Tasty! Photos and Interviews from the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis

It's that time of year again when famous chefs and tennis players rub shoulders with other "celebrities" like women from Real Housewives of NY (huh?) at the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis that benefits the NY Junior Tennis League.  We (Kait O'Callahan and I, Rachel Vinson) had an awesome time on the green carpet chatting it up with fellow tennis bloggers and stumping the players with our question.  

There were several highlights of the night - we got to chat with Serena and Venus Williams personal chef who wore radishes around her neck (not real of course), I got to try on Mike Bryan's Olympic Gold medal!!, and we got up close and personal with Micaela Bryan who was fashionalby rolled down the red carpet as every diva should be. Adorable.  Enjoy the photos and interviews below!

AJ Calloway - Host on EXTRA and host of the event.

Kait - Hi, my name is Kait.

AJ - Nice Accent, where is that from?

Kait - New Zealand.  You’ve been there?

AJ - Actually yes.  What street [do you live on]?  Naw.... (laughter)

Kait - I’m just wondering, if you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

AJ - Good God!  Wow....3 people, ok.  Here we go, Jesus, Muhammad Ali in the 70’s, (laughter) and I have to have someone to look at so I’ll say ummmm, (thinking hard) damn, that’s a hard one. (long pause) I’m stuck!!!  I just want to sit with those two, but I need someone to captivate their attention so we’ll throw a Halle Berry in there.

Kait - And where would you take them to dinner?

AJ - Where am I going to bring Jesus for dinner? (laughter) Now that is a hard one.  I’m gonna cook!

Kait - Oh!  And what would you cook?

AJ - I would definitely go for southern soul food I would fry some fish, I would do some mac 'n' cheese, I would do a cobbler, a good vegetable, and I’d make some bread from scratch.

Kait - That sounds good.

AJ - Oh, and of course wine!

Lauren Von Der Pool - Serena and Venus Williams' personal chef

Rachel - So since Venus is a self-proclaimed “chegan” what do you cook to keep her on track?

Lauren - Well, it’s really about the flavor of the food.  I really get creative with the flavor profiles.  I like to take her on journeys to different countries with food so it really keeps it exciting, international, and fabulous.

Check out her fabulous green pepper bracelet and red suede shoes below!

Sorana Cirstea

Kait - If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Sorana - That is a tough question.  It would probably be [Aryton] Senna, the Formula 1 driver, I’m obsessed with him, and then I think Aston Kutcher, and Princess Diana.

Kait - And where would you take them to dinner?

Sorana - Probably to Nobu because it is my favorite place.

Mirjana Lucic

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Lucic - That is a tough question!  One of them for sure is if I could have one more time with my grandpa who died a couple of years ago, so he would be definitely one of them.   I can’t really think of 2 more people!

Kait - Well, where would you take your granddad?

Lucic - I would like to have dinner together with my family - with my mom, my sisters and brothers, and my husband.  He never got to meet my husband so that would nice.

Kait - Would you cook?

Lucic - Absolutely!   Porcini Risotto is one of my favorite things that I cook and it’s really amazing.  My family loves it so I think that would probably be the first dish.

Michael Russell

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Michael - My wife would be a good answer, (points to his wife), Bono from U2...  That’s a tough one!  I get two seconds.

Kait - You can take all the time you want.

(Very long pause)

Michael - Brad Pitt.  That’s out there but, yeah.

Kait - And where would you take them to dinner?

Michael - I’m a big sushi fan.  I like Nobu here and Sushi Samba is good.

Rachel - Why Brad Pitt?

Michael - Because my wife is like infatuated with him. (laughter)

Rachel - Good call.

Brad Gilbert

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

BG - Wow!  Nelson Mandela, my wife, I can’t forget my wife! (long pause)  Wow, I gotta think about that, you’ve got me stumped!  I guess the man of the moment now, Tim Tebow.

Kait - And where would you take them?

BG - Let’s get some good sushi!

Robby Ginepri

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Robby - Hmmm, that’s a tough one.  Maybe Gandhi, Michael Jordan, and I would take my parents out to dinner.

Kait - And where would you take them?

Robby - Wherever they wanted, or wherever you could get a reservation around town.

Brian Baker

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Brian - Wow!  That is not an easy question at all!  Wow, I haven’t been asked this so now you have me on the block! I feel dumb!

Kait - We won’t judge you.

Brian - Ok, well since I’m a big sports guy I’ll probably go with Michael Jordan, Tiger [Woods], even with all the negative press recently, and Mohammed Ali.

Kait - And where would you take them?

Brian - Where would I take them?  Hopefully they would be paying. (laughter)  Maybe..some really nice steak house.

Janko Tipsarevic

Kait - When you cook for your wife for a romantic occasion..... (gets cut off by Janko)

Janko - That is not a good question! (laughter) I actually am quite horrible.  I just put a lot of salt on everything.  I love food, I love to eat and I have to control myself every time to keep a certain amount of kilos to be able to move around the court, but I am not a good cook.  Hopefully if we move to a big house one day where we will have more room in the kitchen, I think it is going to be a passion of mine, but now I don’t cook.

Kait - Do you have a favorite restaurant you take her to?

Janko - Because we travel a lot we are not really often home, but one of the restaurants that I really like is Prime 112 on South Beach.  Miami is like our second home and we try to go there as often as we can and Prime 112 is the restaurant that I would definitely recommend to anyone. 

Kevin Anderson

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Kevin - Definitely go with Nelson Mandela, Michael Jordan, and Roger Federer.  (laughter)

Kait - And where would you take them for dinner?

Kevin - Maybe somewhere in Chicago.  It’s where I live so it would be pretty fun to take them there.

Mike Bryan (In the black and grey shirt.)

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Mike - John Lennon, John F. Kennedy.....  Those are two dead ones, now I have to pick an alive one.  I’ll pick Andre Agassi.  I love Andre.

Kait - And where would you take them to dinner?

Mike -  I would take them to a great Mexican joint in Camarillo.  That’s where I’m from.  That’s my favorite food, Mexican.

Tamira Paszek

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Tamira - Oh wow.  That’s a good one.

Kait - You have to try.

Tamira - Let’s go for Whitney Houston.  I think she was a really special person so I would like to get to know her.  The second one....  I’m done!  I have no clue!

Kait - Where would you take Whitney?

Tamira - To an Asian restaurant.  It’s my favorite food.  It has a good taste and good flavor and good spices.

Mardy Fish

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Mardy - Let me think about this for a second.  Dead or alive?  What are some other people’s answers? (laughter)  Ok, how about Elvis, Michael Jackson, I’m a big music fan, and maybe a sports guy like Tom Brady.

Feliciano Lopez

Kait -  If you were to have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead who would they be?

Feliciano - Michael Jordan, Nelson Mandela, and....... (long pause)

Rachel - Oh come on Feli... (laughter)

Feliciano - Messi!  (big smile)

Rachel - (swoon)

People who were there but we didn't get a chance to interview. 

 

And our favorite person!  Micaela Bryan!!!  So cute.

See you next year!