Nelly Furtado may be a "Maneater," but when it comes to food, she's a diva.

Celebrity chef Guy Rubino nearly needed a Heimlich maneuver as he recalled the singer's behavior at his restaurant, Rain, in Toronto.

"She made a reservation for 10 guests," Rubino told fellow restaurateurs like Drew Nieporent and Mario Batali at the Bon Appetit magazine awards at Del Posto Monday night. Rubino, who makes complex culinary dreams come true on his Food Network HD show "Made to Order," balked when Furtado finally arrived with an entourage of 15.

"She showed up an hour late, with five extra people in tow," he said. "For parties that size, we do a prix-fixe type of menu. Nelly objected and was really rude about it. She expected individual dishes to be prepared.

"Her manager even came into the kitchen and had the gall to say, 'Just f—ing do it!' I told her that she and her client could 'just f—ing LEAVE.'"

Rubino also sniffed at Justin Timberlake 's restaurant manners.

"Timberlake [center] comes into Rain, doesn't even look at the menu and shouts for random food that we don't make," Rubino groaned. "If he knew what he wanted, why come to an Asian restaurant in the first place?"

But repeat customers Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have sophisticated tastes and are lovely, Rubino attests: "They're very polite. Every time they come in, they pop into the kitchen to say hello. I just love them."

Perhaps Rubino should try the idea that Bravo's "Top Chef" star Ted Allen has for a successful restaurant in New York. "New Yorkers need comfort food more than anyone else on the planet!" he says. "If a restaurant could sell fried chicken, mac and cheese, Xanax and marijuana, they'd stay in business forever."

********************************


In Touch weekly proclaimed yesterday that Jennifer Lopez is finally expecting a baby, or maybe even twins — but that's news to hubby Marc Anthony. "Everyone calls about this every month with the hopes that they'll hit the mark," Anthony's rep told us, "but no. No." A flack for In Touch said it's sticking by the story.


********************************



Charlize Theron quipped, "I just wanted to sleep with the director," when asked why she took the starring role in her boyfriend Stuart Townsend's new film "Battle in Seattle," about the 1999 World Trade Organization riots. Chuckling in the audience at the Toronto film fest were Woody Harrelson, "The Women" star Christy Scott Cashman and Michelle Rodriguez.

********************************


Talk about copycat. Sean "Diddy" Combs has now done the obligatory celebrity fragrance just like everybody else. He told Rachael Ray on her show, to air Friday, that his fragrance "Unforgivable" will outsell those of Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, and former galpal J.Lo because "he knows exactly what women should smell like" - especially if they're looking to attract a mate. He didn't know much about women the other night when he kept walking as his bodyguard grabbed our gorgeous reporter Shallon Lester by the crotch - twice - to move her out of the way. The bodyguard said through a spokeswoman it was "inadvertent," but he's lucky Lester - an ROTC grad - didn't throw him clear to L.A., or sue Combs for his perfume millions. We expect better behavior at the fragrance launch party on E. 67 St. tonight.


********************************

Drew Barrymore and new boyfriend Justin Long were at the afterparty for Arcade Fire at the Belvedere Music Lounge at the Hotel San Jose in Austin, Texas. The two were later seen heading back to her hotel hand in hand.


********************************

Taye Diggs has been catching heat for hitting the L.A. clubs with beautiful ladies who are not his wife, Idina Menzel. But, the actor, who's been out there taping ABC's "Private Practice," flew back into her arms Monday, when Tony-winner Menzel did a knock-out set with Warner label-mates Michael Buble, Peter Cincotti and Antonique at Lite-FM's Concert at The Garden. Later, partying at La Mela, "Idina sat on Taye's lap the whole time," says a spy. "They were very lovey-dovey."

********************************


Leaving your 2-month-old daughter with your cleaner for four days while you get hitched in Las Vegas doesn't sound like great parenting skills, even by Hollywood standards.

But that's the claim made by the former housekeeper of Melanie Brown, who is involved in a rumored $9 million child support battle with baby-daddy Eddie Murphy.

Tonia Lamere says Spice Girl Mel B left young Angel Iris with her while she eloped to Sin City with Stephen Belafonte.

"One evening of baby-sitting turned into four days!" Lamere tells Star magazine.

"The child was sick, there was no nanny, and when Mel called, she never even asked about the baby."

Lamere also claims she was forced to buy food for baby Iris and her older half-sister (Phoenix Chi, 8) out of her own pocket during the four days Brown was away.

Brown's rep, however, says the whole story smells of green. "Melanie is a hands-on mother completely dedicated to the upbringing of her children and the well-being of her entire family," she told us yesterday. "Any fictitious accusations to the contrary stem from greedy people looking to make a buck."

********************************


It was moving day yesterday at the Brooklyn home of former couple Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. A photograph posted on Web site Gawker.com showed a big white truck pulled up in front of their Boerum Hill residence — from a company called Celebrity Moving, natch.

********************************


ROSE McGowan has some new bling. Spies in L.A. report she's been showing off a new diamond engagement ring from director Robert Rodriguez. McGowan met Rodriguez on the set of "Grindhouse" when he directed her as a peg-legged ex-stripper in his half of the double feature, "Planet Terror." He was soon divorcing his wife. McGowan was previously engaged for two years to goth rocker Marilyn Manson. Reps for both did not return calls for comment.


********************************


NICOLE Kidman and Keith Urban are movin' out. The couple have put their four-bedroom, five-bath home - which includes a gym, pool and spa - in a ritzy section of Nashville up for sale. The listing price of the 7,000-square-foot manse, inside a gated community, is $2.5 million. One pal said, "It was Keith's house - they probably just want to find a home that is theirs." A rep for the ghostly-pale actress didn't return calls.

********************************

LILY Allen's work-visa issues spelled trouble for Allure. After the British singer had her visa rejected for attacking a photographer last month, she informed the magazine she could no longer perform at its Best of Beauty Awards Monday night at the Rainbow Room. "It was very last minute," a spy sniffed. Allure scrambled and found an appropriate replacement, Mandy Moore, who sang and shook her thang for the crowd. Not only did she get a fat check for her efforts, but Moore walked away with a gift bag worth $3,400 in beauty swag.

********************************


KANYE West's album is outselling 50 Cent's, but Fitty topped Kanye on Forbes' Hip Hop Cash Kings list last month, coming in at No. 2 with $32 million in 2006, far ahead of Kanye. Now he's rubbing it in with "Forbes 1, 2, 3," a remix of his song, "I Get Money." On 50 Cent's MySpace page yesterday, he announced the release of the remix featuring Jay-Z, who topped the list with earnings of $34 million last year, and Sean Combs, who came in third with $28 million. Each kicks off his stanza by bragging, "I run New York." "Rappers of today are so different from rappers of the '80s," Lil Jon told Forbes. "We're using our success and celebrity and turning that into ways of making money." 50 Cent - whose G-Unit includes a record label, clothing line, Reebok sneakers, ring tones, video games and "urban fiction" - said, "This remix is more than a song, it's a celebration and collaboration of hip-hop's elite."