Famous Food

The woman suing Paula Deen and her brother Bubba for sexual harassment sent Paula a letter 3 months before she quit, praising Bubba for supporting her as a woman, giving him full credit for her success.

Lisa Jackson -- the former General Manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia -- claims in her lawsuit Bubba was a monster, subjecting her to endless pornography, making horrible sexist jokes, kissing and spitting on her, and being extremely racist.

But Lisa says in her letter to Paula, "When I started working for Bubba, he gave me an opportunity that allowed me, over time, a freedom I have never experienced." Lisa adds, "He allowed me, for once in my life, to take care of myself, and for once, have faith in myself as a person and as a woman to know that I could do it on my own."

Lisa goes on, "I have been given opportunities that I never thought possible, all because of you and Bubba."

It's ironic -- Paula Deen fired an allegedly philandering general manager of one of her restaurants because, as she put it, "If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p**sy, you better think again." So Paula replaced the G.M. with a woman, and now she's suing Paula and her brother for ... sexual harassment.

Lisa Jackson worked as the G.M. for Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah, Georgia from 2005 - 2010. Paula's brother, Bubba Hiers, is part owner along with Paula. Lisa claims Bubba brought "inescapable pornography" to the workplace all the time, often visiting XXX websites on the kitchen computer and failing to log off.

According to the suit, Bubba allegedly asked Lisa to bring pics of herself to work -- pics of her when she was younger -- telling her, "You have nice legs."

Bubba also told Lisa two women at the restaurant were "fat girls" and shouldn't be wearing capri pants or skirts.

And get this ... Lisa says Bubba once told another female employee who had just received dentures, "I bet your husband is going to like that."

And there's more ... Lisa says Bubba once told a joke to the staff that described why men should have sex with women who had flat heads ... "because you can sit your beer on top of her head while she is giving you a b**w job."

And Lisa says Bubba is racist, using the N word a lot and making horrible racist jokes.

There's a lot more, including alleged violent behavior on Bubba's part and an incident where he allegedly kissed Lisa on the face and spit on her.

Lisa, who says she was forced to quit because of intolerable working conditions, is suing for unspecified damages.

TMZ has obtained photographic evidence that food, or rather a bag containing food, touched the hands of Angelina Jolie today in Los Angeles.

It is unclear whether or not this constitutes "eating."

According to our sources, she would have to consume the food inside the bag for it to constitute "a meal."

Jolie was the passenger in a car driven by Brad Pitt as they made their way through a McDonald's drive-thru.

Calls to a rep for Angelina's right leg were not returned.

It's the first time in four years Ja Rule can celebrate his real birthday -- February 29th -- but despite being stuck behind bars, Ja won't go hungry ... and we got the rapper's 2,500-calorie prison birthday menu to prove it.

According to the "heart healthy menu" at the NY State prison where Ja is currently serving a two-year sentence for gun possession -- JR can look forward to some delicious corn flakes in the morning, Jamaican patties for lunch, and turkey stew for dinner.

According to the menu, the entire day's worth of food totals between 2,500-2,800 calories -- significantly more than the USDA 2,000 calorie guidelines.

Typically known for chowing down on everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to wings and Twinkies, competitive food eating champ Takeru Kobayashi set his sights on the holy grail of pastries and took a bite out of a massive Hamantashen -- a dessert usually consumed during the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Kobayashi kept it kosher while speaking at Yeshiva University in NYC on Thursday.

The New England Patriots are one of the most disciplined team in football -- and that has even carried over to their eating regimen leading up to the Super Bowl ... TMZ has learned.

According to our sources, the team has been on serious lockdown this week when it came to meals. We're told in Indianapolis ... the players HAD to eat what was put on the table.

Our sources say team cooks came to the hotel and prepared the grub. Dinner last night was a choice of chicken, steak or fish ... with a side of vegetables.

Takeru Kobayashi is gearing up to poop out the remains of 168-and-a-half chickens ... after putting on one of the GREATEST competitive eating displays of all time.

Kobayashi WOLFED DOWN 337 chicken wings at Wing Bowl 20 in Philadelphia ... defeating Jonathan "Super" Squibb and Bill "El Wingador" Simmons.

After the competition, Kobayashi told reporters he could probably take down another 100 wings.

Takeru -- the former world hot dog eating champ -- walked away with the new Wing Bowl record and a check for $20,000 (that's $59 per wing).

Battling rumors she's a pretentious jerk, Madonna went out and purchased the least pretentious thing on the planet for her Super Bowl entourage Wednesday night -- pizzas ... FIFTY delicious pizzas.

Sources tell TMZ, someone in Madonna's camp placed the massive order at a local Papa John's ... and Madonna covered the tab.

According to sources, Madge -- who's currently holed up in a swanky Indy hotel -- ordered a mixture of pepperoni, veggie, and cheese. She ordered so many, we're told the pizza place gave her a discount ... with the total coming to just $467.

When an assistant came to pick them up, we're told he left a "very decent" tip.

Of course, Madonna couldn't be completely unpretentious -- so for herself, we're told Mo ordered a medium veggie ... with NO CHEESE.

Typical.

Celebs piling into Super Bowl XLVI (46 to non-Romans) luxury suites better bring their own grub if they want fancy finger foods ... because TMZ has learned this year's stadium menu is loaded with home-style comforts.

While the Giants and Patriots do battle at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis -- Centerplate catering will dish up some Midwest favorites:

-- Braised Buffalo Short Ribs featuring natural buffalo in a classic French braise
-- Heartland Farm Table platter with local veggie selections
-- Chef designed Chicken Pot Pie

Basically ... sushi lovers stay home.

However, average joes in run-of-the-mill super expensive SB seats can get Indianapolis Shrimp Cocktails ... which we're told is legendary -- despite Indy being landlocked.

Oh, and there's a sweet consolation for the NFL teams that didn't make it to the big game. All team owners get a giant jar of mixed M&Ms in their team's colors.

Type 2 diabetic Paula Deen is unfazed by her life-threatening disease -- practically unhinging her jaw this week on a Caribbean cruise ... to take a heart-stopping bite out of a cheeseburger.

The picture was snapped Monday on board a Celebrity cruise ship -- where the 65-year-old is currently tempting fate, hosting her annual "Party-at-Sea" vacation for 400 devoted followers. It's hard to see, but there are also fries on her plate.

The cruise left Miami on Saturday -- and it's set to visit Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten on the 7-day calorie-filled round trip.

So far, it's unclear if they serve salads.

Anthony Bourdain is putting Paula Deen ON BLAST -- mocking the butter-loving chef for poisoning Americans with unhealthy food ... and now trying to profit off of their illness.

In an ultra-transparent Twitter attack -- Bourdain wrote, "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later."

The "Kitchen Confidential" author is presumably pissed that Deen -- who built an empire off her high-fat, high-sugar recipes -- announced she has diabetes ... and subsequently revealed she's become a paid spokeswoman for a diabetes medication.

There are reports ... Deen knew about her diabetes for years -- but continued to hock her recipes on her Food Network cooking show, while secretly negotiating the endorsement deal.

Obviously, Bourdain sees a serious conflict of interest in Deen's behavior.

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are getting a hero's welcome in Dallas this month -- thanks to Lamar's new teammate Shawn Marion, who's throwing a blowout welcome dinner at his insane mansion ... including fried lobster, absinthe cocktails, and Kobe beef.

TMZ has obtained the invitation to the dinner -- scheduled for January 26th at Marion's 12,600 square foot Dallas palace ... to welcome Lamar, Delonte West, and Vince Carter to the Mavericks.

According to sources, the entire Mavericks team will be present ... along with some other select VIPs -- and the entire affair will be catered by a chef from a local fancy steakhouse.

We're told the menu is inspired by Khloe and Lamar -- and will include items from the couple's wedding menu ... like Wagyu beef sliders and champagne with floating Gardenia petals.

Amber Portwood's second-to-last meal of 2011 won't be leaving her with fond memories ... but at least there will be KOOL-AID!!!

The "Teen Mom" star is currently behind bars at Madison County Jail in Indiana, awaiting her late January court date on possible probation violations.

According to our sources, Portwood's lunch today will consist of a turkey sandwich on white bread with American cheese, fruit cocktail, and Kool-Aid to drink.

Portwood's Xmas dinner wasn't much better -- she dined on turkey sausage pizza, a side of carrots (cold, not steamed), peas and some pineapple.

Amber Portwood is firmly entrenched on Santa's naughty list -- not only will she be spending the holidays behind bars, but her Xmas Eve meal sounds worse than eating a lump of coal.

Amber was tossed in the slammer earlier this week and will remain there until a court date in January.

According to the folks at the Madison County Jail in Indiana, inmates will be dining this evening on turkey sausage pizza (which was described to us as "a meat-like substance on top of the pizza"), a side of carrots (cold, not steamed), peas and some pineapple.

Amber will not be having dessert.

The Cheerios honeybee got the XXX treatment on the front page of an official Cheerios website this morning -- thanks to some mischievous vandal -- and now, General Mills is scrambling to clean up the mess.

It's supposed to be a website for kids to make their own Cheerios-themed comics -- but clearly, someone got carried away ... and the explicit cartoon made it to the top of the popular "Honey Defender" website.

A rep for the cereal company tells TMZ, “We have some safeguards that are supposed to keep this from happening, but I guess it wasn’t set up with this game."

The rep adds, "Normally, our games where we allow viewers to spell out things themselves have safeguards that tell children they can’t type stuff like that in. Let’s just say this is no longer going to be the 'Hot Comic of the Week' much longer!”

After signing a massive $250 million contract , Albert Pujols will be joining the Los Angeles Angels next season -- and a local sports bar is commemorating his arrival with an equally massive burger.

The OC Sports Grill, located a stone's throw away from Angels Stadium, is introducing the new Machine Burger ... to celebrate his signing. Here's the lineup for the burger, which has a Dominican flair in Albert's honor:

1/4 lb. chimichurri seasoned burger, queso frito, pulled pork & cabbage tossed in “savon” sauce, tomatoes, avocado, and crispy onion straws.