Paula Deen

PORK PROCESSORS and ham handlers are mad at celebrity cook and Oprah fave, Paula Deen, who's quite the ham herself. After months spent tracking the drawling, cackling, butter-loving Food Network hostess at book signings and paid appearances across the country, the United Food and Commercial Workers union staged a rally Monday outside Deen's Savannah, Ga., restaurant, The Lady and Sons. The union has targeted Deen because of her endorsement deal with Smithfield Foods, the Virginia-based owner of the world's largest pork-processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C. The union has fought with the company for more than a decade in attempts to unionize plant workers.

By Karen Stabiner Paula Deen came out last week. The cookbook author and television personality, known for her enthusiasm for high-fat and fried foods, has been a closet diabetic for three years. And for the moment, she's the chef we love to hate, having seduced us with unhealthful recipes on the one hand while she checked her blood sugar with the other. But she's also a distraction, and the media storm surrounding the news of her illness is exactly the sort of publicity bonanza the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk must have dreamed of when it hired Deen to be the spokeswoman for its new marketing campaign.

They don't mind being called mama's boys. And why should they, when they have one of the food world's most popular cooking moms? But Jamie and Bobby Deen, the offspring of Food Network phenom Paula Deen, aren't simply satellites of a justifiably famous brand. They're a hot brand themselves. After helping their mother launch a business that started as lunch sandwiches and grew into an empire, the brothers could have kicked back and watched the revenue flow in. But mama didn't raise lazy boys.

Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Salma Hayek; Louis Zamperini; Jane's Addiction performs. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Jonah Hill; Paula Deen; Chris Isaak performs. Jimmy Kimmel Live (midnight, 6ABC) - Zach Galifianakis; Mike Judge; Primus performs. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (12:37 a.m., CBS3) - Bryan Cranston; Amos Lee performs.

MY 18-YEAR-OLD nephew, John Armstrong, gasped when I told him that the star of the Food Network's "Big Daddy's House" would be coming to my house to cook us dinner. "He's coming to your house?" "That's right. Big Daddy's coming to our house," I repeated, pausing for emphasis. Yeah, I was name-dropping. But it's not every day that McCargo cooks a meal in somebody's home. Maybe back in the day, but not since 2008, when he became the last man standing on "The Next Food Network Star" and wound up snagging the grand prize - his own TV show.

ALTHOUGH HIS SUCCESS as a restaurateur has been something he never dreamed of when he opened his first Café Martorano 30 years ago, Steve Martorano still has goals to accomplish. Foremost among them is starring in a television series. To that end, he is represented by the same New York agency that handles such TV foodie faves as Paula Deen and the Neelys. And, of course, he has an idea. Think of it as a gentler, South-Philly-er "Hell's Kitchen. " "I wanna go back to . . . a little corner neighborhood bar and put them on the right path and bring what my little niche is," he said, when asked to describe his small-screen game plan.

There are now two degrees of separation between Oprah Winfrey and South Jersey comedian Dena Blizzard . Blizzard, a frequent contributor to NBC10 (and Miss New Jersey 1995), started work Thursday as the audience warm-up act for the new Nate Berkus show in New York. Berkus, the decor guru from the Oprah stable, launches his syndicated daily program Sept. 13. It will air locally at 2 p.m. on NBC10. The show's general theme aims at organizing a mom's life, something that Blizzard, 37, can relate to as she'll juggle the three-day shooting schedule with her home life: kids Dean , 10, Jacqueline , 8, and Brooke , 6, and husband Jim . Lately, Blizzard has been sitting beside Dennis Malloy , filling in on Trenton's WKXW-FM (101.

JENNY DRUMGOOLE is done with cream cheese. And anyone who attends her show, "Real Woman of Philadelphia," which opened Friday at Moore College of Art, might be finished with it, too. Drumgoole is a video artist who graduated from Yale's prestigious master of fine arts program. Her latest project was prompted by a "Real Women of Philadelphia" contest sponsored by Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Southern-fried Food Network cooking show host Paula Deen. Participants (ladies only, please)

Nope, not William or Harry. Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, will be in the city April 26 and 27 for a series of events to mark his mother's 60 years on the throne, the city announced Tuesday. Mayor Nutter said he was delighted. "This is a high honor for us," he said. Edward will meet with students from Girard College, Science Leadership Academy, and Valley Forge Military Academy who have been honored by the Duke of Edinburgh's Award program, which was established by Prince Edward's father, Prince Philip.

ALTHOUGH HIS SUCCESS as a restaurateur has been something he never dreamed of when he opened his first Café Martorano 30 years ago, Steve Martorano still has goals to accomplish. Foremost among them is starring in a television series. To that end, he is represented by the same New York agency that handles such TV foodie faves as Paula Deen and the Neelys. And, of course, he has an idea. Think of it as a gentler, South-Philly-er "Hell's Kitchen. " "I wanna go back to . . . a little corner neighborhood bar and put them on the right path and bring what my little niche is," he said, when asked to describe his small-screen game plan.

* The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has issued its list of the Five Worst Cookbooks of 2012, and probably the only surprise is that Paula Deen isn't on it. Chosen for their unhealthy recipes (1,386 calories in a sandwich! more cholesterol than 10 Big Macs!), the "winners" are: Rachael Ray's My Year in Meals , The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook , Fifty Shades of Chicken , Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches and Southern Living: The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook . "Downton Abbey" cooking's unhealthy?

Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Dennis Quaid; Krysten Ritter; Diamond Rings. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Sarah Silverman; Paula Deen; Lyle Lovett performs. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m., CBS3) - Actress Amanda Peet; actor John Cho. Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC10) - James Van Der Beek; Deron Williams; the xx.

He looks as studly, dewy-fresh and baby-faced as the day he modeled his sparking-white briefs in 1983's Risky Business. It's hard to believe that Tom Cruise, who turns 50 in July, has never had a nip, tuck, lift or lipo in his life. "I haven't, and I never would," Tom tells Playboy on the set of his next sci-fi blockbuster, Oblivion. Of wifey Katie Holmes, he says: "Everything she does, she does with this beautiful creativity," says Tom. "She's funny and charming, and when she walks into the room, I just feel better.

Nope, not William or Harry. Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, will be in the city April 26 and 27 for a series of events to mark his mother's 60 years on the throne, the city announced Tuesday. Mayor Nutter said he was delighted. "This is a high honor for us," he said. Edward will meet with students from Girard College, Science Leadership Academy, and Valley Forge Military Academy who have been honored by the Duke of Edinburgh's Award program, which was established by Prince Edward's father, Prince Philip.

Before she even put down her bag or said hello, Libbie Summers was compelled to comment on the bright, minimal vibe at the La Colombe near City Hall. It's just her way: For the cookbook author, culinary producer, blogger, and food stylist, aesthetics are tied into everything she does. "On the train I was writing notes about radishes and white lace and spring onions," she says. "I can't help it, my head goes crazy!" The Savannah, Ga., resident was in town for a few days this month, promoting the recent release of The Whole Hog Cookbook , her first solo title.

By Karen Stabiner Paula Deen came out last week. The cookbook author and television personality, known for her enthusiasm for high-fat and fried foods, has been a closet diabetic for three years. And for the moment, she's the chef we love to hate, having seduced us with unhealthful recipes on the one hand while she checked her blood sugar with the other. But she's also a distraction, and the media storm surrounding the news of her illness is exactly the sort of publicity bonanza the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk must have dreamed of when it hired Deen to be the spokeswoman for its new marketing campaign.

WHEN Paula Deen announced her Type 2 diabetes last week, outrage erupted worldwide. Coming as healthful New Year's resolutions are eroding like melting snow, the news struck a chord. That's because Deen preached a comfort-food gospel heavy on butter, sugar, meat and other "down-home" delights that many work to minimize. And she knew her condition for three years before revealing it - once she had a gig hawking diabetes drug Victoza.

HOW CONVENIENT for celebrity chef Paula Deen : Now that she's publicly acknowledged that she has diabetes (she found out three years ago), she is teaming with drug-maker Novo Nordisk to promote a Novo diabetes drug and program. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. The move, however, strikes Tattle as similar to a hooker hawking Valtrax. Deen says she kept quiet about her condition until she had advice to offer the public. "I wanted to bring something to the table when I came forward," said the woman who's always bringing something to the table, on yesterday's "Today" show.

A cold, hypocritical media manipulator? Or a suffering Southern lady in distress? Which shoe fits Paula Deen ? The popular Food Network star revealed this week that she has type-2 diabetes - but not before signing a no doubt lucrative contract to promote a diabetes drug. A cynical move? Not as cynical, says University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Arthur Caplan , as Deen's decision to keep her illness a secret for three years - during which the Georgia-born chef continued to push recipes for high-calorie down-home cooking.