Famous Food

Beware of flying meatballs ... "Basketball Wives" stars Suzie Ketcham and Kenya Bell got into an all out physical brawl on set last week ... that started when one threw a plate of meatballs at the other.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ that the fight went down at a restaurant in L.A. where the cast was taping an episode for season 5 -- in which Kenya (who was fired last year) was temporarily brought back to settle her beef with Suzie.

But it didn't go as planned ... OR DID IT??? We're told the two got into a heated verbal exchange ... which quickly escalated when Suzie threw her plate of meatballs across the table, striking Kenya.

According to our sources, Kenya fired back by lunging at Suzie and then punches were thrown on both sides. Producers were forced to step in and break it up.

Our sources say fellow cast members Evelyn Lozada and Tami Roman walked away -- wanting no part in the melee. Police were NOT called to the scene.

10:28 AM PST: A rep for Paula tells TMZ ... the notion that she was drunk is ridiculous, because Paula's not a drinker.

She INSISTED the morning mojito she sipped on was of the virgin variety ... but Paula Deen's goofy, salsa-dancing, chicken-ball obsessed appearance on "Today" had the Internet asking ... was she drunk??

Deen and her son kicked it with the morning show gang in Miami this morning to talk food -- but Deen was taking the conversation all over the place ... and people on Twitter began to question her sobriety.

She started with an impromptu hip-shaking salsa dance ... before talking about a run-in with a skunk that went down before the show began. Deen also tried to make the hosts smell her hands.

Doesn't seem like she was hammered ... just her usual loud, uninhibited self.

The NYC deli that accused Forest Whitaker of shoplifting last week is blaming the incident on a "misguided" employee ... and insists race was absolutely NOT a factor.

TMZ spoke with a rep for the Milano Market ... where the Academy Award winner was publicly FRISKED after he was wrongly suspected of stealing an item.

The rep tells us, "The management of Milano Market deeply regrets the wrongful actions of our employee in stopping and frisking Forest Whitaker."

"While we can not delve into the employee's mindset, we do not believe that he was racially motivated in his actions, simply misguided."

The Market says it is taking steps to retrain employees so it doesn't happen again.

And there's more ... the rep says the store wants to reach out to Forest so it could make a donation to the charity of his choice, in an effort to make things right.

1:45 PM PT -- The shop owner just called in to TMZ Live to issue a formal apology for the incident. He also said he FIRED the guy who frisked Forest.

Forest Whitaker is furious with a NYC deli ... telling TMZ he was wrongly accused of shoplifting Friday morning ... and even FRISKED IN PUBLIC in a humiliating violation of his rights.

Whitaker -- an Academy Award-winning MILLIONAIRE -- says he was on his way out of the Milano Market on the Upper West Side Friday when he was stopped by a deli employee and accused of swiping an item from the shelf.

An eyewitness tells TMZ ... the employee proceeded to frisk Whitaker in plain view ... treating him as if he were a common criminal.

Shocker, the employee's pat down yielded zilch ... and Forest left the establishment baffled and angry.

Whitaker's rep tells TMZ, "This was an upsetting incident given the fact that Forest did nothing more than walk into the deli. What is most unfortunate about this situation is the inappropriate way store employees are treating patrons of their establishment.

Frisking individuals without proof/evidence is a violation of rights."

The rep adds, "Forest did not call the authorities at the request of the worker who was in fear of losing his employment. Forest asked that, in the future, the store change their behavior and treat the public in a fair and just manner.”

"Honey Boo Boo" star Mama June tells TMZ ... she's dropped more than 100 POUNDS in the past 2 years -- and claims she did it all WITHOUT DIETING OR A GYM!

The TLC reality superstar says she weighed in at 365 lbs when she first starting taping the show back in January 2011 ... but has since slimmed all the way down to a trim 263 lbs.

So what's her secret? June says she credits the whole thing to her active production schedule ... because she sure as hell hasn't cut back on the 'sketti, Ramen noodles and cheese puffs.

"I haven't done any surgeries ... no diet pills ... never went to the gym," June says ... "but with the show I've been more active."

She continues, "They have me running around and going different places ... I guess it's paying off."

Know why your Super Bowl party sucked? Because competitive eating champ Takeru Kobayashi wasn't there ... eating an ENTIRE PIZZA in one minute flat.

Kobayashi's rep tells TMZ, some guy on Long Island paid the human garbage disposal to make an appearance at his 40-person Super Bowl party last night ... and perform an eating challenge.

Kobayashi decided to attempt to break his world record for scarfing a 12-inch pizza (1 minute 9.36 seconds). In the clip, Kobay downs the 12-incher in 60 seconds flat ... but it wasn't an official event, so it doesn't count as a new record.

His rep wouldn't comment on how much he was paid -- but Kobay's publicized rate for lunch or dinner appearances is $1,500.

Kobayashi also accepted a beer chugging challenge from a random party goer yesterday ... but we were a little disappointed with TK's performance.

Paul Nassif -- Adrienne Maloof's soon-to-be ex-husband -- has sued the former couple's chef ... claiming the cook blackmailed and extorted him after falsely accusing Paul of being a wifebeater.

Paul alleges in his suit ... Bernie Guzman plastered photos of a bruised Adrienne on his Facebook page, with text that read in part, "Adrienne Maloof was pushed to the ground. Punched and beaten." Guzman also wrote, "Now you know who and what he [Paul] really is ... he is a beast." Paul says the claims of abuse are "outrageous and vicious lies."

As for the blackmail and extortion claims ... Paul says he sicked his lawyers on the chef, and Bernie texted back, "Stop harassing me...Have you forgotten I witnessed you beat your wife ... Kids & animals. I have plenty of pretty family photos ... Some not so pretty ... Stay away ..."

Paul believes the upshot of Bernie's text is that if Paul made an issue out of what Bernie said he'd release more damaging pics and allegations.

Paul is suing for unspecified damages.

Dressed similarly in blue-ish outfits, hard-partying Hollywood playboys Gerard Butler and Mel Gibson were in good spirits as they hung out for dinner at Zuma in Miami on Thursday night.

We're told the new BFFs were with a large group and chowed down on fancy 28 oz steaks, caviar and even threw back some sake ... without incident.

Eating at Wolfgang Puck's restaurants can be a real headache -- just ask a woman who says she was dining at one of Wolfgang's D.C. locations ... when a waitress smashed her in the head with a pitcher ... and now she's suing the famous chef.

Tamara Mason-Williams filed the lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming she was eating at Wolfgang's The Source Restaurant back in April ... when a waitress walloped her dome with a "heavy metal water pitcher."

Tamara says the incident left her with a nasty concussion -- and Wolfgang's restaurant is 100 percent to blame because of its "negligently trained" staff.

She's now suing for an unspecified amount in damages for lost income and medical expenses.

Legendary boxing promoter Don King could be done with boxing for good ... because he's now hyping the FOOD INDUSTRY -- promoting a recent "Top Chef" cast-off in the hopes of helping her open her own restaurant.

81-year-old King was in Miami yesterday when he explained he had taken Chef Josie Smith-Malave under his wing ... and is now rallying to get her another shot on the show ... and better yet, her own fried chicken chain.

Chef Josie was recently eliminated from "Top Chef: Seattle" for an overspiced fried chicken recipe -- but King tells us, "I feel she was unjustly relieved [from the show]. What we want to do is put her back. We want to vote her back in through the process."

King -- who spoke to Chef Josie for the first time last week -- says he's not doing this for the money ... he's just a fan of Josie's cooking.

Sean Stewart and Adrienne Maloof enjoyed a pleasant lunch (or should we say ... a happy meal?) as they hit up a McDonald's drive-thru in Hollywood yesterday.

Halle Berry's rep tells TMZ, Peter Farrelly left out an important detail in the guacamole-boob story -- Halle didn't dunk her actual breasts in pulverized avocados ... they were prosthetics.

Halle Berry took her top off ... and dunked her bare breast into a bowl of guacamole on the set of "Movie 43" ... this according to the film's director.

Peter Farrelly revealed the boob-exposing bombshell during an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit earlier today ... when someone asked PF which actor surprised him the most on the set.

"I would have to say Halle Berry," Farrelly said ... explaining, "I was a little nervous about meeting her because her scene is so outrageous and I was afraid she might get on the set and balk."

"Not only did she not, but she thought the scene was too soft, and asked us to amp it up a little."

"We ended up coming up with a couple of things for her to do that weren't scripted, but were insane. To give you an example [her scene] is about a couple (her and Stephen Merchant) who play Truth or Dare on a first date. Among other things she ended up sticking her bare breast into a bowl of guacamole. She couldn't have been more fun to work with."

Wanna know the secret to Kelly Clarkson's sensational LIVE performance of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the Presidential Inauguration? Two words ... STUFFED MUSHROOMS.

That's right, the night before Kelly rocked the National Mall in front of more than 800,000 people ... she and a few friends carbo-loaded at Buca di Beppo in D.C. -- and as everyone knows by now, it clearly paid off.

We're told Kelly and co. feasted on lasagna, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, half-pound meatballs, spaghetti, chicken parmigiana -- and the always delicious colossal brownie sundae ...all for a cool $230.

Our sources say Kelly was super friendly, took time to snap pics with the staff (above) -- and left in extremely good spirits.

And then she did this ...

You're Beyonce and you just faked your way through "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of millions of people -- including the President -- what's your next move????

CHOWING DOWN ON CRAWFISH AND SWEET POTATO PIE!!!!

After Bey "performed" at the Inauguration Monday, she and Jay-Z jetted down to New Orleans -- and the first thing they did that night ... was hit up the famous Mother's Restaurant.

We're told B and J noshed on some serious comfort food ... crawfish etouffee, potato salad, double grits, french fries, catfish, and calamari ... PLUS sweet potato pie and bread pudding for dessert.

Based on the menu, the meal set 'em back under $100 ... but we're told the two were "very sweet" and tipped "extremely well."

Rihanna knows EXACTLY how to please a man ... especially if that man is a waiter, because on Friday she gave one lucky server in Hollywood the biggest tip of his food-slangin' career.

It all went down at the Laugh Factory comedy club -- Rihanna was there with 6 of her friends ... downing drinks and listening to Dane Cook tell "jokes" on stage.

But when the bill came ... a measly $80 ... we're told Rihanna asked her waiter what the biggest tip he ever received was. He said $100 ... so Rihanna slapped $200 into his hand and replied, "Now I'm your biggest tip."

The Nicki Minaj/A.1. Steak Sauce love affair isn't a one way thing ... because it turns out the folks behind the tasty, tasty sauce are as big a fan of her as she is of them.

If you'll recall ... our photogs spotted Minaj out this week at Boa -- a super-fancy steakhouse in Hollywood -- where she had someone bring her a bottle of A.1. into the restaurant.

While the move is a HUGE no-no in steak etiquette, the folks over A.1. tell TMZ they were thrilled to see Minaj make a sauce run and they are HUGE fans of hers.

The rep tells us, "We’re so glad to hear that Nicki Minaj loves our sauce just as much as we love her and her music. To make sure she’s never 'sauceless' again, we sent Nicki some of our A.1. Original Steak Sauce. Now she’ll have A.1. wherever she goes."

Much to delight of Nicki ... and the chagrin of chefs everywhere.