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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > March > 15
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Diddy cooking up mix of celebs, chefs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta restaurateur Sean “Diddy” Combs and reality TV producer Ben Silverman are combining forces to bring to NBC “Celebrity Cooking Showdown,” a five-night reality miniseries that’s being described — honest to Buzz — as a cross between Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”
We’re told that “Showdown” will pair celebrities with such famous chefs as Wolfgang Puck, Cat Cora (Food Network’s “Kitchen Accomplished”) and Govind Armstrong (executive chef at Table 8 in Los Angeles) to whip up a dish for competition.
“The sexiest trend going on right now is young men learning how to cook,” said Diddy via a press release. “There’s nothing more sensual than a man cooking for his woman. We wanted to do something that fit that trend in the marketplace.”
Perhaps in an acknowledgment that the Peacock Network has stuck a final fork in “Joey,” NBC was allegedly so enamored by the “Showdown” concept pitched by Silverman that it has agreed to fast-track it over five nights beginning April 17.
Several celebs are said to be close to signing on for the show, but deals aren’t yet ready to be announced, Silverman said.
In other words, Deborah “Shake Your Love” Gibson, Tonya Harding and Emmanuel “Webster” Lewis, phone your agents immediately.
Overscene
Atlanta Falcons fans forking over higher ticket prices for Georgia Dome seats this season may have experienced a return on their investment Monday night at Chops.
And for what is traditionally the slowest night in the restaurant trade, there was a lot of wining and dining going on in the posh eatery.
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Falcons head coach Jim Mora and Falcons President and General Manager Rich McKay were all on hand with NFL defensive safety Lawyer Milloy, his agent and some other “entourage types” for a steak and lobster dinner at a quiet corner table.
The 6-foot Milloy, 32, a former New England Patriot and Buffalo Bill, was let go by the Bills earlier this month as a cost-cutting measure. Perhaps not coincidentally, Milloy is currently an NFL free agent. In Tuesday’s editions, the AJC detailed Milloy’s tour of the Falcons’ Flowery Branch facilities.
At press time Tuesday, Falcons reps did not have a comment on the pricey grub Milloy was treated to.
Ballet gets accolades in NYC
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra wasn’t the only local arts group getting good reviews from the Big Apple over the weekend. Folks at the Atlanta Ballet must have been thrilled to pick up Tuesday’s New York Times and see that the troupe’s Brooklyn appearance got a rave from reviewer Gia Kourlas.
It was the ballet’s first visit to New York in 17 years.
“We were thrilled to be able to get back to New York, and then getting such a wonderful review … is really a credit to the dancers,” said Patricia Ekholm, the ballet’s marketing director.
The writer called the company “attractive” and said its dancers were “lovely” and “well-trained.” Dancer Kristine Necessary was singled out for her “enchanting, natural aplomb,” and choreographer Christopher Hampson was cited for fulfilling “his promise and then some.”
“Taken alone, [Hampson’s] ‘Sinfonietta Giocosa’ was a pleasure, but it ushered in something more important: a masterly new choreographic voice,” Kourlas wrote.
NYT classical reviewer Bernard Holland, however, heaped on the Southern stereotypes in his Monday review of the ASO’s Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall. “If its rhythmic sharp angles tended to drawl, remember that these people are from Georgia,” Holland wrote of the ASO brass.
It appears obvious that Holland’s only exposure to the South comes via a DVD of “Deliverance.” Or perhaps he just read the media coverage detailing how our city leaders embarrassingly fell over each other recently in order to secure a NASCAR museum.
Mike Wallace set to retire
What a slacker.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace said Tuesday he’ll retire at the end of the current TV season and assume the role of “correspondent emeritus” at the revered CBS newsmagazine.
“I’ve often replied, when asked, ‘I’ll retire when my toes turn up,’ ” Wallace, 87, said in a statement. “Well, they’re just beginning to curl a trifle, which means that, as I approach my 88th birthday, it’s become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren’t quite what they used to be. And the prospect of long flights to wherever in search of whatever are not quite as appealing.”
As much a constant as the ubiquitous ticking stopwatch that opens every “60 Minutes” broadcast, Wallace has been with the program since its inception in 1968. And he didn’t exactly sound Tuesday like a guy ready to turn in his trench coat for full-time shuffleboard.
“I’ll be in a comfortable office on the same floor — just around the corner from where I’ve holed up for the past 43 years,” said Wallace, stressing that the decision to step down was his alone and not the result of any pressure from CBS. “Available, when asked, for whatever chore CBS News, ‘60 Minutes,’ the ‘CBS Evening News,’ have in mind for me.”
Well, CBS is looking for a new “Evening News” anchor …
Celebrity birthdays
Singer-keyboardist Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone is 63. Model Fabio is 45. Singer Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray is 38. Bassist Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 is 34. Actress Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”) is 31. Rapper Will I Am of Black Eyed Peas is 31.
Contributing: Wendell Brock, Jill Vejnoska and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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