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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 07
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Atlanta bakers spatula-rich, thanks to TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At last weekend’s Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Breadwinner co-founders Geoff Melkonian and Katie Melkonian discovered that your unconventional kitchen techniques can live forever on Food Network.
Breadwinner
Atlanta Breadwinner bakers Katie and Geoff Melkonian know all about spatulas after Paula Deen’s (center) sons chided Geoff on TV for using his hands to mix ingredients.
The husband-and-wife Atlanta bakers reunited with Food Network “Road Tasted” stars Jamie and Bobby Deen, who featured the family-owned Atlanta business in the first season of their series. As viewers will recall, the Deen boys poked a little fun at Geoff in the episode because he uses his hands to combine ingredients.
Like most Food Network programs, the Atlanta-centric “Road Tasted” episode has been rerun liberally.
Over the weekend, Jamie popped by Breadwinner’s booth to say hello and promptly asked Geoff if he’s “picked up a spatula yet.”
The short answer is yes, thanks to fanatical “Road Tasted” fans who have inundated the Breadwinner offices with spatulas since the segment began airing last year.
The Melkonians also got to meet Jamie and Bobby’s mama, Food Network phenom Paula Deen, and presented her with their latest Breadwinner flavor, Lemon Poppyrazzi.
An appropriate gift since some of Deen’s fans don’t seem to comprehend the concept of “personal space” these days.
FUTURE FOREST IDEA A DESIGN WINNER
A drought-fighting scheme for Atlanta called “The City in the Forest” came up the winner in “City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge,” a national competition hosted by the History Channel. After besting seven local competitors in February, the team — composed of design firms EDAW, BNIM and Praxis3 and environmental engineers Metcalf & Eddy — won the Web competition in which 25,000 votes were cast.
Their proposal, which aims to make Atlanta the city in the trees once again by reviving underground streams, already has some traction, says David Hamilton, a principal at Praxis3. “We’ve briefed Sustainable Atlanta, a mayor-appointed group, and they are interested in doing some of the things we suggested.”
The team plans to use the $5,000 award to produce a Web site about sustainability — after funding a celebration for the group.
MAYER NOT SO DEFT WITH ‘DEFLECTION’
Well, this is disappointing. Former Buckhead boy and Eddie’s Attic performer John Mayer was less than his usual articulate self on the red carpet Monday night in New York. Entering the annual Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum, the singer-songwriter was asked about those pictures of him and former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston in InTouch Weekly.
The poolside pair were the canoodling cover subjects in the current issue of the glossy celebrity weekly that these days chiefly serves to anesthetize us against check-out sticker shock at the Publix. Of the potential romance, Mayer told “Extra”: “I don’t mean to deny it, but sort of deflect it. You have the photograph. You think it’s Photoshopped?”
‘PRAYING’ FOR CYRUS
Maligned Mouse House employee Miley Cyrus bravely soldiered on through a taping of the Disney Channel Games concert over the weekend in Orlando. The teen pop star spawn of Billy Ray Cyrus, however, dodged any direct media questions about that controversial skin-baring Annie Leibovitz photo spread in the June issue of Vanity Fair. Onstage, she referenced the ongoing media dust-up between her and Leibovitz, telling fans: “I saw a sign back there that said, ‘Miley, I’m praying for you.’ I could not be more appreciative. God bless you.”
Oddly, Cyrus not only signed off on the tarted-up photo, her father was on the set at the time it was taken.
But we’ll admit it — when the June Vanity Fair arrived at Buzz Central Tuesday, we licked our lips lasciviously. After all, the issue does contain juicy excerpts from Barbara Walters’ dishy new memoir, detailing the nasty skirmishes with her former ABC News co-anchor, Harry Reasoner.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 69. Actress Robin Strasser (“One Life to Live”) is 63. Singer Thelma Houston is 62. News correspondent Tim Russert (“Meet the Press”) is 58. Actor Michael E. Knight (“All My Children”) is 49. Actress Traci Lords is 39. Actor Breckin Meyer (“Road Trip”) is 34.
COUPLING
Scarlett Johansson and her boyfriend, Ryan Reynolds, are engaged.
The 23-year-old actress and the 31-year-old actor have not set a wedding date, Johansson’s publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said.
Johansson’s recent credits include “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “The Nanny Diaries.” Reynolds recently starred in “Definitely, Maybe.” He was previously engaged to Alanis Morissette.
Contributing: Catherine Fox and news services.
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