SPIRITED EXCHANGE
Granita’s Jennifer Naylor and Wolfgang Puck whipped up a sumptuous feast for the American Cancer Society at this year’s Cal Spirit Gala. The local tastemakers put their talents to the test alongside the top chefs in town, giving more than 800 foodies a first-class treat. The alfresco garden party took place at the Ken Roberts Ranch, where Puck and co-host Sherry Lansing of Paramount Pictures made the rounds pressing the flesh and personally greeting their guests.
Naylor was hard at work assembling mounds of heirloom tomatoes, grilled eggplant and creamy mozzarella along with fried calamari, spicy gazpacho, white peach sangria shaved ice and green apple granitas.
After sampling the fresh Mediterranean fare, food fans checked out the rest of the spread, which featured everything from Sushi Roko’s tuna sashimi to Angelini’s spaghetti with lobster sauce and even good ol’fashioned macaroni and cheese.
Once everyone had worked up an appetite, it was time to loosen the purse strings. The afternoon’s charity auction included a prized NBA basketball signed by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, deluxe travel packages to hot spots like Venice, Paris and London and grandstand seats to the 2002 Rose Bowl Parade.
A cuddly yellow retriever and an 8-week-old bichon fris were also auctioned off to the highest bidders. The lucky Lab went home with KNBC’s Paul Moyer. Puck took the other pup as a present for his 11-year-old son, Kyle.
Still, the top dog at this event was Bruce Johansen, president and chief executive of the National Association of Television Program Executives. Mr. J. was hailed for his efforts to increase gender and ethnic diversity in the media, as well as his involvement in the American Cancer Society, the Los Angeles Opera, the Salvation Army and AIDS Project Los Angeles. The celebrity chef program helped raise a whopping $650,000.
But wait, there’s more.
This Saturday, Puck takes his pots and pans to Universal Studios for another gastronomic get together, this time to help the Santa Monica-Malibu Meals on Wheels program, among others. His annual food and wine festival is expected to draw more than 1,500 country folk and city slickers for a great American cook-off and homestyle hoe down. YEE-HA!
CRIMES OF FASHION
Nicole Kidman captures the golden age of glam, Sarah Jessica Parker sizzles in the sexiest of styles and Catherine Zeta Jones is a designer’s dream. They got a big thumbs up from People Magazine as Hollywood’s best dressed beauties.
Malibu also made the list, not for dos, but for don’ts. Among the findings…
Pamela Anderson is a dud in denim, Cher should say good-bye to Goth, Whoopie Goldberg must give that mu-mu a miss and Leonardo DiCaprio is a Titanic mess.
Is Malibu style all washed up? Keep your eyes open and report violators to the fashion police.