Famous Food

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari had a date night/dance night as they celebrated the end of her conservatorship.

Brit and Sam were bumpin' jams in the car on the way to dinner ... with Britney challenging her BF to bust a move behind the wheel. Sam reservedly obliges. BTW ... they're playing Technotronic's "Pump Up the Jam." Britney started singing Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It."

They ended up in WeHo at Catch -- one of 5 restaurants in L.A. where celebs all know they WILL be greeted by paparazzi -- and cameras were indeed there. Britney ducked down in the passenger seat to avoid the lenses, and wore a ski mask while entering the restaurant.

The couple had a lot to celebrate. As you know, the nearly 14-year-conservatorship came to an abrupt end Friday, when the judge terminated it.

Sam and Britney were all about driving over the weekend. She was tooling around in her Mercedes and he was driving a vintage Ford Mustang.

No word yet on when they're gonna tie the knot. Sam proposed to Britney back in September, but all wedding plans were put on hold until the conservatorship ended. Now they have a clear path.

TMZ broke the story, they're in the early stages of looking for a new home.

There's a reason Nicole Scherzinger can't lock down a dinner date with one of her famous friends ... the celeb is IN the singing competition reality show Nicole is judging!!!

Production sources tell TMZ ... the star inside the Pepper costume on "The Masked Singer" is friends with Nicole in real life, but the panelist obviously has no idea her pal is behind the mask.

We're told Nicole's texted this friend to make some dinner plans, and the celeb has gone to great lengths to keep their identity hidden ... first ignoring the texts and then having a buddy text Nicole from Pepper's phone while Pepper was performing on the FOX show ... making up an excuse about being out of town.

Sounds like an ingenious way to try and throw Nicole off the scent ... so, props to Pepper.

Our sources also say Pepper is hard at work coming up with more alibis to stave off Nicole ... at least until their identity is revealed on the show.

Remember ... Pepper is a Hollywood power player with a Rolodex of celebrity friends, which now includes Nicole and possibly Bob Dylan, and they put together their costume and performance in under 24 hours.

And, get this ... we've got some more insight on the "Take It Off Buzzer" ... it's going to be activated AGAIN!!!

Ken Jeong may not have guessed Pepper’s identity tonight after being the first panelist to hit this season's newest twist: the "Take It Off Buzzer" ... but, TMZ can confirm that the buzzer WILL be pressed AGAIN next week.

A woman who chucked soup right in a restaurant manager's face might think she got away scot-free, but the cops are hot on her ass ... 'cause the victim's gunning to press charges.

You might've seen this ... an irate customer who's arguing with what appears to be a staffer at a restaurant down in Temple, TX eventually gets so fed up, that she opens her to-go bowl of soup and throws it right onto the woman she's talking to ... hitting her square in the face.

We spoke to the soup-throwing recipient, Jannelle Broland, who's actually the manager at this Mexican joint ... and she tells TMZ, yes, she is pressing charges -- and hopes her assailant is brought to justice to serve some jail time.

As for how all this unfolded, Jannelle says the customer called in to place a to-go order on Sunday around 1 PM, picked it up and left ... and then called back about 10 minutes later.

She explains the woman was furious some plastic from the packaging was in her food, so she came back ready to talk to a manager about it.

Seeing as how Jannelle was the only manager working that day, she says she tried to handle it by apologizing and offering a full refund and/or a replacement item from the menu. That apparently wasn't good enough for the irate customer.

According to Jannelle, the woman cussed up a storm, demanded to speak to someone higher up on the totem pole, and when that didn't happen ... the soup went flying. She also claims the woman made a run for it with her hubby in tow, and some other workers followed her ... and were even able to get quick shots and video of her driving away from the scene.

Temple PD has said they're investigating this as a crime, and if they can track down the unidentified suspect ... Jannelle is more than willing to press charges. In the meantime, the woman's been banned from the establishment.

It pays to push pizza ... just ask the Domino's boss who just plunked down $20.9 million on an incredible Bel-Air mansion, complete with an indoor pool and stained glass ceilings.

Don Meij, who hails from Australia and happens to be the group CEO of Domino's Pizza Enterprises reportedly just sold his $10.3 million home in Aspen for something a little warmer and closer to the beach with some new L.A. digs.

The Bel-Air home is massive, with 17,000 sq ft of living space, 8 bedrooms and a seemingly-unnecessary 15 bathrooms. Not only that ... there's plenty of ways to entertain guests -- with a movie theater, spa, wine cellar and gym.

The mansion, built in 2015, sits on half an acre of land ... decent real estate for the area.

As for Meij, he started as a pizza delivery driver back in the '80s and worked his way up in the biz before taking the reigns at Domino's in the early 2000s.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson's late-night date nights in NYC would've made for some legendary reality TV -- but fans expecting to see the new duo on Hulu are SOL -- because cameras just weren't rolling ... which makes a relationship seem all the more real.

Kim and Pete had the Internet buzzing this week after meeting up twice for dinner, one time with friends and once without. Reports popped up saying everything was being filmed for the Kardashian's upcoming project with Hulu, and only being done for publicity for the show.

We spoke with production sources who tell us Kim wasn't filmed or followed one time by Hulu cameras during her entire trip to NYC, much less during any encounters with Pete.

What's more amazing, we're told during Kim's first dinner date night with Pete, she snuck out of her hotel and made it to Staten Island sans a big security team -- and absolutely no cameras, not even paparazzi, got her during the escapade.

As for Kim and Pete ... our sources say the relationship isn't serious, but they're enjoying getting to know each other and having a fun mutual group of friends. And, who knows what else!

TMZ broke the story, the two had a private dinner at Campania -- one of Pete's favorite spots -- Tuesday night ... they got the secret treatment thanks to the spot's owner. Kim, Pete and friends then hit up Zero Bond Wednesday night before she returned to L.A. Thursday.

Kim Kardashian West and Pete Davidson had a secret dinner rendezvous Tuesday night, TMZ has learned.

Kim ventured out of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Manhattan ... and headed for Pete's turf -- Staten Island. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the 2 entered the backdoor of Campania restaurant ... one of Pete's favorites.

They presumably chowed down on pizza or pasta ... the specialty at the joint.

It's a big development because everyone wanted to know if they'd meet up after sharing a ride at Knott's Berry Farm in the O.C. over the weekend ... where they held hands on a ride.

As you know ... Pete and Kim were together for almost a week when she hosted "Saturday Night Live" last month ... even sharing a kiss during a skit.

We got Kim out earlier in the day Tuesday and asked if she and Pete were more than just friends, but she was mum.

E-40's giving new meaning to his classic track "Yay Area" ... which now could refer to the gourmet meats and burritos he's serving up as he enters the food biz.

That's right, E's got a new handle now -- the Goon With the Spoon -- to go along with his new line of work ... and the rap icon tells us he's not just putting his name on the product, he's taking a totally hands-on approach.

He says he was inspired by attending lots of gourmet food events -- including some Bay Area tailgating at sporting events -- and decided it was time to expand. As you probably know, E-40 jumped into the liquor biz last year with his own tequila and sparkling wines.

He's kicking off his meat game with several different sausages -- mild beef, spicy beef, chicken teriyaki pineapple and chicken Philly cheesesteak.

NFL star A.J. Brown says there might be some good to come out of his food poisoning disaster ... telling reporters Friday he could land a deal with Chipotle over it all.

The Tennessee Titans receiver revealed Chipotle has reached out to him after he claimed that some bad food from the restaurant gave him serious issues prior to, during and after his game against the Bills on Monday night.

And, in their talks, Brown said there has been some initial discussion with the company about "possibly doing something with me."

Brown -- despite saying he felt like hell over the food -- seemed interested in signing on ... though he made it clear there's no way he'll do a deal that requires him to consume the product again.

"I don't know," he said of the potential pact. "I'm not eating it, though. No, sir!"

Brown did say Chipotle was trying to remedy the situation, asking him which location he ate at so they could presumably fix any future issues.

Deal or no deal ... Brown reiterated he'll never eat ANY type of fast food again following the whole ordeal, saying, "The way I was feeling guys, I'm telling you, no fast food for me."

What's interesting ... Brown actually had his best game of the year while dealing with the illness, going off for 7 catches and 91 yards against Buffalo.

A 20-year-old Tufts University lacrosse player has died ... after she tragically choked during a hot dog eating contest over the weekend.

Madelyn "Madie" Nicpon -- a junior on the Jumbos' lax squad -- was participating in a competitive eating event off-campus on Saturday when something went horribly wrong.

According to The Journal News ... authorities said Nicpon fell unconscious after choking, and was rushed to the hospital after first responders got to the scene.

Sadly, Nicpon passed away just a day later on Sunday.

"In the face of this painful loss," school officials said in a statement, "our hearts go out to Madie's family and friends."

Thousands of students came out to the campus to mourn the loss of Nicpon shortly after her death Sunday evening ... surrounding her jersey with candles and remembering her fondly.

"We are beyond heartbroken to share the news of the passing of junior Madie Nicpon -- 'Scooter,'" the Tufts lax team wrote on Instagram. "Scooter was a true friend and teammate. She truly valued her relationships with her teammates and coaches."

"Her reach was far beyond our team -- she was a true connector on campus and touched every single person she met."

They added, "We love you, Scooter. Keep dancing from above."

Nicpon had played in several games in her first two years for the Jumbos, and was expected to be a key contributor this season.

Kellogg's is trying to pull a fast one by hyping up the strawberries in some of their Pop-Tarts, because there's very few of the actual berries inside ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The breakfast food giant is being sued in a new class-action ... alleging Kellogg's is misleading consumers about what they're really eating when they bite into the toaster pastries.

A New York woman named Elizabeth Russett is leading the crusade against Kellogg's ... in her suit, she claims the fruit filling in Kellogg's Whole Grain Frosted Strawberry Toaster Pastries is mostly other fruits.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the Pop-Tarts in question are actually heavier on pears and apples than strawberries ... which she insists is not enough to provide the berry's nutritional benefits, let alone a strawberry taste.

Russett claims Kellogg's is using their packaging to fool folks who want a snack packed with more strawberries ... she says the damages exceed $5 million and also wants to see Pop-Tarts labeled more accurately.

There is such a thing as too skimpy for Hooters -- the restaurant is reversing course on a new uniform they were trying to get their girls to wear ... this after being called out.

You might've heard about this over the past few days -- there was a ton of outcry from Hooters hostesses, waitresses and others who've gotta put on the already-bare outfits ... 'cause a new uni was dished out, which were pretty much thong-style panties.

The bottoms were very short, and provided little to no coverage of any employees' cheeks -- the overall consensus was ... they might as well have us in bathing suits here.

Different Hooters girls took to TikTok and demonstrated just how short the new bottoms were, comparing them to the old set ... which at least went down to the very top of their thighs. A lot of the girls were outraged, saying the wedgie-inducing booty shorts were sexist, and not what they signed up for when first taking the job.

Some folks pushed back, saying the shorts weren't really all that different -- but after this whole thing went viral ... it's quite clear they were, especially since Hooters is doing a U-turn.

A company rep clarified their uniform policy Sunday to Business Insider, saying ... "As we continue to listen and update the image of the Hooters Girls, we are clarifying that they have the option to choose from traditional uniforms or the new ones." Hooters added, "They can determine which style of shorts best fits their body style and personal image."

It also sounds like the revealing shirts may be changing as well -- Hooters went on to say that it "appreciates the feedback, both positive and negative, regarding a more accommodating and inclusive image policy on tattoos, jewelry, nails, hairstyles as well as new uniform options -- to include new top styles, shorts and the addition of socks."

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has turned his pizza obsession into a money-making machine ... revealing his One Bite frozen pies are flying off the shelves -- with nearly a quarter-million sold in just weeks!!

Of course, Portnoy became an extreme pizza savant about 5 years ago ... after a debate with a coworker over what food they could eat every day for the rest of their lives.

To prove his side of the argument, Portnoy started consuming pizza daily ... which led to making popular videos ranking 'za joints all over the country.

"El Pres" joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to discuss his decision to join the pizza industry himself ... saying Stoolies have been asking him to start his own brand for years.

"When you're doing it organically for 5 years, you start to build trust," Portnoy said Thursday. "I don't want to say it was a logical step, but a lot of people were like, 'Hey, you should do your own frozen pizza.'"

"So, it was a while in the works. We finally got it out, and I don't want to say anything surprises me, but I think last call about a week and a half ago we sold close to a quarter-million of these things throughout Walmart. They're flying."

The Waffle House employee holding a baby while she worked didn't just take heat online, but an online scammer also made up a backstory about the incident for financial gain ... TMZ has learned.

As you may know ... a TikTok of the Waffle House worker went viral last weekend, because she was holding a baby while it appeared she was helping the cooks prepare meals.

In researching the incident, a person contacted us claiming to be the employee and gave us a tragic backstory explaining why she was holding the child in the video -- claiming the baby was the child of her dead brother.

This person posing as the employee also told us she was suspended for a week by Waffle House ... all of which we now know is NOT TRUE.

Waffle House's VP of Public Relations, Njeri Boss, tells TMZ ... they investigated the TikTok video and "have determined that the media portrayals and social media posts are not accurate."

Boss adds ... "While an employee of ours was recorded holding a baby at work, she is not related to that baby in any manner, never identified herself as the person in the TikTok video, never provided a CashApp account to receive any donations, never gave an interview to any media outlet, and never was suspended from her job."

Fortunately, TMZ did not include any of the scammer's CashApp info in our story, but some people out there did ... and likely donated to a phony cause.

Waffle House further explains that the employee in the TikTok vid held a baby belonging to her co-worker in an attempt to quickly settle the crying child ... and she's been coached and re-trained on proper safety guidelines going forward.

The restaurant chain adds ... "We caution against further dissemination of that false story and the damages that might result, not to mention the help that might give to support an apparent fraud on the public."

COVID-19 is still ruining spooky season traditions -- virtually killing off any chance of pumpkin carving on a popular Food Network show, and it's seriously pissing off fans.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... yes, as some eagle-eyed viewers have sourly noted during this season of "Halloween Wars," slicing up the traditional winter squash is NOT happening at the moment. And, we have more bad news ... it's gonna continue that way, at least for this year.

The reason ... we're told it's because of the pandemic, and the timing of production -- something that's out of the hands of showrunners, who are doing their best to adapt.

As you may or may not know, a lot of these shows film at different points in the year -- including 'HW,' which our sources say has often filmed well before Fall in years past ... where pumpkins were plentiful, and they were able to knife 'em to their heart's desire.

That, unfortunately, hasn't been the case this year ... and it's all due to COVID screwing up when and how TV networks have been able to shoot.

You can count "Halloween Wars" among the programs falling victim to that. We're told they weren't able to start filming until recently ... and, as a result, there was an actual shortage of pumpkins available for the competition. Seasonal demand, an already-stressed supply chain and new COVID-safety protocols for shows with group settings made it impossible to pull off on 'HW' this year.

It would appear procuring pumpkins, in the abundance needed for TV filming, is, apparently, more difficult than just heading down to your local patch set up in a grocery store parking lot.

In any case, our production sources tell us Food Network is happy with their final product, and the involvement of one Zak Bagans, who definitely brings the Halloween vibe home ... pumpkin or not.

Fans gave Rajon Rondo the warmest of welcomes in his big return to the Lakers over the weekend ... and the NBA guard says he was so touched by the gesture, he nearly cried.

Of course, Rondo played with the purple and gold for 2 seasons ... winning a ring alongside LeBron James and Co. in 2020, before bolting for the Atlanta Hawks and L.A. Clippers.

But, Rondo is back on board with the Lakers in 2021 ... and the fans gave him an epic welcome back during their first preseason game on Sunday.

Rondo -- who was working at Taco AF in L.A. on Monday in honor of National Taco Day -- spoke with TMZ Sports about the unforgettable moment ... saying he had to quickly get his composure back, 'cause he almost broke down in tears.

"I almost cried again last night," Rondo told us. "It means everything. I was away for a year ... came back and the reception I got last night, I had to try to focus on the game."

"The love I got, the attention from the crowd getting back in the game. It was amazing."

BTW, Rondo's involvement at Tacos AF was just as amazing -- a portion of all sales on Monday went towards the Downtown Women's Center, which helps homeless women in the area. Plus, fans were able to meet the NBAer as he whipped up and passed out tacos!!

Even rapper O.T. Genasis came through to test out Rondo's tacos -- and judging by his reaction, they were bomb!!

Awesome to see Rondo picking up right where he left off in helping the area.

Brielle Biermann sounds like she's been through hell recovering from double jaw surgery -- both physically and mentally -- but she's staying positive ... with her sights set on Thanksgiving!!!

We got the "Don't Be Tardy" star at LAX, where she gave us an update on the gnarly procedure she had done in August to correct some major biting and breathing issues she's dealt with most of her life.

As you see ... Brielle's still in post-op mode with a splint in her mouth, and tells us she's several weeks away from being able to eat foods, like meatballs.

She says her limited diet's resulted in her dropping 15 pounds, but the silver lining -- if there is one -- is her doctor's instructing her to have a daily milkshake to get her weight back up.

Brielle says the recovery process has been incredibly challenging, and she's been feeling down lately ... what with missing her friends and socializing.