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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 01
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Cooking-scene Deen brothers doing demos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here at Buzz Central, we typically refer to breakfast as the last meal of our workday. On Friday morning, we made a notable exception for Jamie and Bobby Deen, the sons of Food Network goddess Paula Deen. The hosts of Food Network’s new “Road Tasted” prime-time series are in Atlanta this weekend to host cooking demonstrations at the Atlanta Home Show at Cobb Galleria Centre.
Over Corner Cafe omelets (Jamie automatically scored our approval by playfully mocking Bobby and Buzz for ordering the more health-conscious egg white varieties with dry wheat toast), Paula’s boys ribbed each other while discussing their new TV career. Both Deen brothers say they love the premise of the series, which chronicles the guys as they visit family-owned eateries around the country and meet the creators of some unique foodstuffs. While the popular show has been picked up for a second season, the Deens allowed that there was a learning curve while shooting the first season.
“We had to figure out the difference between being high energy and screaming!” Jamie, 39, said.
Added Bobby, 36: “By Episode 8, it was like, ‘Um, guys, you know, calm down.’ “
The pair just wrapped a “Road Tasted: Home for the Holidays” Christmas special in their hometown of Savannah, where the family business, the Lady and Sons, remains one of the port city’s biggest tourist draws.
“The city is about to install a stop sign in front of the restaurant for safety reasons,” Jamie explained.
“When fans of Mama’s TV show see it for the first time, it’s like they’re in a trance or something,” Bobby said.
Jamie also pulled out his cellphone to show us a photo of his adorable 5-week-old son, Jack, with his wife, Brooke. “I gained all this sympathy weight with Brooke while shooting the show last summer,” Jamie said. “But Brooke got to lose 20 pounds in one day. I didn’t!”
The Deen brothers also have “A Fork in the Road,” a travel/cookbook culled from their first season, coming in April. Around that time, their mama also will be on the road, promoting her inspirational memoir. She recently gave her sons advance copies to read for approval.
Running a hand over his temple, Jamie cracked: “See all this gray? That was caused by reading Mama’s memoirs.”
The Deens will host cooking demos at noon, 2 and 6 p.m. today at the Atlanta Home Show.
Before cleaning their breakfast plates, they also managed to pay Buzz the ultimate compliment in a week where we already received our own Woodruff Park chair and a nod in Creative Loafing.
Jamie told us: “You may not realize it, but for mom-and-pop restaurants like the Lady and Sons, getting a mention in Peach Buzz is a big deal.”
A surprise ‘Party’
Let’s hope that sentiment translates into tickets for Paula Deen’s new shot-in-Savannah, Food Network series, “Paula’s Party,” which was to debut at 10 p.m. Friday. Interestingly, the first show aired wasn’t the show sent out in advance to us scribbler types. So we actually have advance scoop for you on the “Lovin’ Spoonfuls” episode, now set to air Oct. 13. In it, Deen greets her audience, saying, “We’re gonna get romantical, y’all!” For the next hour, she makes cookies, kisses guests, mixes a wedding cake (with help from the audience) in three minutes and nearly sets the set on fire while grilling oysters with too much butter. Feeding oxtails to a female audience member, Paula coos, “Ooooh, look at your jewelry. You’ve been doing something right, girl!” While the production includes a high-tech hand-held camera for Deen to showcase food and photos on a large screen, “Party” producers wisely avoid slicking things up too much. Deen mixes dough with her wedding-ring-laden hands and utilizes heart-stopping amounts of butter. And at one point, this “Party” hostess tells her guests, while swiping her face: “I’m sweating like a fat girl writin’ a love letter, y’all!”
Overscene
It’s almost a given that a CD release party for a local background singer-turned-solo act would draw one or two fellow local musicians. But the artists that attended Anthony David’s party/performance this week at Center Stage could have made one or two remarkable CDs — at least. Singers India Arie, Laurnea, Slick & Rose, Algebra, Keisha Jackson, Nadirah Shakoor, Frank McComb, guitarist Earl Klugh, guitarist-producer Freddy Luster, DJs Cha Cha Jones, Applejack, Jamal Ahmad and Morris Baxter and — get this — Red from early-’90s teen rap group Another Bad Creation were spotted at David’s celebration of his second solo effort, “The Red Clay Chronicles.”
Atlanta R&B pinup Ciara, meanwhile, was spotted at Tower Records in Buckhead, where she was picking a handful of new CDs, including Janet Jackson, Ludacris and Fergie. Two of each, to be exact. “I just like to support other artists,” said the singer, adding she was headed to Nigeria for a performance this weekend. “I may not even get a chance to listen to all of the stuff I buy. But I always buy.”
‘Masquerade’-ing Minnelli
We didn’t believe that Liza Minnelli’s on-screen life could get any weirder than her real life. And then we got word Friday that the Oscar winner will be playing a decidedly Patsy Ramsey-inspired guest role on an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
Minnelli, 59, will play a former beauty queen whose daughter, an aspiring beauty queen, is found murdered on Halloween night, said Pam Golum, a spokeswoman for Wolf Films, which produces the NBC show.
The episode, called “Masquerade,” is filming now and will air during November sweeps, Golum said. At press time Friday, Buzz had already pulled out the martini shaker and the Jiffy Pop and was selecting a final design for invitations. …
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Actress Deborah Kerr is 85. Author Elie Wiesel is 78. Singer Cissy Houston is 73. Singer Johnny Mathis is 71. Actor Barry Williams (“The Brady Bunch”) is 52. Singer Trey Anastasio (Phish) is 42. Actress Jenna Elfman (“Dharma and Greg”) is 35.
Sunday: Actress-singer Julie Andrews is 71. Actor Stephen Collins (“7th Heaven”) is 59. Actor Randy Quaid is 56.
Contributing: Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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