Famous Food

Joel Robuchon, who has a seismic influence on French food turning it from stuffy to fun and accessible, is dead.

Robuchon's impact on food was so enormous, he was called "cook of the century" back in 1990. One of the things he did that has been enduring ... letting diners have a peek into how his food is cooked and plated. He was the first major chef to make it cool for diners to sit at a counter next to the kitchen.

Robuchon appeared on "Top Chef" and a variety of French cooking shows.

He was the holder of more Michelin stars than any chef in the world for years. As of 2016, he held 32 stars -- his peak. This year he had 31.

Perhaps his signature dish ... puree de pomme -- which you probably know as mashed potatoes. He prepared it simply, but it was amazing.

Robuchon died in Geneva from pancreatic cancer.

Joel was 73.

It looks like KFC's found its next Colonel Sanders -- The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" ... and he's in the Colonel's duds doing something very Mountain-esque.

TMZ got video of Hafthor Julius Bjornsson -- aka Thor, the 2018 World's Strongest Man -- decked out in the famous white suit for a one-of-a-kind video shoot ... for the record books.

We're told it was a success, and along with also being a 4-time Europe's Strongest Man winner and a 7-time Strongest Man in his native Iceland ... he now holds the record for pulling the most fried chicken!

That's finger lickin' impressive.

It's unclear if The Mountain's officially joining the club of actors turned KFC spokesmen like Darrell Hammond, Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton and Rob Riggle, but if he does ... he'll easily be the strongest of the group.

Jon Bon Jovi gives lobsters a good name ... his own!

The rock star surprised shoppers and fans at Long Island supermarket Stew Leonard's Saturday by popping in to promote his new line of rosé ... which he launched earlier this year with his son.

We're told as soon as word got out Bon Jovi was there, people started showing up to the store in droves ... so police had to be called for crowd control.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden's bromance is back in full effect -- as if it ever stopped -- and they're back in D.C. for a power lunch.

The former Prez and Veep hit up Dog Tag Bakery Monday in the Beltway ... surprising the hell outta everyone at the nonprofit bakery. Dog Tag serves as a "living business school" for veterans looking to enter the civilian workforce.

Barry and Joe chowed down on a couple of sandwiches -- ham and gruyere and turkey with brie -- and a fennel salad. They also indulged in a mint-basil olive oil cake, chocolate chip cookie and brownie.

Dog Tag's CEO, Meghan Ogilvie, told The Washingtonian their appearance freaked out everybody, and the duo shook everyone's hands, took selfies and recognized each of the service members who work there.

The founder of Papa John's is feeling burned by his former company ... and he's demanding some answers from the pizza giant's board of directors.

John Schnatter filed a lawsuit in Delaware Thursday to get Papa John's to disclose all documents related to its response to him using the n-word. Schnatter wants to see the docs, "because of the unexplained and heavy-handed way in which the company has treated him since the publication of a story that falsely accused him of using a racial slur."

In the suit, Schnatter says it's impossible the board took an appropriate amount of time to make informed decisions ... which included terminating certain business agreements.

As we reported ... he resigned as chairman of Papa John's International, and also left the University of Louisville's Board of Trustees, after he was called out for using the n-word on a conference call in May. Schnatter insists reports falsely characterized the way he used the word.

3:20 PM PT -- The brawl video has caught the attention of corporate, a rep tells us the company is investigating the incident. The rep adds, "We do not condone the behavior depicted in this video."

One McDonald's customer learned a tough lesson: DO NOT try to steal from the soda machine, and definitely don't pick a fight with employees, 'cause ya might get your ass mopped.

A video posted Wednesday night shows a young lady getting into a blowout with 2 staffers at an undisclosed McDonald's -- and it's one of the worst ass beatings we've ever seen. One much taller staffer tossed the customer like a rag doll ... literally.

Hair is pulled, faces are smashed, boobs pop out -- and all of that happened to the customer. Spoiler alert: David doesn't beat Goliath this time.

Just because the NFL cut ties with Papa John's doesn't mean DeMarcus Ware will follow suit -- in fact, the ex-Broncos star is BRAGGING about ordering a PJ's pizza ... despite the n-word controversy.

Ware -- who's now a consultant with the Broncos -- had a hankering for some pizza Tuesday night and let everyone know the only shop that could satisfy his craving was Papa.

Interesting considering the NFL and several major sports teams (including the Yankees, Rangers and ATL Falcons) suspended their relationships with the company after it came out that founder John Schnatter used the n-word on a company conference call.

But, D-Ware clearly don't care ... ordering up a big ole pie at around 11 PM CT Tuesday night and captioning the act with, "It's about to go down!!!"

The order? Some sort of ham and ground beef mix ... with THREE garlic dipping sauces. Even D-Ware's dog wants in on the action.

Jay-Z and Beyonce are doing it big in Europe, and the locals have certainly noticed when they're around ... just ask these folks who got on their feet when the couple left dinner.

Bey and Jay were dining at a restaurant called Aurora in Capri Monday night, and they got a standing ovation and major round of applause as they were exiting. We're told the owner saw them out personally, and it looks like she snuck in a hug on Jay.

He was clearly going for a high five or handshake, but hey ... shoot your shot, lady. Also, it's Italy ... everyone's hugging and kissing each other hello and goodbye all the time.

Drake knows what makes for a cool summer -- ice cream! -- so he threw down some cash to have it handed it out in a lucky L.A. neighborhood.

The 'Scorpion' rapper and singer paid more than $10,000 for 1,000 individual frozen treats at 5 different locations in the L.A. suburbs Friday. We're told 4 stands were set up in Hidden Hills and one at The Commons at Calabasas ... all giving away free goodies.

Sources close to the giveaway tell us Drake did it to promote his new album -- lyrics are plastered on the sides of the Ice Cream Occasions carts -- and because he thought it'd be a "cool thing to do on a hot day for the community."

Jeff Bezos was a man of no words Thursday night ... as a throng of paparazzi fired off what seemed like 100 questions in 10 seconds.

We got the Amazon CEO in WeHo leaving Craig's ... and he showed rare talent -- somehow walking to his car as if the only thing in the air were birds chirping.

The $150 BILLION man was peppered with questions, ranging from his rivalry with Elon Musk to his glitches with Prime Day earlier this week.

The closest thing to a Bono-Jay-Z-Beyonce collaboration went down in Nice, France with the help of a backing band that strolled up to their dinner table ... and it was all recorded by Beyonce's mom, Tina.

Jay and Bey wrapped the first leg of their On the Run II tour in the south of France and, during dinner with the U2 frontman, family and friends ... they got serenaded by a band at the restaurant.

Ya gotta hand it to the band for its rendition of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" because it got Bono and co. dancing along. Beyonce was a little camera shy.

President Trump's historic summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin didn't come cheap ... U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for more than $300k ... TMZ has learned.

According to federal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the State Department made tons of new purchase orders specifically for Monday's Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, Finland. For hotels alone, the bill was $128,681.39. Tech support was a cool $100,972.50, and that included $12k alone for laptop/printer rentals.

And, as much as Trump hates the "fake news" media, he still fed them pretty well. Catering for the press cost $52,703.38. The Secret Service's ballistic glass installation and removal alone cost $15,913.35. There's also a $56k airport hangar rental fee. All in all ... the U.S. Gov dropped $302,124.62.

D.L. Hughley's joining the ranks of some other celebs and athletes to say good riddance to John Schnatter, and says he isn't surprised 'Papa John' used a racial slur ... because he's a "horrible dude."

We got the comedian at LAX Saturday and asked if he was done with Papa John's pizza ... he tells us he has been for a while now, for the same reason ex-NFL star Thomas Jones told us -- it's s***ty.

D.L. has some other reasons, too -- saying Schnatter's completely disrespectful -- and jokes that maybe he took the same Ambien as Roseanne Barr.

Hughly also suggests the Papa John's founder is simply racist, and says if he wants to use the n-word like Colonel Sanders did he can ... but nowadays -- it'll cost ya big time.

As we reported ... Schnatter resigned from the University if Louisville's Board of Trustees and stepped down as chairman of Papa John's International this week after huge backlash over his comments made on a company conference call in May.

Ex-NFL star Thomas Jones says he's off Papa John's pizza for life -- not only because of the n-word scandal ... but also 'cause he thinks their pies taste like ass.

"Never in my life [will I buy Papa John's pizza again]," Jones told us in NYC ... "I never ate Papa John's anyway. It tasted like -- I don't know if I was eating the box or the pizza."

"It was terrible," he added.

Of course, there's been a huge backlash against the company ever since reports surfaced that founder John Schnatter used the n-word on a company conference call.

The pizza company is scrubbing John's image from all marketing materials, Schnatter has stepped down as chairman ... and the University of Louisville is removing "Papa John's" from the stadium name.

"I'm glad he resigned, fired ... whatever," Jones says. "I could care less what happens to him."

By the way, Jones says he's fully moved on from his football career and is now focusing on taking over Hollywood as an actor and producer.

Common says there's now a zero-tolerance policy for using the n-word ... so he's not surprised former Papa John's founder John Schnatter is out of a job.

Here's the thing ... Common says he doesn't f*** with Papa John's anyway ... nonetheless, the decision to axe him was the right thing to do.

Boris Becker -- who was recently caught flashing a fake diplomatic passport in order to evade a multi-million dollar debt -- is now at Wimbledon ... which begs the question, who's paying for this?!

Remember, 50-year-old Becker was declared bankrupt in the U.S. in 2017 after racking up a "historic debt."

Then, last month, officials say Becker was flashing a fake passport from the Central African Republic, which was so bad it didn't even have the signature or stamp of the foreign minister.

The theory is Becker essentially thought the document was a "get out of debt free" card -- but it wasn't.

Now, Becker is at Wimbledon ... where everything's expensive -- except the traditional strawberries and cream snack (which runs about $3.20).