Chef Goes Bananas !

Courtney Act & Danni Minogue at Aria

Is it all a stunt ?. It's certainly a wonderful promotion for Masterchef now in it's 4th season and driving us all witless as we sit munching on our baked beans and watch amateurs produce sensational dishes.

Chef Matt Moran who is now a fixture on the show has thrown a tizzy and it could become a youtube hit (with our help)

Moran owns Aria, one of Australia's smartest restaurants over-looking the Sydney Opera House. His food is simply to die for and the Shuttle will go to the opening off a pantry door if it's at Aria just to sample the hors d'ouvres.

The last shindig a few weeks ago was a promotion for Danni Minogue's TV show and the previous party late last year was a super secret bash for the Queen of TV Oprah Winfrey.

Winfrey who was staying at the nearby Hotel Interontinetal also rented an apartment above Aria in the infamous 'Toaster' Building. She used the apartment to dine on several nights with Matt preparing some of his world famous dishes.

Here's Matt doing a Gordon Ramsey:



Update : as we correctly guessed..a stunt !. All for a good cause by http://www.ozharvest.org/ to highlight food wastage.

The giveaway- despite Matt's superb acting skills, when the camera pans around the crew as Moran storms off. It's something we see in every fake 'reality' TV show ala The Office.

The Big O Tour-Oprah Winfrey's Crazy Back & Forth Movements

Yesterday she quit the Hotel Intercontinental for a luxury private apartment on the top floor of the Bennelong Apartments-known as the Toaster, now the Big O is back at the Intercontinental after partying at the Park Hyatt Hotel until 3 am this morning.

After hosting a party for her 300 American guests in a marquee in the Botanic Gardens, Oprah Winfrey left around midnight with a small group of close friends to continue partying at the Park Hyatt Hotel which is directly opposite the Opera House.

Police blocked off most of the roads in The Rocks where the Park Hyatt is situated and no vehicle could approach the hotel.

As a guest of the NSW Government, Oprah is being accorded the status of a diplomatic visitor which guarantees her all the recourses of local police on top of the 12 round the clock armed security guards she employs. Apparently she takes the threat of kidnap or assault seriously and is taking no chances.

The Park Hyatt Hotel

And with that in mind, the fact that members of the general public where able to freely walk in and out of the Park Hyatt upset Oprah's minders and the great lady herself.
Now she is maintaining 2 resting places to keep would be kidnappers-or perhaps the paparazzi at bay. The local fans who wait outside hotels for stars will have to take their choice over the next 4 days-The Toaster of the Intercontinental.

Or they can just read the Social Shuttle for the latest update !

exclusive : Oprah Winfrey flees Sydney Hotel After One Day

The Toaster

She arrived on Saturday morning in her private jet having flown from Melbourne, and checked into the Hotel Intercontinental. 

But last night while Oprah Winfrey held court and wined and dined her 300 American guests in a marquee opposite the Sydney Opera House, our spy disguised as a Louis Vuitton hold-all reports assistants packed up Oprah's luggage and transported it to the controversial Toaster building where the Big O returned to after the party to spend the next few days in a luxury apartment on the top floor.

She didn't last one night at the Intercontinental and no-one in Camp Oprah is saying why. Nor will they talk about the absence of actor John Travolta who as the Qantas world-wide ambassador was to fly Oprah's 300 guests to Australia. Travolta never arrived.

Bennelong Apartments (the Toaster) was built in 1998 and gained it's nick name because of it's resemblance to a kitchen appliance. 

It is only one block from the Intercontinental and boasts spectacular views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. It was dogged by controversy during it's construction and critics deemed it to be one of Sydney's ugliest modern buildings.

 One bonus for Oprah-on the ground floor of the Toaster is chef Matt Moran's award winning restaurant Aria (left) where a welcome dinner party will be held for her on Monday evening (naturally with the Shuttle in attendance)