Tom blows £10,000 on pasta party

It may be the deposit on a flat or the price of a new car for many people - but Tom Cruise is happy to fork out £10,000 on dinner.

The actor was determined that guests at his 43rd birthday party would eat the best Italian food - so he flew three chefs from Rome to South America to cook for them.

The cooks from Cruise's favourite restaurant, Dal Bolognese, prepared a three-course feast of tagliatelle ragu, veal Milanese and chocolate tiramisu aboard a yacht owned by the Church of Scientology - the religious group said to govern Cruise's life.

His fiancèe, Katie Holmes, was also there with a small group of Cruise's family and friends on the vessel, which was moored off the Dutch Antilles.

Alfredo Tomaselli, owner of Dal Bolognese, said: 'We had a call asking about the availability of the chefs for Tom Cruise's birthday. Whenever he is in Italy he always comes to us.'

After the celebration, Cruise and Holmes flew on to Rome, where he is filming Mission Impossible 3.