::: George Christy ::: From the Beverly Hills Courier

Continued from Page 6 director for the American Wine & Food Festival, Joan organized the myriad details with aplomb, and proved that sheÕs an event planner par excellence. Drew Nieporent and Jay Weston commented that this 25th celebration was the best theyÕve attended. Agreed. As did Mila Moursi, the favored skincare specialist for Wolfgang, Sherry Lansing, Candice Bergen Those who follow the chef kingdom would have glimpsed SpagoÕs Lee Hefter and Thomas Boyce; Chinois manager Bella Landsman with chefs Luis Diaz and Rene Mata; CutÕs Ari Rosenson; VertÕs Matt Bencivenga; PatinaÕs Joachim Splichal, whoÕs opening Paperfish in the former Maple Drive dining room in Beverly Hills (Joachim tells us he presides over 68 establishments in his Patina Restaurant Group); Nobu Matsuhisa (19 restaurants, with another opening in Athens next year); Piero Selvaggio, Luciano Pellegrini and Angelo Auriana of Valentino; CampanileÕs Mark Peel; MozzaÕs Nancy Silverton; Cameron Lewark of Spago Maui; The Slanted DoorÕs Charles Phan; San FranciscoÕs Michael Mina; TablaÕs Floyd Cardoz; CraftsteakÕs Tom Colicchio; the Rattlesnake ClubÕs Jimmy Schmidt; OlivesÕ Todd English; CarmelÕs Cal Stamenov of the Marinus Resaurant; New OrleansÕ Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse; BostonÕs Lydia Shire and Mario Capone of Locke-Ober; Summer ShackÕs Jasper White, and more that we missed. In the Moet & Chandon Lounge, desserts flourished from Sherry Yard and Nicole Lindsay of Spago Beverly Hills; Francois Payard of Payard Patisserie; Donald Wressell of the Guittard Chocolate Company; Sixto Pocasangre of Wolfgang Puck Catering and others. Music by the Live Blues band sparked boogie-down bopping,, and Cirque du Soleil clowns and acrobats romped amid the camaraderie. Although we were satiated from the irresistible samplings, Wolfgang insisted Ð otherwise weÕd have missed it Ð that we follow him to check out Paul BertolottaÕs station, where the flown-in-that-afternoon red snapper from Sardinia baked with olive oil and lemon was celestial (PaulÕs eponymous Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare is at the Wynn in Las Vegas). We visited with Barbara Lazaroff and her toymaker beau John Hanwell Ð they were with her son Byron Puck, now in 7th grade, while son Cameron Puck is enrolled at Tufts University studying engineering. BarbaraÕs bejeweled jacket was custom-embroidered in Paris by Helena Gainville (a name worth remembering for fashionistas). Glamour girl Gelila Assefa, who wed Wolfgang in Capri in July (where Fred Hayman and wife Betty Endo were among the guests), informed that the night before, Lexus also sponsored Red Hot @ Red Seven for the young crowd in the Pacific Design Center, where WolfgangÕs Red Seven cafŽ opened this summer. ÒWe wanted to welcome and befriend the future generation for the American Wine & Food Festival,Ó says Joan Wrede. Tickets were $150, benefiting Meals on Wheels, and fine beef dishes were served by seven chefs. Sunday night was the Chefs Grand Tasting Dinner at Spago, with Guy Savoy and Jean-Georges Vongerichten among the featured cooks ($750 per guest). That week, Fred Hayman and Betty Endo hosted a luncheon at Spago for former Beverly Hills Mayor Max Salter and wife Jan, who creates the cartoons for our BH Courier editorial page. Soon enough, the discussion veered toward movies being three hours long, namely The Assassination of Jesse James with Brad Pitt; Daniel Day-LewisÕ forthcoming There Will Be Blood. I couldnÕt help recalling a quote that Jimmy Stewart shared about Harry Cohn, the brilliant but tough, no-nonsense Columbia PicturesÕ chairman who discovered Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. Harry squirmed through a screening of a tediously long film that was scheduled for release, and after the lights came on, he scolded the director. ÒListen, no audience wants to sit through a four-ass movie Ð knock it down to one-ass. Or I will.Ó Online at www.bhcourier.com.