Nicole Kidman has been footing the bill from the coffee cart serving the 200-strong cast and crew on the set of Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia.” But when a week’s tab ran to $3,500, she passed the cup to co-star Hugh Jackman, who will carry the caffeine costs for a while. The usual catering coffee was rejected in favor of Nic’s first-class coffee cart, says .
David Schwimmer was disgusted by British food during his recent stay in the country, says . The former “Friends” star criticized the nation’s cuisine after directing his latest movie, “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” in London. “You guys deep-fry everything. Even healthy British food like shepherd’s pie makes you put on 20 pounds after every meal,” he said.
“Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera arrived at a recent benefit looking like she’d dropped at least 15 pounds, says the National Enquirer. The “secret” behind her dramatic weight loss: She simply exercised and ate healthy. An anonymous source told the Enquirer that the actress who plays Betty Suarez on the ABC hit is not on a diet, rather she has “stopped turning to food out of boredom or for comfort. She’s been eating more fruit and vegetables, and has been making an effort to be more active.”
Drinkers (of coffee and beer) mourned the passage of two greats last week. Beer critic Michael Jackson died Thursday, and Alfred Peet, founder of Peet’s Coffee & Tea, died Wednesday. Jackson, 65, died of a heart attack at his west London home. Despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he continued to write and travel, and had planned to write a book about the ailment.
“Michael Jackson, a.k.a. the Beer Hunter, was the creator of beer journalism. His wonderfully written books are like holy scriptures for beer geeks, and the gold standard for beer journalists,” said Marty Jones of Oskar Blues brewery in Lyons. “In the late ’90s I sent him a note out of the blue and offered to be his driver and take him to brewpubs around Colorado. It was a dream come true for me. Driving Michael to brewpubs was akin to shuttling Johnny Cash to honky- tonks.”
Peet, 87, died at home in Ashland, Ore. He opened the original Peet’s store on the corner of Walnut and Vine in Berkeley, Calif., in 1966, and pioneered the unique coffee roasting style that inspired the specialty coffee revolution.
Throughout his life, Peet continued to consult with coffee companies and was often known to drop by coffee stores and “taste” samples of coffee beans with its proprietors.
Compiled from staff, wire and Internet reports
