FOOD
Chef Roy’s meal with Ali sells for $400K
Hawaii chef Roy Yamaguchi will be preparing a $400,000 dinner, with Muhammad Ali at the head of the table.
A dinner for four couples at Yamaguchi's Phoenix restaurant, Roy's Desert Ridge, was auctioned off at Saturday's Celebrity Fight Night XII, a benefit for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
Joining the couples at the table: Ali and his wife, Lonnie.
Winning bidder was Bob Parsons, owner of godaddy.com, a spokeswoman for Celebrity Fight Night said yesterday.
Yamaguchi said he and Lonnie were onstage for the bidding. "It was aggressive and fast, and for it to go for $400,000 -- it's the most someone has ever paid at that auction for a dinner. It was pretty awesome."
For those who will not be invited, Yamaguchi has another dinner up for bid, and he is serving it at his own home on Hawaii Loa Ridge (minus Ali). The dinner for four, which includes first-class airfare to Hawaii, is posted on the online auction site www.charityfolks.com, also to benefit Ali's organization.
As of yesterday, bidding was up to $5,500. The auction closes April 6.
Yamaguchi said he donated a similar dinner last year for eight, but in his restaurant, not his home. It went for $60,000.