Suzi Finer: April Fool: Chef Novelli...

June 29, 2008

Chef Novelli...

We were immediately impressed with the floral arrangements; with Glenda, Gianna & Lash on the hosting team, this was no surprise.

Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, new to the Los Angeles area, was in-the-know-enough to find the best cheese in the city from my neck of the woods: The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. He then (of course) made them his own with the addition of tiny bursts of delightful flavor in eye-catching mini-presentations. Each colorful variation was more delicious than the last; one providing a sweet accompaniment to a creamy cheese, another contrasting a touch of salt with the sweet. A delightful ssurprise hit my palette with every fresh bite...even the simple ungarnished Brie was brought to life with the selection of the cracker which served as it's vessel.

The camera crews from The Bravo Network were everywhere.

Just how charming was the Chef? He made me feel like I was the only person in the room when I was interviewing him for iamadiva.com. His charming fiancee, Michelle Kennedy, is not only lovely, but possesses a luminescent quality which oozes "celebrity." She is stunning, but very warm and inviting (check out the way here eyes just glow below!) They make a perfect team. She is expecting their first child in August.

Glenda and Gianna...the dream team!

Just the right amount of tomato to set off the flavor of the cheese...

Dessert...

A peek at what is up for the new television program; no details were given, but using my brilliant powers of speculative deduction, it appears to me that there will be some kind of elimination format involved in the cooking academy. We shall see...

Who else was there? Well here is (from top left) Harmony Walton of The Bridal Bar, David Smyth, James Reid of Manifest Media, a random partier and our friend Tiffany (blonde with her back to me in the pretty green dress.)