Collage

HE'S COOKIN' ... Wolfgang Puck, the celebrity cookmeister and owner of the new Spago Palo Alto, has revealed who will head up the kitchen at the Lytton Avenue restaurant, scheduled to open Dec. 15. Michael French, the executive soos chef at Puck's Postrio restaurant in Southern California, will take over in Palo Alto. French, 34, has been in Puck's organization for the past 3 1/2 years, moving up from line cook and purchasing to his current position. He grew up in Seattle, where he worked at several restaurants before attending the acclaimed Ecole de Cuisine Francaise at La Varenne in 1989 and 1990. Spago Palo Alto will serve American cuisine with European and Asian influences. There will be two menus, a dining room one and another for the more casual cafe. It is taking over the location now occupied by Stars.

BREAKFAST IN BED ... Jessie Ziff Cool, overseeing chef and owner of Menlo Park's Flea St. Cafe, has released a new cookbook published by Harper Collins. "Breakfast in Bed" features "90 recipes for creative indulgences" such as fresh fruit omelet, fruit pizzas, breakfast burritos, toasted wheat berries with milk and honey, Greek torta, crab cakes in chive custard and crispy potato pancakes. Cool is also the author of "Tomatoes: A Country Garden Cookbook" and "Onions: A Country Garden Cookbook."

TALKING SCIENCE ... The Senior Center of Palo Alto is bringing out one of the big guns in the realms of science and publishing on Monday, Oct. 20. Carl Djerassi, considered the father of the birth control pill and a noted novelist, will speak at the center's G. Derwood Baker Distinguished Lecture Series. Djerassi, a professor of chemistry at Stanford, will speak on the subject "Science-in-Fiction is not Science Fiction: Is it Autobiography?" Djerassi's new book, "Manachem's Seed," is the third installment in his science-in-fiction line. The novel delves into the human side of scientists and the personal conflicts they face in their quest for scientific discovery. It's a topic that Djerassi is well acquainted with. He won the National Medal of Science for developing the first synthesis of a steroid oral contraceptive. He later developed new approaches in the field of insect control. His lecture will be at 2 p.m. at the center, 450 Bryant St. Admission is $2. Call 327-2811 for information.

LONDON HOLIDAY ... Got an extra $1,995 lying around? Well, if you do and you're a theater-goer, here's a fine suggestion for how to use it: TheatreWorks' Third Annual Yuletide Theatre Tour to London. Join TheatreWorks staff and patrons for a week in London. The tour includes round-trip airfare from San Francisco, six nights at a first-class hotel, full English breakfast daily, guided walking tours, orchestra seats to four shows, a day excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon, a tour of Hampton Court, a backstage tour of the National Theatre, a tour of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London transportation pass and all taxes and porterage. The tour runs Dec. 27, 1997, to Jan. 3, 1998. For more information, call 463-1950, ext. 444.

PIANO PLAYER ... Fans of chamber music are in for a treat with two upcoming performances of the Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra. Palo Alto native Helene Wickett, considered one of the country's top pianists, has agreed play at the orchestra's concerts on Oct. 31 at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont and Nov. 2 at Los Altos United Methodist Church. Wickett will play Beethoven's Piano Concert No. 3 in C Minor. Wickett, who made her orchestra debut at eight, has played most of the major music halls in the United States and Europe. She also has played many untraditional venues, such as mental institutions, maximum security prisons and drug rehab centers. To catch either of these special shows, call 573-1366.

What's up?

If you have news you'd like to see in Collage, send it to the arts and entertainment editor, Palo Alto Weekly, 703 High St, Palo Alto, 94301 or fax us at 326-3928.

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