"Paula Deen" news and stories

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.)

Celebrity chef and Smithfield Hams spokesperson Paula Deen, in town for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, donated 30,000 pounds of hams and other goods at a food bank in Pembroke Park on Friday.

People lined up in the "Ham Brigade" at Feeding South Florida to help pass the hams down to shopping carts that began to quickly fill up

Continue reading Paula Deen Donates Ham Without Getting Hit on CitysBest.com.

Anthony Bourdain was in fine form this weekend in the Cayman Islands, skewering sacred culinary cows with beer-fueled gusto during an hour-long "Chat with Tony." After being introduced by Gail Simmons, of Top Chef, as part of a the third annual Cayman Cookout on this Caribbean island, Bourdain revealed a behind-the-scenes secret about the show on which he also appears as a judge: "Who do you think really spends the most time in hair and makeup?" he asked an audience of 100 barefoot fans gathered on the island's famous Seven Mile Beach. "It's not Padma. It's Tom!"

Why Tom Colicchio, the show's folically challenged head judge [no pun intended] should require so much time in the grooming room makes no sense, Bourdain continued. "What does it take? A quick shine and go!"

Though she needs no real introduction, we'll give it a whirl anyway. Over the past twenty years, Paula Deen has risen within the world of southern cooking to become its matriarch. After opening Savannah, Georgia's, Lady and Sons, in 1996, she went on to become one of the Food Network's most iconic faces, starring in Paula's Home Cooking, Paula's Party and Paula's Best Dishes. Recently, she's expanded her empire to include an array of cookbooks, kitchen utensils and appliances, and even furniture. Plus, she's teamed up with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, in their "Real Women of Philadelphia" campaign, and was recently selected to be Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, preceding the 2011 Rose Bowl.

Paula Deen took some time out from her Thanksgiving prep at home in Savannah to chat with Slashfood about her memories around the holidays, the Rose Bowl and what she's excited about for 2011.

With the holidays approaching, how do you stay sane?

PD: I don't know [laughs]. I really don't know. I think it probably has a lot to do with my team members. I don't micromanage them. They do their job and I don't have to give it a second thought, unless something goes amuck, which is very seldom. But I almost fainted last week...when I was on the plane with them, and I said, "When is Thanksgiving?" and they said, "A week from tomorrow, dear." And I said, "What? How can that be?" So I almost fainted.

Let's play "Guess the Food-Celebrity's Kitchen." Kitchen Number One has warm woods, throw rugs and even some potted plants on the counters. Kitchen Number Two is white tile and stainless steel, every pot aligned exactly with the others hanging from the pot rack. Which is Martha Stewart's and which is Paula Deen's? OK, there really is no surprise that Martha prefers the de-cluttered, foursquare look of Number Two. But isn't it fun to actually see the kitchens where food celebs get their cutting boards dirty?

Curbed offers us a gallery of food-celeb kitchens, from Ina Garten, Guy Fieri, Rachel Ray, and others. Funny, we don't spot any refrigerator-magnet collections.