"spike mendelsohn" news and stories

What food do you eat that would give you a bad rep if other chefs knew about it?
SM: Once in a blue moon I'll have a Lunchable, if I find it.

Which celebrity would you love to cook for and why?
Angelina Jolie's son Pax, who is from Vietnam. I lived there and learned the cuisine firsthand. I'd like to cook for the whole family....what a dinner it would be.

What chef would you like to see naked?
Chef Marcela Valladolid.

The 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicked off with a carnivorous bang at the Amstel Light Burger Bash, which was presented by Allen Brothers and hosted by Rachael Ray. The fourth annual Burger Bash, which was held in a tent behind the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, was a smashing success with 27 entries spanning celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Rocco DiSpirito and David Burke. Nearly 3,000 revelers chowed down on gourmet burgers and spuds, drank truckloads of beer and gawked at Rachael Ray.

The biggest line could be found at Morimoto's station, where the Iron Chef was serving a pork "Kakuni" burger with glazed pork belly. Over at Shake Shack's booth, the New York stalwart tried to ingratiate themselves to the Miami scene (they are opening a local outpost here in the spring) with free t-shirts, shakes and their famous burgers.

Women were swooning over Rocco DiSpirito, who spent more time posing for photos than dishing up his Pork and Chow Chow Slider, which was a mini pork patty, wrapped in bacon and served with chow chow and pickled beets. While Guy Fieri turned heads with his blond, spiky coif, fans weren't able to get too close to him as he was flanked by bodyguards all night. We were able to chat up the festival's founder and director, Lee Brian Schrager, whose top pick of the evening was Morimoto's porcine-themed burger.