In a city more stuffed with bad boy chefs than a paupiette is with forcemeat, British chef Marco Pierre White proved himself recently at least as tough, dumb and bad as his competition. The Post recounts the disaster: Last Thursday at the Spotted Pig—you know, that restaurant the hot movie-boys can't stop smoking in front of—he set himself on fire and someone stabbed him.

White was demonstrating a flaming Sambuca trick to pals Mario Batali, Tony Bourdain, [Glamour lunch dater] Carole Radziwill and others, the burning booze spilled on his shirt and the table. In the ensuing group effort to extinguish the flames, several champagne flutes and wine glasses were broken and White "was accidentally stabbed in the hand," our source said. "Blood went everywhere but he didn't want to go to the hospital . . . very macho." White stuck his hand in a bucket of ice water, wrapped it with some napkins and was put in a cab.

Oh, that old Sambuca trick, the one where you douse your shirt with burning booze and smash a half dozed champagne flutes while a nearby jealous chef shivs you with the shards. We all learned that one at the French Culinary Institute.