You’d think of all the serious issues plaguing Olive Garden – long waits, the batteries in the pagers dying out, running out of bread sticks, etc – the last thing they’d have time to worry about is their wholesome family image being tarnished. But that’s exactly what’s stressing out the Garden’s bigwigs – though they’re doing everything they can to be gracious about it.

Playboy Playmate, Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend, and Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson is a big fan of the OG. Which is what the cool people call it. So much so that she’s actually said Olive Garden is better than any restaurant in Italy. She’s constantly eating their food and blabbing about on in the show. But lest you think it’s some clever product placement, let us be clear that Olive Garden has nothing to do with it – and has been made mighty uncomfortable by the Playmate’s pasta fetish.

To the consternation of Olive Garden’s marketers, who have spent millions crafting the franchise’s family-friendly image, the 23-year-old adult-entertainment star and aspiring real-estate mogul repeatedly uses her spotlight to rave about its midprice eateries. Wilkinson hoists Olive Garden doggie bags in the air and extols its chicken parmigiana. She once scandalized European diners by declaring the Olive Garden preferable to any restaurants in Italy.

Wilkinson, whose tan skin and blonde-white hair project classic California, isn’t on the payroll. She is a rogue brand ambassador: a celebrity who is genuinely, publicly devoted to a product or service, even if he or she doesn’t quite embody the values that the brand’s managers may be trying to convey.

Executives at Olive Garden declined to discuss the uninvited spokesmodel. One official said the company has tried to walk a fine line with its response, maintaining the chain’s wholesome image without alienating potential customers. “I don’t feel comfortable talking about this . . . because it is a complicated issue for the brand,” said Michele Kay, executive vice president of WPP Group’s Grey advertising firm, which handles the Olive Garden account.

Wilkinson said that when she started praising the restaurant on television and on her very popular MySpace page, it never crossed her mind what the folks at Olive Garden might think. “I don’t speak about it to get paid for it,” she said. “I speak about it because I love it. I understand they’re a family restaurant, but I think it can’t hurt them to have a little spice.”

[From Rocky Mountain News]

Apparently Olive Garden doesn’t want to offend Kendra or any of her (presumably) millions of fans, nor do they want images of frolicking bunnies associated with their brand. As long as Kendra’s not walking into her local restaurant wearing the bunny costume it seems like everything should be fine. If not I’m sure TGI Friday’s would love to have Kendra promote their Jack Daniel’s Chicken & Shrimp or something.

Here’s Kendra talking about how much she loves Olive Garden. Header image of Kendra at the ESPYs on July 17th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Eva Longoria and Mario Lopez have been claiming they’re best friends – and only best friends – since… well forever. But there’s always been something a little fishy about their relationship – maybe it’s just because you don’t often see a lot of opposite sex best friends in Hollywood. And you rarely see a real, platonic friendship when the guy is a total womanizing philanderer. But Eva’s husband Tony Parker must be totally cool with it, because Lopez and Longoria are seen out together all the time. Yesterday Mario gave Eva a gold Cartier necklace, supposedly as a congratulatory present for the opening of her new restaurant Beso. Though it could also be a “thanks for being my f*** buddy” necklace too.

Who’s a lucky girl? Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker received an expensive gift from pal Mario Lopez as the two lunched together in Hollywood.

With her basket ball star husband Tony Parker away on work duties, Eva, 33, joined Mario for an outdoor lunch at Café Med in LA.

Dancer and TV presenter Lopez turned up with a gold necklace in a Cartier bag for the already pampered Hollywood star.

An attentive Mario hopped out his seat to help Eva put the gold necklace on, and she seemed pretty pleased with the spontaneous gesture.

[From the Daily Mail]

Haha, yeah right. I’m sure Mario was just being attentive. I’m under the impression that men rarely give platonic female friends jewelry – even if they’ve got the money like Mario. It’s a pretty intimate gift. Next week he’ll be buying her some lingerie to congratulate her for walking down the street without falling or something. The Daily Mail notes several times that Tony Parker was “away on work duties.” I have no idea what they’re implying there.

The opening of Beso supposedly went pretty well, with several of Eva’s cast mates showing up.

Eva attended the opening of restaurant Beso, which means ‘kiss’in Spanish in Hollywood last night. With husband Tony Parker away on basketball duties, Eva was supported in his absence by her Desperate Housewives co-stars Nicolette Sheridan and Felicity Huffman. An excited Eva told People magazine: “Everything is painted, every candle is lit, every glass has arrived So far there has not been a catastrophic emergency happening. So I am very excited.”

And unlike spoiled Gabby on on Desperate Housewives, Longoria does actually know how to cook if her skills were called upon. She said: “I’ll go to a restaurant and if I have an amazing dish I’ll go to the kitchen and ask the chef how he made it. And then I’ll make him teach me. You can ask [my husband] Tony [Parker], I do it all the time. I’ll leave him at the table for like 30 minutes.”

[From the Daily Mail]

I’m sure that’s totally true Eva. Mario must love you because you’re just so down to earth. Er, I mean Tony. I’m sure it’s your great cooking that keeps Mario coming over to your house all the time. Hmm, what else can I say that makes it sound like Mario and Eva are sleeping together? I’ve probably done enough. At least she’s getting some good jewelry out of it.

Here’s Mario fasting his gift around Eva’s neck at lunch yesterday. Images thanks to Splash Here are the arrivals for the opening of Beso last night: Eva with chef Todd English, Christine Lakin, Constance Marie, Dana Delany, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter, Sheryl Crow, and Sarah Lancaster. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Isn’t it cute when celebs try to convince us that they’re just normal people too? Like Angelina Jolie goes to 7-11 at 4 a.m. because she really needs a Slurpee. Or at any moment, you might run into Tom Cruise in the deli section of your grocery store, because he’s just a normal guy out shopping! What the hell! Do they think we buy this crap? And why would they want us to? You have to admit, we’re not nearly as interested in the celebrities that seem “normal.” Well Eva Longoria would like us to believe that she whips up Tony Parker’s favorite dishes on a moment’s notice. Somehow I don’t see her waiting on him hand and foot. In the grand tradition of celebrities with nothing better to do, Eva has opened up a new restaurant call BESO, with celebrity chef Todd English.

Thanks to the writers strike, Eva Longoria has a little extra time on her hands. But don’t worry, the Desperate Housewives star is keeping busy, whipping up Thanksgiving dinner and finalizing plans for her Mexican-American restaurant, BESO. “I love to cook!” Longoria, 32, told PEOPLE while relaxing at the soon-to-open eatery during Samsung’s BlackJack II event Wednesday night. “I’m a big, big cooker in my family, so this is kind of an extension of my house. I feel like everybody’s going to be in my living room.”

Longoria swears she’s hands-on when it comes to BESO, which is located in Hollywood and is in partnership with celebrity chef Todd English. “I’m so involved, I picked the uniforms,” she said. “A lot of these are my recipes. We’ve developed a really fun menu.” One person who’s already a devoted fan of Longoria’s culinary creations: husband Tony Parker. (The two wed in France at an over-the-top wedding this past July.) “I cook anything he wants to eat,” she said. “Everything. I mean, every day it’s a different date.”

[From People]

If there is any truth to that at all, I’m going to marry Eva Longoria next. I love the way celebs become their own little PR reps. Eva can fire whatever agency uses; she’s so good at giving little soundbites. I really believe that you’re the cook in your family, and that many of the recipes at your fancy new restaurant with a fancy chef aren’t his, but yours! Totally buying it. In other Desperate Housewives news, the cast got together and bought each of the 300 crew members a turkey for Thanksgiving. The actors make like, what, maybe $250000 an episode when you average it out? I’m sure the crew is sitting there thinking, “Wow, thanks so much for our $17 frozen turkeys.” I’m sure Eva Longoria can sweeten the deal with a copy of her own stuffing recipe or something. That she stole from Todd English.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Eva at the Samsung BlackJack II Launch Party at BESO last night. Images thanks to PR Photos.