Three superstars — actor Bradley Cooper, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and James Beard Award-winning chef José Andrés — drew the largest crowd to the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage in the history of BottleRock Napa Valley for day two of the Wine Country festival.
The area surrounding the small stage was so packed that festival organizers requested everyone camped out for the set stand, and they roped off the area to keep a walkway clear between the two music stages. The 45-minute set on Saturday, May 25, featured Philly cheesesteaks, a surprise appearance from Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn and an impromptu “Shallow” serenade by the “A Star Is Born” heartthrob.
Andrés, a BottleRock veteran, and culinary stage emcee Liam Mayclem kicked the performance off with a moment of silence for the seven aid workers from Andrés’ World Central Kitchen who were recently killed in Gaza. “They were heroes,” Andrés said.
Then, he brought out Curry, who managed to show despite the fact that his wife, Ayesha Curry, gave birth to the couple’s fourth child a few days ago. Curry and Andrés shared a celebratory toast with Curry’s Gentleman’s Cut bourbon, then proceeded to toss plates of Iberico ham into the crowd like Frisbees. The pair also took turns shooting bags of chips into a basketball hoop in front of the stage. (Curry had an off day and missed three straight shots.)
Andrés was busy making his fancy version of a Philly cheesesteak when he was suddenly interrupted by Cooper, who slyly entered the stage donning an apron and carrying his own sandwich. With him was chef Danny DiGiampietro, the owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria in South Philadelphia, who Cooper says makes the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia. The pair have teamed up to bring Angelo’s to New York City, except the new spot will be called Danny & Coop’s.
The famous crew was busy tossing premade cheesesteaks into the crowd when “Shallow” — the hit song from the movie “A Star Is Born,” in which Cooper starred with Lady Gaga — poured over the speakers. Andrés and Cooper each got down on one knee and gave the people what they so obviously wanted: a duet.
As the set wrapped up, Andrés asked Curry whether he was going to win another ring, to which he responded, “First I’m going to go win a gold medal in Paris this summer.” “U-S-A” chants erupted from the crowd, and Crenn popped up on stage for the send-off, seemingly out of nowhere.
Andrés concluded with a major plug for Maná, the Mexican pop rock band scheduled to play after his culinary set. But the crowd seemed to have a another priority: Waiting in a monstrous line to get their hands on a Danny & Coop’s cheesesteak, cooked by Cooper himself.
Immediately after his performance, Cooper got behind the grill in a booth next to the Prudential Stage, where the Record Company was performing its set. After a long wait, the Chronicle was able to try one, and while it wasn’t as good as the fancy salmon chicharron from the Michelin-starred press (located in VIP), it was a solid cheesesteak with the right amount of grease and an unexpected layer of dimension from a sesame seed roll.