The Crazy Eight: 2009's Most Scandalous Moments in Celebrity Food Gossip

Andrew Crowley

Brit celeb chef Heston Blumenthal's restaurant allegedly poisoned 500 people in 2009.

​Murders! Poisonings! Runaway grooms! The year in celebrity food gossip reads like a script for The Young and the Restless. Behold these crazy eight moments:

8. A household name in his native UK, chef Heston Blumenthal made headlines when more than 500 (!) patrons of his Fat Duck claimed food poisoning from oysters in February.

7. Beyonce left behind a little gift to wait staff at New York hot spot Marea: an elaborate depiction of a deer rendered out of her leftovers. After a year in which this restaurant was repeatedly crowned akin to the second coming of Christ, quelle scandale that all we'll really remember is that the menu inspired Sasha Fierce to play with her food.

6. Instead of being received with the spirit of goodwill, butter queen Paula Deen was socked in the face with a heavy ham -- or, as she put it, she "ran head on to a hog."

pophangover.com

​5. Top Chef host and gastronomic sex symbol Padma Lakshmi announced her pregnancy in October. To date, she has still refused to name the father, inspiring baby daddy office pools worldwide (in our mind, anyway).

4. Food Network host Tyler Florence got jacked for his giant fork, right here in the Bay Area. Like the murders of Biggie and Tupac, this case remains unsolved. (Stop snitching.)

3. Gordon Ramsay barely had a moment to utter an F word about the fallout of his 2008 sex scandal when March 2009 found his alleged mistress popping up on his Hell's Kitchen series.

2. LA/Miami celeb restaurateur Josh Woodward was accused of killing his unborn child. Just whoa.

people.com

​1. The aborted wedding of celebrity restaurateur Todd English in October fueled weeks' worth of wildly differing he said, she said tales in media outlets such as the New York Post, Gawker, and Eater. For those of us trying to wean ourselves off of daytime soaps, this was an awful big help.