Famous Food

Jaws is back!!!

Just days after losing his crown at a famous shrimp cocktail eating contest -- Joey Chestnut redeemed himself at a Cleveland Cavaliers game, destroying the field in a pierogi competition.

The #1 competitive eater in the world -- who just lost by a wide margin at the St. Elmo shrimp cocktail eating contest in Indianapolis on Saturday for the first time in EIGHT YEARS -- went up against Cavs fans during the halftime show of the Lakers game ... and got his redemption.

Rockin' a Cleveland hoodie -- Chestnut stuffed his face, taking down a total of 47 pierogies ... while everyone else only ate 33 combined.

The 39-year-old was thrilled to be back in the winner's circle ... holding up a belt with the Cavaliers' mascot -- while wearing a big smile on his face.

Of course, things couldn't have looked worse for Chestnut just three days prior ... when he lost by nearly SEVEN pounds to Geoffrey Esper at the famous shrimp event.

The CFO for an NYC hotspot -- frequented by celebs -- was caught serving up rage to an employee she's accusing of stealing and selling recipes to a competitor, and we have audio of her brutally racist rant.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Naomi Ram of Jue Lan Club called staffer Jose Luis Toxqui and another employee into a back office in August. From there, she not only accused them of giving out free drinks from the bar, but also accused Jose and his girlfriend -- who works at competitor restaurant Sei Less -- of stealing Jue Lan's recipes.

The verbal tirade is stunning, Ram announces, "Somebody is going to f***ing go to jail tonight ... I will f*** your ass up in f***ing immigration. I will f*** you the f*** up."

Toxqui, who is Mexican, remains mostly silent throughout Ram's attack, as she also accuses him of giving out free drinks at the bar, before asking, "You ever been sent to ICE motherf***er?"

We've split the entire audio into 2 clips ... but in the one above, Ram really ramps things up, yelling, "I will make sure you never step foot back in this country."

She then delivers her most vicious attack, saying, "You little f****ing Mexican illegal pieces of s*** like you, shouldn't f*** with people who f***ing have money and f***ing who know f***ing s***!"

After this exchange, Toxqui ended up filing a police report against Naomi for harassment, and he told NYPD he hadn't stolen anything from her or the restaurant.

According to Page Six, Toxqui sued Ram for assault, battery and unpaid wages in September. During at least one part of the audio, it does sound like Ram might have physically assaulted Toxqui.

The dispute is scheduled to go to mediation in January.

When Page Six wrote about the dispute -- without the audio -- an attorney for Ram said, "Neither our office nor our clients have been provided with the purported audio recording, nor have we had the opportunity to listen to or verify it, and so we cannot comment on it. However, we intend to vigorously defend the litigation in the appropriate forum and not through the press.”

The king of eating has lost his crown -- at least when it comes to devouring shrimps -- 'cause Joey Chestnut was defeated at a famous seafood ingesting contest this weekend ... his first L at the event in EIGHT YEARS.

Believe it or not, the 39-year-old actually ended up in fourth place at the world-famous St. Elmo shrimp cocktail eating contest in Indianapolis on Saturday, losing to a dude who consumed 16 pounds and 6 ounces of the dish in 8 minutes.

Chestnut -- best known for his ability to pound hot dogs -- lost by a significant margin ... as he only put away 10 pounds and 9.6 ounces.

Geoffrey Esper -- the runner-up to Chestnut last year -- was the one who ultimately took home the title ... earning the first-place prize of $3,000, and, of course, the bragging rights of beating the Michael Jordan of eating contests.

It was a significantly down performance from Chestnut, who usually blows away the field at the event.

Just last year, he housed 17 pounds and 1.6 ounces of the shrimp cocktail -- and in 2018, he chomped down a record 18 pounds and 9.6 ounces of the stuff.

He did admit to a local station a day before the event that he was not feeling 100 percent, after battling a leg injury this year.

Nick Fuentes found out the hard way he's not welcome in Los Angeles ... 'cuz the white nationalist just got in a food fight with a couple at a famed In-N-Out Burger.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing Nick holding a large cup ... without warning he pitches it across the Hollywood restaurant early Saturday morning. Liquid from the cup showers everyone in its path ... and the doused diners look at Nick in utter shock.

Another video captured the moment Fuentes left the joint before the situation escalated ... as he's walking out, one patron mocks him for supposedly misidentifying himself, shouting, "F--k Nick Fuentes. You racist!!"

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... Fuentes and a friend were eating when a couple approached them and got into a dispute. It's unclear what the beef was about ... but, as you know, Nick has been in the news lately with Kanye West spreading antisemitic hate everywhere they go ... so just use your imagination.

Anyway, the couple got so pissed they threw ketchup-filled paper cups at Fuentes, splashing him with the condiment. The man and women then turned to walk out ... that's when Nick lost it, tossing his drink at them.

We're told the drink missed the couple. Nick left with his friend about 5 minutes later.

Liver King -- the viral "ancestral lifestyle" influencer -- is fessing up to using steroids ... apologizing to his followers for misleading them into believing he was completely natural.

45-year-old Brian Johnson gained a ton of followers through his primal living routine ... which includes eating raw animal organs, 9 ancestral tenets, and barbarian challenges.

The dude is undeniably buff as hell ... and despite numerous accusations of using steroids in the past, he continued to claim he earned his physique without any additional help.

But, LK was forced to face the music after YouTuber More Plates More Dates released a video exposing the influencer's steroid cycle earlier this week ... which alleged he was injecting $ 12,000 worth of stuff into his body.

MPMD even came with email receipts ... which appear to show what exactly the Internet star was taking.

Now, Liver King is coming clean about his steroid use ... releasing a 6-minute long video to his millions of followers to try to explain himself.

"I'm making this video to apologize because I f***ed up, because I'm embarrassed and ashamed, because I lied and I misled a lot of people." Liver King said.

LK -- who had a successful supplement company prior to becoming a viral personality -- says he struggled to handle being in the public eye once he blew up ... and he decided to cut corners in order to keep up with his audience's expectations.

"It's been tricky as f*** to navigate," he added. "Well, clearly, I did it wrong and I'm here now to set the record straight -- yes, I've done steroids and yes, I'm on steroids monitored and managed by a trained hormone clinician."

LK says he continued to run with the façade for those dealing with mental health issues who look up to him ... hoping ancestral living would provide a solution to their problems.

"While spreading the message, I've been on several podcasts, and when asked if I've ever taken steroids, I've always said, 'no. I don't touch the stuff. Not going to touch the stuff. Never touched the stuff.' That was a lie. I've convinced myself this had nothing to do with the ancestral message."

FYI -- Liver King has previously said he makes millions of dollars a month -- including his supplement brand.

He says he trained clean for decades ... but in 2021, he wasn't feeling 100% physically, so he made the decision to use steroids. LK says he kept it private, because he didn't want to spread the wrong message or have his previous fitness success overshadowed.

Hollywood is back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where President Biden's finally getting to entertain a foreign dignitary -- French President Emmanuel Macron -- as well as famous supporters.

Thursday night marks the return of swanky state dinners ... as the COVID pandemic forced Biden to cancel such events for the first 2 years of his administration, but the celebs are flocking back to the White House. No shocker.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are in the house, along with Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Garner and Ariana DeBose.

Apple CEO Tim Cook scored an invite too ... he's having a pretty loaded week, just yesterday he was meeting with Elon Musk at Apple HQ in Cali, smoothing things over with Twitter.

All the pomp and circumstance is for France ... Biden's working to repair the U.S. relationship with the European power.

These celebs are among 300 guests at the black-tie dinner, with folks dining on the best cheese America can offer Macron ... plus Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and triple-cooked butter potatoes.

There's live music too ... Dr. Jill Biden booked Grammy-winning musician and composer Jon Batiste, in part because he's from New Orleans, which Jill notes "has been shaped by both French and American culture."

Chevy Chase is going full Clark Griswold and plugging in to recreate one of the funniest 'Christmas Vacation' scenes for a fast food chain ... and once again, it's a real beaut!!!

The actor teamed up with Raising Cane's founder Todd Graves Tuesday night in the Chicago suburb of Morton Grove, IL for some festive fun -- and Chevy had all the power as they handed him a couple of extension cords to light the hell outta one of their restaurants.

The Cane's location has more than 13,000 lights, a Santa Claus, reindeer and sleigh -- almost as over-the-top as the display Clark juiced up in the 'National Lampoon' holiday classic.

They did not recreate the hilarious power outage and house fire from the movie -- but a crowd of more than 500 showed up to join in on the holiday cheer ... including a bunch of carolers and a whole marching band.

Chevy and Todd drove off in Clark's iconic (and hideous) wood-paneled "Queen Family Truckster" station wagon.

The display's staying up for the holidays, so 'Christmas Vacation' fans can get their grub on and snap a photo op with the elaborate setup.

Competitive eater and radio personality Patrick Philbin -- famously known as "Pat From Moonachie" -- has passed away. He was 59.

Former host Anthony Cumia of "The Opie & Anthony Show" broke the news of his death Monday night ... saying Philbin, who frequently appeared on the show, was an all-around good guy.

"Pat was a character," Cumia said via Twitter, "Entertaining as all hell. He was also a genuinely nice person. He was such a big part of the O&A show over the years. RIP Pat."

The cause of death hasn't been disclosed but Philbin recently told his followers he was undergoing hydrotherapy ... as one of his legs was amputated.

"I'm in hydrotherapy to keep my one remaining leg," Philbin said on Nov. 17.

There was also a GoFundMe started for Philbin that claimed he was dealing with health issues ... and needed the money for his medical expenses. They raised over $20k.

Besides being hilarious on the airwaves, Philbin was a Major League Eating competitor. In fact, Pat placed 2nd at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating contest in Atlantic City in 2009 ... the most famous eating competition in the world.

But, arguably, his best feat came during an eggnog drinking challenge ... when he took down 75 shots of the creamy beverage before throwing it all up on someone seconds later.

After hearing the news, Pat's fans flooded social media, paying tribute to the New Jersey native ... one of them saying on Facebook, "You were a funny MFer."

"I am so happy we met and lived near each other. May God bless you always. Make those jokes in Heaven."

Pat's friend, New Jersey-born comedian Jim Norton also shared some thoughts following his friends passing.

"Pat from Moonachie was a legend and responsible for iconically funny moments on the show. Pat was funny in the purest sense of the word. He always went for the laugh, every time in every situation. RIP to one of the greats."

Kraft Heinz has what some might call a cheesy lawsuit on its hands ... a woman claims the company misled customers about how much time it takes to cook its mac & cheese.

A Florida woman by the name of Amanda Ramirez filed the class action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz ... claiming its Velveeta Shells & Cheese is not actually "ready in 3 1/2" minutes, as advertised.

Ramirez says the 3.5 minutes is only the amount of time the food has to go in the microwave. She claims it takes more time to actually prepare the meal -- don't forget ya gotta pour water into the cup and stir in the cheese sauce.

She doesn't say how long it takes her, but claims the 4 steps listed in the directions --- remove the lid and cheese sauce pouch, add water to the fill line and stir, microwave for 3 1/2 minutes, and then stir in the cheese sauce -- don't equate to the mac actually being READY to eat in that time frame.

She's looking to put together a class of customers who might also be upset about the prep time and says the damages will exceed $5 million.

"We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint," the company reportedly told USA Today.

There's a massive problem with food going to waste in America as millions of people with food insecurity suffer, but some Brown University grads have figured out an awesome way to turn things around.

The Farmlink Project is connecting farms with massive oversupplies of food with food banks around the country. It's lightyears more effective than finding a restaurant here and there that is throwing away perfectly good food.

Co-CEO Ben Collier tells TMZ ... he and his pals from Brown shelved big careers in investment banking and other areas to find a better way to help the hungry.

Ben says farms routinely throw out millions of pounds of extra food, but he and his cohorts are changing that.

He cites one example of a farm that had 40,000 extra pounds of onions ... which Farmlink moved to an L.A. food bank.

The org. had 35 truckloads of avocados in Pennsylvania quickly shipped to an area food bank. The word "quickly" is the key, since avocados spoil quickly.

So far Farmlink has moved 85 MILLION pounds of food and provided 71 MILLION meals.

The org is seeking donations ... a buck provides 20 meals -- 24 pounds of food.

Celebrities like R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein are spending another Thanksgiving behind bars ... while Josh Duggar and Fetty Wap are spending the holiday in prison for the first time, but their menus are mostly traditional and plentiful.

TMZ obtained prison and jail menus from across the country -- specifically from spots where big names are locked up. Not everyone's getting turkey, but they'll all be feeling fowl!

Here's a breakdown of the Thanksgiving meals:

Duggar at FCI Seagoville:

-- Split turkey breast, baked ham, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, vegetable lasagna, veggie meatloaf, green bean casserole, rolls, holiday pies and cranberry sauce

R. Kelly at MCC Chicago:

-- Baked cornish hen, mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, green beans and holiday dessert

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris at FMC Lexington:

-- Glazed cornish hen, stuffed green peppers, candied yams, stuffing, mac & cheese, garlic macaroni, green beans, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and assorted fruit pies

Fetty Wap at MDC Brooklyn:

-- Herb-roasted turkey, tofu fried rice, baked candied sweet potato, mac & cheese, garlic macaroni, simmered cabbage, rolls and fruit pie

Ghislaine Maxwell at FCI Tallahassee:

-- Turkey, Tofurky, cornbread dressing, collard greens, mac & cheese, rolls, cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie

Harvey Weinstein at L.A. County Jail:

-- Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, green salad, rolls, pumpkin muffins and chocolate milk

In addition to all the grub, facilities are offering a ton of activities on Thanksgiving Day.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are partners in more ways than one ... telling us they're both going to hit the kitchen ... cooking up a storm for Thanksgiving!

We got Chrissy and John at Bristol Farms Wednesday, as they were stocking up on all of the ingredients for what sounds like a delicious Turkey Day feast.

Chrissy says they're cookin' for lots of friends and fam ... and to make everyone happy she's whippin' up a bunch of dishes.

John's no slouch when it comes to Thanksgiving either ... he says he's going to deep fry a turkey and prepare some macaroni and cheese to boot.

Take notice, guys ... Thanksgiving isn't just for watching football and waiting for the food to hit the table ... at least not at Chrissy and John's house.

Of course, not everyone knows what they're doing in the kitchen ... our photog included ... and THAT can make Thanksgiving a daunting proposition.

Turkey? Check. Sweet AND mashed potatoes? Check, check. Mac and cheese?! You better believe it!!

Pop star Bebe Rexha tells TMZ Sports she'll have ALL the Thanksgiving dinner fixins ready to go after she performs at the Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills game on Thursday ... and she made sure to bring her mom along for the feast!!

The "I'm Good" crooner spoke with us at LAX prior to heading to the Motor City for her gig at the Turkey Day game ... and she says despite being on the road, she's not going to miss out on the traditional grub.

Bebe says she's already ordered all the dishes to have a complete dinner ... setting it up perfectly to chow down right after she leaves the stage.

Of course, not everyone who works the Turkey Day games is as lucky -- FOX sideline reporter Erin Andrews previously told us she usually only has a PB&J sammich in the hotel after she wraps up her duties on Thanksgiving.

Bebe thoughtfully sends EA an invite to her Turkey Day gathering ... but unfortunately, she'll be in Dallas to report on the Cowboys game.

Tinashe and James Charles are among the celebrities giving back for Thanksgiving ... throwing on aprons to pass out warm meals to folks down on their luck.

The L.A. Mission on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles was crawling with famous folks Wednesday, as dozens of celebs got hands deep in mashed potatoes and gravy ahead of the holiday.

There were tons of reality TV stars volunteering, including "Vanderpump Rules" cast members Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss.

Other celebs serving up turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, collard greens, and biscuits included "Shahs of Sunset" alums Reza Farahan and Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi ... plus film producer Randall Emmett with his family, Kaycee Stroh, Emily Tosta, Tiffany Smith, Emma Caufield Ford, Frank Grillo, Chris McDonald, Montana Tucker and Julie Ann Emery.

Politicians got in on the act too -- like incoming Mayor Karen Bass, incoming L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Also serving meals to the 1,500 folks who needed some food ... Miss California USA Kelley Johnson and health and wellness entrepreneurs Liv Lo Golding and Hayley Hasselhoff.

Across the country in Atlanta, Sierra Glamshop from "Love & Hip Hop ATL" got in on the charitable action too -- dishing out $20k in gas cards and $20k in food cards to families that needed them from her beauty salon The Glam Shop.

Roquan Smith has only been a member of the Ravens for a few weeks ... but the former Bears linebacker is already making his presence felt in the community, handing out Thanksgiving food to Baltimore families ahead of Turkey Day.

The 25-year-old -- traded from Chicago to Baltimore last month -- showed up with his teammates at a local elementary/middle school to hand out food to 200 families, per WBALTV.

The outlet says Smith and other Ravens pulled their money together to purchase turkeys and side dishes for the families to enjoy on the annual holiday.

Baltimore shared videos Monday of Smith and the team packing boxes of food into cars as families came to pick up the items in time for Thursday's celebration.

Smith and his teammates did more than just hand out birds, though ... they took time to interact with community members -- and Roquan even offered to take a pic with a little kid eager to meet him.

The youngster had the warmest smile as he stood next to the linebacker ... and even said "cheese" while throwing up the peace sign as he posed for the camera.

Young Dolph is being honored by the place where he died on the 1-year anniversary of his tragic murder.

Pamela Hill, owner of Makeda's Homemade Cookies tells TMZ ... they're paying homage to the late rapper Thursday, who was also one of their favorite customers, by pumping out a bunch of dolphin-shaped cookies -- and the kitchen's been cooking like crazy to get the job done.

The shop's got pics of Dolph hanging on the walls, alongside photos of the boarded-up shop following the fatal shooting. Pamela tells us they'll also have a DJ playing some of the rapper's tunes for customers.

Staffers are wearing shirts with Dolph's face on it, too -- with some reading "black men deserve to grow old."

As we reported, Dolph was gunned down a year ago at Pamela's shop in Memphis, the men who killed him were caught on a surveillance camera and were eventually arrested.

Pamela tells us her place had to shut down for 10 months after the shooting, and reopened this past September. The shop spent thousands of dollars fixing windows, framing doors, repairing the floor and more.