Famous Food

COVID-19 is still ruining spooky season traditions -- virtually killing off any chance of pumpkin carving on a popular Food Network show, and it's seriously pissing off fans.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... yes, as some eagle-eyed viewers have sourly noted during this season of "Halloween Wars," slicing up the traditional winter squash is NOT happening at the moment. And, we have more bad news ... it's gonna continue that way, at least for this year.

The reason ... we're told it's because of the pandemic, and the timing of production -- something that's out of the hands of showrunners, who are doing their best to adapt.

As you may or may not know, a lot of these shows film at different points in the year -- including 'HW,' which our sources say has often filmed well before Fall in years past ... where pumpkins were plentiful, and they were able to knife 'em to their heart's desire.

That, unfortunately, hasn't been the case this year ... and it's all due to COVID screwing up when and how TV networks have been able to shoot.

You can count "Halloween Wars" among the programs falling victim to that. We're told they weren't able to start filming until recently ... and, as a result, there was an actual shortage of pumpkins available for the competition. Seasonal demand, an already-stressed supply chain and new COVID-safety protocols for shows with group settings made it impossible to pull off on 'HW' this year.

It would appear procuring pumpkins, in the abundance needed for TV filming, is, apparently, more difficult than just heading down to your local patch set up in a grocery store parking lot.

In any case, our production sources tell us Food Network is happy with their final product, and the involvement of one Zak Bagans, who definitely brings the Halloween vibe home ... pumpkin or not.

Fans gave Rajon Rondo the warmest of welcomes in his big return to the Lakers over the weekend ... and the NBA guard says he was so touched by the gesture, he nearly cried.

Of course, Rondo played with the purple and gold for 2 seasons ... winning a ring alongside LeBron James and Co. in 2020, before bolting for the Atlanta Hawks and L.A. Clippers.

But, Rondo is back on board with the Lakers in 2021 ... and the fans gave him an epic welcome back during their first preseason game on Sunday.

Rondo -- who was working at Taco AF in L.A. on Monday in honor of National Taco Day -- spoke with TMZ Sports about the unforgettable moment ... saying he had to quickly get his composure back, 'cause he almost broke down in tears.

"I almost cried again last night," Rondo told us. "It means everything. I was away for a year ... came back and the reception I got last night, I had to try to focus on the game."

"The love I got, the attention from the crowd getting back in the game. It was amazing."

BTW, Rondo's involvement at Tacos AF was just as amazing -- a portion of all sales on Monday went towards the Downtown Women's Center, which helps homeless women in the area. Plus, fans were able to meet the NBAer as he whipped up and passed out tacos!!

Even rapper O.T. Genasis came through to test out Rondo's tacos -- and judging by his reaction, they were bomb!!

Awesome to see Rondo picking up right where he left off in helping the area.

Brielle Biermann sounds like she's been through hell recovering from double jaw surgery -- both physically and mentally -- but she's staying positive ... with her sights set on Thanksgiving!!!

We got the "Don't Be Tardy" star at LAX, where she gave us an update on the gnarly procedure she had done in August to correct some major biting and breathing issues she's dealt with most of her life.

As you see ... Brielle's still in post-op mode with a splint in her mouth, and tells us she's several weeks away from being able to eat foods, like meatballs.

She says her limited diet's resulted in her dropping 15 pounds, but the silver lining -- if there is one -- is her doctor's instructing her to have a daily milkshake to get her weight back up.

Brielle says the recovery process has been incredibly challenging, and she's been feeling down lately ... what with missing her friends and socializing.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were back to being Kimye ... at least for one night.

Kim and 'Ye reunited Thursday night for dinner at Nobu in Malibu. They weren't there alone. They joined by Kim's gal pal and CMO of SKIMS, Tracy Romulus, and her Grammy winning music producer hubby, Ray Romulus.

While she wasn't trying to keep a low-pro, Kim still looked kinda mysterious in her Balenciaga getup ... a purple gloved catsuit and a long maroon leather coat.  And, THAT has Ye written all over it.

We're told despite the way things looked (romantic dinner at Nobu?!?) things remain status quo -- they're still on good terms and trying to figure out their relationship.

The famous Folgers coffee jingle, "The best part of wakin' up is Folgers in your cup" is up for grabs ... the royalties for a piece of coffee history are on the auction block.

The bidding started this week at $63,000 and we're told there have already been 16 bids, with the auction entering its final stages at the Royalty Exchange.

The auction house says the Folgers jingle royalties for the past 12 months paid $11,747 and since 2011 the song's earned a total of $38,164 ... with more than half, about $20k, coming in the past 2 years ... so it's a long-term investment.

The winning bidder will own the songwriter's share of public performance royalties ... and get paid any time the song is used in commercials, on TV, in movies, on traditional and satellite radio, plus internet streaming.

The current bid stands at $70,700 and bids are in increments of $550 ... and the auction ends Thursday at 5 PM ET ... so it's coming down to the wire!!!

Whoever plans on buying Emmitt Smith's Dallas mansion -- which has a hefty price tag of $2.2 MILLION -- will get a once in a lifetime bonus with the crib ... dinner with the NFL legend!

The Hall of Famer announced the sweet deal with his listing agent, Arthur Greenstein, this week -- saying he's down to personally wine and dine whoever buys the home.

The dinner is a cool touch, but probably not super necessary ... considering, ya know, the place -- which was built in 1995 -- is amazing.

It's 10,806-square-feet ... and has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, four half bathrooms and a huge kitchen with a dining room that sits up to 22 people.

There's also a game room, a media room, plus an amazing pool in the backyard.

Unclear why Emmitt's parting with the crib -- but he seems pretty bummed about moving out ... saying he absolutely loved entertaining at the home.

Did you know Tre'Davious White eats cookies, ice cream and hot fudge before EVERY game?!?

It's true ... the Buffalo Bills cornerback does this as his pregame ritual ... and it turns out he just got hooked up with a pair of cleats resembling his tasty habit!

The 2-time Pro Bowler revealed his ritual in an interview with Bills' junior reporter Vida, saying he has to eat the following before every game:

-- 3 chocolate chip cookies

-- a scoop of vanilla ice cream

-- hot fudge

TMZ Sports has learned that shoe artist Mike Jordan -- who's done work for TW before -- caught the interview ... and surprised the Bills CB with a pair of cleats featuring his ritual.

"When I have a good idea, extra cleats and a little spare time, I don't mind taking care of my clients," Jordan tells us.

And, they came out lookin' delicious -- Jordan painted chocolate chip cookies, ice cream and hot fudge on the sides of the Adidas cleats ... and it only took about 8 to 10 hours to deliver.

Definitely a dope way to feed his tradition and Bills season ... White says in the interview, "If you can keep me loaded up on stock this season I think we're in for a very good season."

So far, so good -- the Bills are currently 1-1 (before Sept. 26 matchup with Washington) and lead the AFC East division.

Prince Harry got a taste of New York he's never experienced before ... in the form of chicken and waffles ... and a lot more.

Harry and Meghan Markle took a trip Friday to chow down at Melba's ... the famed soul food restaurant in Harlem.

Melba rolled out the red carpet, serving them Southern fried chicken, eggnog waffles, spring rolls, catfish, collard greens and yams.

They chatted with Melba about City Harvest, a charitable org that delivers food that would otherwise go in the trash to various groups that help feed folks in need. H&M pledged $25k ... unclear if it's to support Melba's, which was hit hard by the pandemic, or City Harvest.

Drake went all out for a shin dig down in Miami ... renting out an entire Dave & Buster's and partying the night away with tons of celebs and scores of twerking hotties.

The fun and games went down Wednesday night at the D&B in Miami's Dolphin Mall ... and other celebs in attendance included Future, Yella Beezy and Alexis Skyy.

Folks who were there told us everything was free, courtesy of Drake, and the rapper played his number one album, "Certified Lover Boy."

As you can see, Drake's party people were having a blast ... the tunes were bumping and there were about 1,000 ladies in the house, many of whom got up on the arcade games and started twerking!!!

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had an aggressive and public dispute days before she allegedly disappeared -- and things got so bad, the couple was booted from a Wyoming restaurant ... according to a possible witness.

A woman named Nina Celie Angelo says she and her boyfriend were at The Merry Piglets, a restaurant in Jackson Hole, August 27 and spotted the couple in a "blowout of a situation." Angelo says Gabby and Brian were sitting at the table next to hers.

Angelo claims Gabby was hysterically crying, and at one point Brian and Gabby were even fighting with the restaurant hostess before Gabby went out and stood on the sidewalk.

Angelo says she doesn't know what started the fight, but thought it had to do with the bill.

Brian allegedly came back into the restaurant several times to argue with staff after Gabby left, and Angelo claims he had an "aggressive" demeanor.

We called Merry Piglets to ask about the incident, but they had no comment. They would not specify if they've spoken to authorities, but Nina said she's reported all this to law enforcement.

Brian allegedly returned to his parents' Florida home on September 1 ... without Gabby.

As we've reported, Gabby's body was discovered by investigators Sunday afternoon in Wyoming. After an autopsy, the coroner ruled her death a homicide, but has not released a cause of death yet.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro is unvaccinated, but somehow got a pass to attend a United Nations meeting, but NYC restaurants literally kicked him to the curb.

Bolsonaro, a staunch anti-vaxxer, and several of his cabinet members were relegated to chowing down pizza on a sidewalk Sunday night, because NYC is one of the few cities that's not allowing anyone -- world leader or not -- inside restaurants without proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

It was Bolsonaro's first night on the town ahead of Tuesday's address to the UN General Assembly ... where he was the first world leader to speak.

Yes, the COVID-19 skeptic who still ignorantly believes the virus is nothing more than a "little flu" wore a mask inside the UN's NYC headquarters ... but he also broke the UN "honor system."

The U.N.'s General Assembly president, Abdulla Shahid, had previously sent a memo to its 193-member states stating that its COVID-19 vaccination honor system would continue to be in effect for presidents, prime ministers and diplomats attending the meeting ... meaning the UN was NOT going to require proof of vaccination.

Nevertheless, many world leaders elected to stay away and instead sent a video message. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio also warned Bolsonaro not to bother coming to the Big Apple if he wasn't vaccinated.

Bolsonaro clearly defied de Blasio, but get this ... British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday asked Bolsonaro during a briefing if he's vaccinated ... to which the prez replied by laughing and saying, "No. Not yet."

The 50th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus was off the hook, thanks to the host -- Vice President Kamala Harris -- and her menu did not disappoint ... not by a longshot!!!

We got Congressman Gregory Meeks on the Hill Monday, and he could not be prouder of the event ... an event hosted by a former CBC member at the Naval Observatory, the Vice President's residence. Meeks says it's significant because the Veep understands the issues that top the CBC's agenda.

Now, as for the meal ... well, Meeks says it was amazing -- hors d'oeuvres, fish tacos, lamb, avocado rolls, and on and on.

Darnell Ferguson has come a long, long way to become a Food Network star and big-time restaurateur -- success not a lot of people would've predicted when he was living out of his car.

The man best known as SuperChef joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to break down his new competition show, "Tiny Food Fight." No, contestants aren't throwing raisins at each other, they're cooking real food, but on a nearly microscopic scale. It's freakin' wild, and DF says it takes a ton of skill.

The new show -- streaming now on Discovery Plus and hosted by comedian Mamrie Hart -- pits contestants facing off in tiny food-themed challenges. The winners take home $5k and a trophy. A tiny one, at that.

Darnell's no stranger to food and food competitions ... having won Giada De Laurentiis' "Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge" and Guy Fieri's "Tournament of Champions."

They don't call him SuperChef for nothing!

'Tiny Food' is just the latest success for Darnell who told us what it took for him to overcome homelessness to launch his own culinary empire ... starting with a breakfast pop-up joint he almost seemed embarrassed to operate.

Watch the video ... SuperChef explains why it was so humiliating, and also reveals how he got himself outta several bad decisions and into really good ones.

Actor Eddie Deezen's restaurant problems have escalated, because he just got arrested for assault after cops say he refused to leave one -- and unloaded on officers on his way out.

According to a police report, Eddie -- best known for playing nerdy Eugene Felsnic in the original 'Grease' movies -- was causing a scene at a restaurant in LaVale, Maryland around lunchtime Thursday and refusing to leave, so cops were called.

Law enforcement says when deputies arrived, Eddie ran to hide behind a woman in a booth and refused multiple orders from cops to exit, so he had to be forcibly removed.

According to the report, Deezen threw numerous items at deputies during the incident -- including plates, bowls and food and actually struck one of the deputies.

Eddie was eventually removed -- shirtless, as you can see -- and hauled off to jail, where he's been charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and trespassing.

You may recall ... Deezen was involved in a bizarre situation earlier this year where a Maryland waitress accused him of being a creep and harassing her, but then he went on social media and accused her of cyberbullying.

The Met Gala chef curator is defending the quality of the food served at the ritzy shindig ... this after Keke Palmer posted pics of the grub that seemed reminiscent of the Fyre Festival.

Marcus Samuelsson -- the restaurateur/chef who helped select the 10 up-and-coming chefs who created the Met Gala menu -- tells TMZ ... for starters, yes, Keke's picture is in fact some of what was served at the $30k-$50k per ticket soiree.

As for Keke's plate, Marcus tells us it was barley topped with roasted mushrooms, tomato salad with corn and zucchini slices. Marcus says food, like anything, is a matter of taste, and it tasted plenty good.

Marcus says the 3-course meal was delicious ... and the feedback he got has been incredible.

Marcus, in collaboration with Bon Appétit, selected and then challenged 10 NY chefs to create a sustainable, plant-based menu ... hence all the fruits and veggies. However ... Keke's pic, which was displaying the entree, had just about everyone talking smack on social media.

One person wrote, "This was clearly a 'eat before you get there' type of thing." Someone else said, "They feeding y'all like it's Fyre Festival."

Some of the fare included 6 hors d'oeuvres and a watermelon pumpkin salad.

Dessert included an apple topped with chocolate mousse ... because this event's about as boujee as it gets.

The Subway worker who got suspended for aggressively stopping an armed man from robbing the store and then posting the surveillance video says she's afraid to go home ... because the crook has her info.

Araceli Sotelo, the Subway worker who went viral for fending off her attacker, tells TMZ ... she's scared the robber could be waiting for her outside her house because he stole her purse and her ID, and the whole ordeal has taken a huge toll on her mental health.

Araceli says she feels like Subway doesn't have her back after she got indefinitely suspended from the store she works at in Rockford, IL ... and she's not sure when she'll be allowed back.

She tells us why she defended herself and the store instead of just letting the crook have his way. She's also considering legal action against Subway.