Famous Food

We tried squeezing Michael Jackson's secret french toast recipe out of his ex-cook Kai Chase -- and ended up with some even awesomer dishes ... from dead celebs. Hungry?

Ann Romney followed up her "Tonight Show" appearance with dinner at LA landmark, The Ivy -- a restaurant known for 2 things: paparazzi and high-priced salads.

Mitt Romney's wife walked out of the Ivy last night with 4 friends and Secret Service agents in tow -- but she was tight-lipped when we asked the question everyone wants answered ... when you leave The Ivy: "What did you have for dinner?"

Fact is the most popular menu item is a grilled veggie salad ... which will run you anywhere from $27.75 to $37.75.

Take that 47-percenters.

"Dancing With The Stars" is not even one week into the competition but all-star contestants Pam Anderson and Kirstie Alley are already laying down unique demands behind-the-scenes ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the production tell us ... Pam requested her trailer be fully stocked with cases of bottled coconut water called Beyond. Not so crazy, you say? Well the brand is imported from Australia ... and almost impossible to find in the U.S.

Meanwhile, we're told Kirstie REFUSES to eat the craft service food provided by "DWTS" ... and instead chooses to stick to her custom designed diet program Organic Liaison -- which gets hauled in for her daily.

FYI -- Kirstie's rep tells TMZ ... the actress lost 100lbs on her frou-frou diet and is committed to sticking with it ... and adds, "Steve Jobs didn't listen to music on a Zune."

If the guys from Boyz II Men are still hungry for justice ... they can finally take a bite out of Aaron Rodgers at their L.A. concert tonight ... where a food vendor is serving up an item in his honor ... a big, fat chicken sandwich.

B2M has a show at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona ... and to remind the group that Rodgers is still refusing to wear the 49ers jersey he's obligated to sport after losing a friendly bet in Week 1 ... a sports bar at the fairgrounds called Finish Line Sports is serving a special Aaron Rodgers Cry Baby Chicken Club.

The bar owner tells us each ARCBCC will be served on San Francisco sourdough bread ... with 49er fries on the side.

For the record, Rodgers acknowledged making the bet ... tried to weasel out of paying up ... and is now hoping everyone will simply forget it ever happened.

Never forget.

"MasterChef" Graham Elliot has ended his beef with some bitter ex-waiters ... agreeing to settle the lawsuit they filed against him and now the culinary god has to fork over some cold, hard cash.

According to court docs, both parties came to an agreement earlier this month. The judge signed off on the settlement and terminated the case on the same day.

The docs say Graham will pony up a "fair" amount to his former employees, but it's unclear how much.

One of the hottest restaurants in NYC has a hidden room where stars secretly get BAKED OUT OF THEIR MINDS ... while eating delicious Chinese food ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ.

The restaurant at the center of the controversy is Philippe Restaurant in Midtown ... which feeds expensive Asian cuisine to stars from the likes of Rihanna to Woody Allen.

But according to a new lawsuit filed by 4 employees, the guys who run the joint frequently give permission to some of their famous clients to smoke herb in a private basement dining area.

The employees don't name the celebrity pot-smokers -- but do note that rappers Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj have dined in the basement.

In the suit, the employees claim they were forced to serve the stoner clientele ... "which exposed them to smoke from a harmful and illegal substance."

One employee claims he was fired after complaining to management about not being able to breathe while working in the basement and smelling like pot when he returned home from his shift to his wife and son.

The other employees claim their shifts were significantly reduced in retaliation after they joined another lawsuit against the restaurant in which they claim they were unfairly tipped out and denied overtime.

All 4 employees are seeking unspecified damages.

A major U.S. beef processing company is suing ABC News for $1.2 billion -- claiming the network's coverage of a product called "pink slime" has duped consumers into believing it's unhealthy and unsafe.

The company behind the lawsuit is Beef Products Inc. -- which claims ABC News made somewhere around 200 "false and misleading and defamatory" statements about the product ... which BPI refers to as lean, finely textured beef.

In one report, ABC featured a former USDA scientist who claimed 70% of the ground beef found in supermarkets contains pink slime ... "beef trimmings that were once used only in dog food and cooking oil, now sprayed with ammonia to make them safe to eat and then added to most ground beef as a cheaper filler."

An attorney for BPI told the AP ... "[The ABC News reports have] caused consumers to believe that our lean beef is not beef at all -- that it's an unhealthy pink slime, unsafe for public consumption, and that somehow it got hidden in the meat."

A rep for ABC insists "The lawsuit is without merit" ... adding, "We will contest it vigorously."

According to the AP, a BPI rep says the ABC reports have had an "enormous impact" on the company -- with 3 of it's 4 plants shutting down since the stories hit the air ... resulting in a loss of 650 jobs.

Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse are accused of duping hungry consumers into buying bogus cooking knives ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Emeril Lagasse has been the pitchman for the cutlery, which he has been selling on the Home Shopping Network. Martha Stewart's company -- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia -- owns Emeril's product line.

The knives in question had the words "Solingen, Germany" emblazoned on the blade, leading consumers to believe the product was manufactured by the world-famous Solingen knife-makers. But according to the suit, the knives were cheap knock-offs made in China.

And this is funny. The lawsuit highlights some crappy consumer reviews on HSN's website. Por ejemplo: "That is terrible when a top chef lies to you on TV ... Emeril cannot be trusted with what he advertises." Another review says the knives "were rusting and were breaking in half."

Sofia Vergara ate a banana today.

FYI -- she's not really pregnant. The photo was shot this morning on the set of "Modern Family" in L.A. and Sofia's "pregnant" on the show.

"Iron Chef" and Food Network star Cat Cora won't be going to jail for DUI -- as long as she behaves herself -- because TMZ has learned, she just struck a sweet plea deal with prosecutors.

A rep for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney tells TMZ, Cat pled "no contest" today to driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher, stemming from her June arrest. The remaining DUI count was dropped.

Cora was sentenced to 3 years probation and 9 months of DUI school. She paid $2,386 in fines.

Cora also received a 120-day suspended jail sentence -- but she won't spend a day behind bars ... as long as she fulfills her probation and DUI school obligations.

Cora was arrested for DUI on June 17th in Santa Barbara. According to police, she admitted to drinking 3 beers and later blew a .19 on a breathalyzer ... more than twice the legal limit in California.

Cat later apologized for the arrest, saying, “I deeply regret my decision to drive that evening after my designated driver became unavailable."

Just moments after the crash, the other driver began videotaping her. Cat angrily responded by calling the driver and his passenger "nerds" with no life. TMZ posted the footage.

LL Cool J is the nicest, most generous man in the universe -- at least if you ask 5 random women who ate at Mr. Chow's in L.A. last night ... because the rapper spontaneously decided to PAY for their entire dinner ... and it wasn't cheap.

We spoke to the women outside the expensive Beverly Hills restaurant -- and no, they weren't actresses or supermodels ... they were just 5 normal women out for a nice (and pricey) dinner.

According to them, Uncle L was eating at a table next to them, and they hit it off almost immediately -- even posing for a photo with the rapper inside.

But LL decided to take his awesomeness one step further -- because when the ladies finally asked their server for the check, they discovered LL had secretly covered the giant tab on their behalf.

Drama at the Chick-fil-A same sex "Kiss-In" event in Hollywood ... TMZ has learned the chicken joint called police today claiming the MEDIA was harassing its employees.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the Chick-fil-A staff wasn't bothered by the pro-gay marriage event taking place inside the restaurant, but felt the media was being too aggressive in trying to get commentary from Chick-fil-A employees.

Cops responded to the scene, but by the time officers arrived ... both sides had already reached some sort of truce.

Bad news if you've ever wanted to sit in the booth where ex-murder suspect Robert Blake ate with his wife ... shortly before she was shot to death outside Vitello's Restaurant in L.A. -- TMZ has learned, it's being sold at auction.

The legendary Vitello's has undergone a complete facelift in recent months -- and a rep tells TMZ, the owners now only want "positive energy" to be part of the new restaurant.

As a result, Vitello's is selling off anything that might give off bad vibes -- including the booth where Blake and his wife ate the fateful night she was shot and killed outside the restaurant back in 2001

The auction will take place on eBay August 1st -- but don't expect to get the booth for cheap ... we're told bidding will start at $1,000.

It's a great piece of Hollywood history -- Blake and his deceased wife Bonny Lee Bakley ate in the same booth several times before the infamous murder.

In fact, the table played a KEY ROLE in Blake's alibi -- he told police he couldn't have shot his wife because he was inside the restaurant at the time retrieving a gun he left on the table.

A key member of the Chick-fil-A public relations department died of a heart attack this morning ... this in the middle of the biggest PR crisis the fast food chain has ever faced.

Chick-fil-A released a statement saying, "We are saddened to report the news to you that our dear friend Don Perry, vice president of public relations, passed away suddenly this morning."

As Chick-fil-A came under fire for its stance against gay marriage ... Perry spoke on behalf of the restaurant chain in an effort to smooth things over with the public ... promising to "leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

Chick-fil-A added, "Don was a member of our Chick-fil-A family for nearly 29 years. He was a well-respected and well-liked media executive in the Atlanta and University of Georgia communities, and we will all miss him."

He's a world class athlete ... he trains every single day ... so Rampage Jackson decided to treat himself this weekend ... by chowing down like a fat kid at the Orange County Fair.

The former UFC heavyweight champ was seen carrying a block full of deep fried curly fries and a burger this weekend ... because he felt like it.

Rampage has plenty of time to work it off ... his next fight isn't until October.

Fun Fact -- The OC Fair is famous for deep frying ANYTHING ... including butter, brownies, kool-aid, bacon, cheesecake, oreos ... you get the picture.

They say you are what you eat, so it's no surprise failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum loves him some anti-gay chicken.

The conservative 54-year-old just showed his support for controversial fast food chain Chick-fil-A -- whose president has been very vocal about the company's support for all things anti-gay lately -- by tweeting, "With two of my boys, Enjoying chick-in-strips and awesome peach shake at Chick-fil-A."

Then, in a reference to fellow GOP evangelical Christian Mike Huckabee's campaign for a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on August 1st, Santorum added, "See you here next Wednesday."