties. The two-bite factor is aimed at convenience, "should a guest need to put one away in order to greet a passing dignitary."

In the evening after the wedding, Prince Charles is hosting a three-course dinner for 300 guests in Buckingham Palace catered by London restaurateur Anton Mosimann.

Join in on the party -- the Los Angeles Times recommends these 22 canapes to make at home. Or to be made by your own Royal Chef.

Filed under: Celebrities, Events

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Recap: "I Found a Loophole!"

COMMENTS 3

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 20th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, tomato costume Photo: ABC

The rough ride continues in Food Revolution episode two: Jamie Oliver has opened one of his cooking centers in town (free for the locals) and humbly invites members of the Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD) -- which still won't let him into a single school -- to stop by. Blank stares say that's not happening. "I haven't even got a glimmer of hope," he says. "Which means, it's war."

In this war, Jamie's army might be confused with the Fruit-of-the-Loom brigade. Donning a tomato costume, Jamie enlists parent volunteers -- outfitted in banana, strawberry and carrot -- and roams the school-bound streets with free food, t-shirts (that read "Feed Me Better" and "Let Jamie In") and flyers to get parents to contact the LAUSD themselves. Then, natch, the community firestorm begins: "We're teaching our kids to be diabetic, when we train them to eat pizza," one mother in her strawberry war garb tells Jamie. And more than 745 parents send emails to the board, including a particularly powerful one: "I urge you to search your conscious. If you have nothing to hide, then let him in."

Suddenly, Jamie gets an email from a school that offers him a giant loophole. The West Adams Preparatory High School, under a special MLA partnership with LAUSD, has some freedom to build its own curriculum and function atypically -- but to a limit, Jamie finds. The school admits its staff is risking their jobs by letting Jamie in, and are aren't allowed to give him access to the cafeteria, but he is given a room to hold cooking classes. "We need him here," says Chief Executive Officer Mike McGalliod, who was impressed with the Revolution's first season.

Filed under: Television/Film, Celebrities

Dukan Diet Book, A Celeb Smash, Hits U.S. Stores Today

COMMENTS 0

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Apr 19th 2011 @ 2:00PM

The Dukan Diet Photo: Amazon

The Dukan Diet reportedly has Kate Middleton and J. Lo slenderizing. But is this high-protein, low-carb, four-phase diet really anything new? Calling Atkins and South Beach!

Now you can find out what all the hype is about. The English version of the decade-old French weight-loss bible The Dukan Diet: 2 Steps to Lose the Weight, 2 Steps to Keep It Off Forever, by French physician Pierre Dukan, MD, hits stores today, April 19.

Our friends over at Everyday Health asked nutritionist Kelly MacDonald, RD, to review the Dukan Diet, and lay out the pros and cons. Among them: "Though you may see rapid initial weight loss, it will mostly be from water and, later, from muscle mass. You'll also likely experience fatigue, moodiness, and other symptoms because the diet is so severely lacking in carbohydrates."

Click here for the whole Dukan Diet story from Everyday Health.

Filed under: Health & Medical, Celebrities