Famous Food

We know Pauly D is a hot draw in the DJ booth, but we didn't know he was THIS hot -- as in, someone throwing down six-figures to watch him in action!!!

The 'Jersey Shore' stud is super pumped up about raising $200,500 for the All In Challenge -- raising money for food charities -- and he came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to explain why it could be a great deal for the winner.

Pauly's gonna teach the high bidder how to mix it up on the 1s and 2s, plus take them and a few friends for a night on the town. Even he admits, he didn't know what he could offer for the All In Challenge, at first -- considering Meek Mill donated a freakin' Rolls-Royce!!!

But, the highly in-demand DJ told us the winner's not just getting a party experience for that $200k. Yes, there will be bottle service, custom jerseys and wild parties, but more importantly ... the DJ lessons he's giving could mean a new high-paying career for the winner.

Speaking of the Sin City party scene -- Pauly says he's got his ear to the streets in Vegas, hoping for a shred of good news about the future reopening. He also admits it's really hard to keep social distance in his biz.

While the pandemic's hitting lots of people where it hurts -- Pauly says he's already canceled 30 shows -- celebs are making a difference with the All In Challenge.

The brainchild of 76ers partner Michael Rubin has raised $32 million and counting. A chunk of that is thanks to David Blaine. The famed magician's fan experience -- flying to your home for a private show -- went for $220,000, but it was a 3-way tie. Blaine decided to go to all 3 winners' homes, so that's $660k for charity!!!

As for Pauly ... yes, the tuition at Pauly D U. is expensive, but it's for a great cause.

Hungry consumers are looking elsewhere for a juicy bite as America starts to feel the crunch from meat shortages ... and it's a boon for plant-based meats.

Here's the deal ... with traditional meat processing plants and slaughterhouses getting hit hard by COVID-19, there's a looming shortage of traditional meats and poultry. Based on the numbers, more and more people are taking the opportunity to try new, healthier options.

Two of the country's biggest plant-based meat producers, Tofurky and Impossible Foods, both tell TMZ ... sales are up and they've already found ways to cut into the conventional meat industry's marketplace.

Tofurky CEO Jaime Athos tells us his company is selling more inventory to stores than ever before. It's a pretty stark change ... Tofurky says one of its retail partners fears conventional meat sales will nosedive 30 percent.

Tofurky is upping its supply to fill the void.

In response, Tofurky's upping its supply to fill the void, and capitalize on the Wendy's burger shortage ... it's about to roll out a new line of plant-based burgers.

Over at Impossible Foods, President Dennis Woodside says they had record retail sales in April and struck new deals with major grocery chains like Kroger. Impossible already jumped into the fast-food game by partnering with Burger King -- pre-pandemic -- and Woodside says those sales remain strong.

Beyond Meat is making a killing too ... with a whopping 141% increase in first-quarter net revenues, compared to last year.

Plant-based beef ... it's what's for dinner in 2020.

Byron Allen says the news about people waiting in line for hours to feed their families motivated him to do something, and he got instant support from a slew of superstar comedians.

The famed TV mogul told us he hatched the idea for the "Feeding America Comedy Festival" just a couple weeks ago, and his first call to get it going was to Kevin Hart.

Byron was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and said he followed up with calls to Tiffany Haddish, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler and so many more ... and they all had the same answer -- let's do this.

Byron -- who's partnering with Funny or Die to produce the benefit -- says viewers can expect more than just cookie-cutter material from the comics and actors. He tells us he gave them free rein to get creative in 2-3 minutes ... and it's going to produce lotsa laugh-out-loud moments.

Some other big names set to appear on the 2-hour comedy special include Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Whitney Cummings, Whoopi Goldberg, George Lopez, Marc Maron, JB Smoove and Marlon Wayans.

'Feeding America' encompasses a nationwide network of 200 food banks, and Byron told us the majority of them are facing increased demand for food and supplies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus is hurting Wendy's on the fryer, 'cause the famous fast-food chain can't serve their most basic product ... forcing people to ask the age-old question, "Where's the beef?"

It's true ... several Wendy's locations across the U.S. -- including here in California -- are experiencing a meat shortage due to COVID-19, especially in the beef department ... and as a result, a lot of them are yanking their famous burger creations from the menu. NOOO!!!

The reason ... lots of slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants are starting to shutter, either because of lay-offs or because the government's shutting them down out of precaution in an attempt to curb spreading even more disease. We know that game all too well lately.

Now, the pig-tailed redhead can't offer her famous "fresh-never-frozen" patties in certain parts of the U.S. -- and while customers are disappointed, they're also poking fun at the sitch.

Of course, we're talking ol' Clara Peller and the iconic '80s and '90s Wendy's commercials that boldly asked competitors ... "WHERE'S THE BEEF?!?" We're sure you've seen at least one -- and if not, here's a compilation of them back-to-back-to-back for good measure.

It used to be the pride and joy of Wendy's -- now, we have to settle for chicken sandwiches, Frostys, baked potatoes and chili. Actually, that doesn't sound half bad 😝

Here's further proof not all heroes wear capes or badges ... sometimes they're famous TV mobsters like Joseph Gannascoli, who is taking it upon himself to feed frontline workers.

The actor -- famous for playing capo Vito Spatafore on the hit HBO series -- started his mission early last month with a goal of raising $50k to feed hospital workers, firefighters and other frontline workers.

Joseph started a GoFundMe and the donations started piling up pretty fast. So far, he's raised just over $25k and he's ordered food from his local neighborhood restaurants and delivered it throughout NY ... from Long Island and Staten Island to the Bronx and Brooklyn.

His objective -- help local restaurants with some much-needed business while also helping emergency workers who are working nonstop to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. So far, he's brought TONS of meals to hospitals, fire departments, police departments and even a U.S. post office.

Joseph's massive deliveries -- from his neighborhood restaurants like Villa Maria, Vincent's Clam Bar, Greek Xpress, and Habanero Mexican -- have really wowed those receiving it, including Cohen Children's Hospital, Nassau University Medical Center to the Lynbrook Police Department. And, as long as the money keeps coming in, he'll continue to order the food, pick it up himself and also deliver the food himself.

And, get this ... Joseph got some much-needed good news just a few days ago after learning his 104-year-old aunt, Ida Acconciamessa, survived her bout of COVID-19 after she was diagnosed early last month ... when Joseph started his feed-frontline-workers project.

She's a tough woman ... having survived stage 4 melanoma, two broken hips, and not to mention, having lived through the Spanish Flu. Goes without saying ... Joseph will also be delivering food to her nursing home in Brooklyn later this week.

It's not the first time Hollywood's done its part to help frontline workers. As we first reported ... Steven Spielberg did the same with hospital workers in Burbank. Danny Trejo personally delivered tons of Mexican food from his famous L.A. joint.

There's an old saying -- "Close but no cigar" -- which precisely describes what went down at Luke Bryan's Florida cigar bar Friday night, because patrons were super close to each other.

Luke's cigar bar, Shore Thing Cigars, is located in Watersound, Florida, and on Friday night, it was the backdrop for Karaoke night, and stir-crazy customers flocked to the joint. The bar touted Friday, "TODAY'S THE DAY .... GRAND RE-OPENING!"

As you can see ... most were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

Florida has had a massive coronavirus outbreak and the lack of social distancing as they belted out No Doubt's "Don't Speak" during karaoke night ... well, doctors and scientists have told us how that ends.

Florida is allowing restaurants to reopen effective Monday ... but bars must still remain closed.

The bar is hosting a crawfish day Saturday ... patrons get free crawfish with the purchase of a sampler pack.

Bottom line ... as far as we can tell, the bar should not be open under any circumstances, and even if it's a restaurant, it was not supposed to open this weekend. And, even when restaurants open in Florida, they cannot be at more than 25% capacity inside.

Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion's new track is providing more than listening pleasure -- it's immediately feeding people in need by inspiring others to give.

As we told you ... the 2 women are donating proceeds from Bey's remix of Meg's "Savage" to Bread of Life in Houston, a nonprofit that supplies food for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charity tells us the song's release is already paying dividends though -- it received donations from 500 new donors in the first 24 hours after the song's Wednesday debut!

We're told the money continues to come from the 'Savage' attention -- most donors give anywhere from $5 to $50 -- and it's all being used to stock up for the increased demand for food with so many millions out of work.

Bread of Life sets up a drive-thru pick up spot for families to get boxes of groceries loaded right into their trunk. The org makes sure to take coronavirus precautions too ... there's no physical contact between the families and the staff, and masks and gloves are required.

As for how Bread of Life was chosen by Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion -- other than the Houston connection -- we're told Bey and her mom, Tina Knowles, have worked with the nonprofit in the past.

We're told the mother-daughter duo helped build an apartment complex for some folks in need who Bread of Life supports. Plus, Beyonce and the org's founder grew up in the same church.

Costco is making some big changes in the face of the coronavirus pandemic ... the superstore is requiring anyone walking through its doors to cover their faces.

The new nationwide change goes into effect Monday, and the rules require all members, guests and employees to wear masks or face coverings that cover the mouth and nose at all times while inside the superstore.

Costco says members who do not cover their faces will not be permitted inside its stores. However, the company says the mask policy does not apply to children younger than 2 or people who are unable to wear a mask or face covering due to medical conditions.

Seems many Costco members are already wearing masks ... as you can see at this Costco in Washington D.C. Wednesday, most shoppers are wearing masks and face coverings inside the superstore.

2 Chainz is looking out for his community ... by feeding the homeless instead of reopening his Atlanta restaurants for dine-in service.

The Atlanta rapper fed about 120 homeless people Monday, the day he was originally slated to reopen his 2 food joints, Escobar Restaurant and Tapas, for table service.

2 Chainz and his business partner, Snoop Dillard, distributed free meals outside their downtown Atlanta location ... and folks in need practiced social distancing while waiting for the free grub, standing six feet apart in line.

On the menu -- butter garlic chicken pasta and water. Snoop also hopped in a car and drove around the neighborhood, handing out free meals to people living on the streets.

As we reported ... 2 Chainz and Snoop were planning to reopen their restaurants Monday with Georgia lifting many of the state's coronavirus restrictions, but they reversed course after more consideration.

The restaurants are still open for take-out service, which is way safer than dining out.