Posts Tagged ‘mario batali’

Mario Batali’s Short, Sweet Text to Former Boss

March 20th, 2009

Mario Batali just needed three letters to tell ex-boss Marco Pierre White his reaction to the Brit chef’s new reality cooking competition, NBC’s The Chopping Block.

“He texted me and summed it up with one word: ‘Wow,’ Marco told OK! during a screening at NYC’s The Spotted Pig.

Batali and White have had a friendly rivalry since they worked together at the Six Bells pub in an exclusive neighborhood in London.

The same cannot be said of another famous TV chef — Hell’s Kitchen’s Gordon Ramsey.

The two had a falling out years ago after Gordon stole the reservations book from his own restaurant, then blamed it on Marco — all in an attempt to stop Marco replacing him as head chef!

Unsurprisingly, there was no message of congratulations from Gordon, Marco told us.

The last time Marco, 47, spoke to his old protége, “I said, Gordon, has someone stolen the bolts out of your neck?”

Mario Batali: Gwyneth Split Rumors “Not True”

December 12th, 2008

Chef Mario Batali is shooting down rumors that Gwyneth Paltrow and hubby Chris Martin are on the rocks.

At the Food Bank’s Lunchbox Auction held Thursday at Milk Studios in NYC, Batali, who earlier this year filmed Spain… On the Road Again with Gwyneth, called the split rumors, "Not true. I see them all the time. I don’t think they’re having problems."

The Oscar winning actress, 36, and the Coldplay frontman, 31, celebrated their five-year anniversary on December 5, and Mario believes proof of their enduring bond is in their children Apple, 4, and Moses, 2.

 
"If you meet their kids, their kids are cool," Batali says. "And their kids have the fascination with new and open-eyed experiences. They’re delightful. Which means they’re being taken care of at home by their parents. That’s the key. They’re really stay-at-home parents in a way that only rock stars and Academy Award winning actors can be. They’ve got a time to choose when they work, and they don’t have to work all the time."

But other attendees aren’t so forthcoming when it comes to the couple’s relationship.

Salman Rushdie celebrated Thanksgiving this year in London with Gwyneth, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal. When asked what’s going on with Gwyneth and Chris, he said, "Do you think I’ll tell you? I don’t know anything. Well, are the rumors true? Don’t ask me," he says.

The four-times married author is in the process of divorcing actress Padma Lakshmi. So what’s his advice for getting through a break-up?

"It’s horrible, and then it stops," he says.

 

By Valerie Nome

Hot Shots! 9/15/08-9/21/08

September 15th, 2008

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TV WEEKLY RECAP: Anthony Michael Hall, Mario Batali and more!

May 2nd, 2008

I ran into my favorite ‘80s icon, Anthony Michael Hall, at the Ion Television Upfront, held at the New York Public Library, last night. His series, The Dead Zone, has taken up residence on the network. “It ran for six seasons [on USA]. To find a new life in syndication is a real gift,” Anthony shared. More importantly, he remembered me from the time we met last year, giving me a big kiss upon our greeting. I’ll never wash this cheek again!

I’m convinced that reality producer Mark Burnett has a not-so-secret goal for world TV network domination. At the History Channel upfront dinner Monday night, Mark presented his newest offering, Expedition: Livingstone. The reality docu-series, slated to premiere on the network in 2009, will follow five explorers armed only with a compass, map and journals as they recreate the famous journey across Africa in 1869 to find Dr. Livingstone. “We’re re-telling history through the lens of modern-day adventurers,” Mark explained, “and that’s really about good storytelling.” Mark stayed mum on naming an A-lister he believed could survive the challenge. Come on, Mark. I’m just trying to get the scoop on the inevitable celebrity edition!

Now that Lucy Walsh has been sent home, I can’t wait to see who’ll emerge from Rock the Cradle’s final three. Jesse Blaze Snider, Crosby Loggins and Chloe Lattanzi—how do you choose? I guess it matters what you like to listen to more when you break out the oldies collection: Twisted Sister, Loggins and Messina or the Grease soundtrack.

The biggest hazard of my job? Not recognizing the talent you’re supposed to be interviewing. That’s what happened to me at the premiere party for the docudrama The Chicken, the Fish and the King Crab, hosted by LIVEstyle’s Supper Club at Del Posto restaurant in New York City Saturday night. Even though host and restaurateur Mario Batali was in his signature shorts, my brain synapsed and I couldn’t remember his name. He good-naturedly joked that it was “Alfonso,” when I asked. Luckily, I recognized Top Chef’s Ted Allen, who was on hand to sample the wines, ham and olive oils flown in directly from the movie’s location, Madrid, Spain. Now that’s good eating!

 

While You Were Sleeping

April 9th, 2008

It’s always the skinniest girls who eat the most, isn’t it? At this past Monday’s Food Bank for New York City gala, chef Mario Batali dished that “Gwyneth Paltrow can eat a lot. She can eat a good amount of food for such a skinny movie star. She can out-eat me in rice dishes, like paella." Supermodel Helena Christensen was not to be outdone, reports Rush & Molloy. "I have the biggest appetite. When I order just for myself, the waiter says, ‘And what would you all like to drink?’ and my friends are like, ‘Wait, we haven’t ordered yet!’”

 

Who’s responsible for reality TV? Why, King of All Media Howard Stern, of course. A new book out by Mike Walker called Get Real! The Sexy, Sacry, Scandalous World of Reality TV claims that Stern was the first to feature the private lives of his producers and writers on his radio show, reports Page Six. He also claims it was Stern who suggested to Ozzy and Sharon Osborne that they should do a TV show about their bizarre family. And we all know how well that worked out!

Are the Gossip Girl girls starting to act like their on-screen characters? Nan Zhang, who played sidekick Kati Farkas, won’t be returning to the CW show — and some say it’s because she and actress Leighton Meester didn’t get along. Gossip Girl creator Josh Scwartz swears its just because Zhang enrolled in Brown University during the writer’s strike, but sources told Gatecrasher that “she was pushed off the show. Leighton didn’t like her, and she went.” Meester’s rep denied the rumor.

New Couple Alert: Carrie Underwood & Chace Crawford

October 15th, 2007

Country superstar Carrie Underwood is in no rush to get married, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t looking for a boyfriend. After all, the American Idol champ recently said, “I’d like to have someone other than my mom to call when I have good news.”

And now, sources tell OK!, it seems that her prayers have come true, as she’s just sparked a very new romance with Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, with whom the “Jesus Take the Wheel” singer was locking lips last Friday at NYC club Marquee. “They were canoodling all night and stayed until close,” one eyewitness reveals to OK!.

But Chase and Carrie’s whirlwind weekend in the Big Apple was just beginning. Saturday night, the pair enjoyed a romantic dinner at Mario Batali’s Del Posto restaurant and later a few drinks at Soho Grand, where, according an OK! spy, “they held court at their own private table, kissing and not leaving each other’s side,” all before ending up at celeb-fave Rose Bar in the Gramercy Park Hotel.

As for her semi-romance with Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo, she tells the upcoming issue of Seventeen magazine, “We’re very good friends, and I talk to him pretty
much every day, whether it’s a text or whatever. But we were never,
like, dating.”

But her friends tell OK! a different story. “I think Carrie broke up with the football player in July,” One friend confesses. “Chace is much better for her. He’s a lot more interesting. He’s on a hit show and dating Carrie is the first gossip to come out of Gossip Girl.”

The friend also notes that the relationship is exciting because “Chace has such an edgy, almost bad boy image on the show and Carrie has such a good girl image, together they’re just hot.”

At 24, Carrie is two years Chace’s senior, but it could still be a match made in heaven as both are from small towns — he’s from Texas and she’s an Oklahoma gal. When reached for comment, a rep for Carrie tells OK!, “We do not comment on her personal life.”

By Alisandra Puliti & Jennifer Birn

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