‘Gourmet Fantastique’ Is a Feast for the Eyes. . .

“Uh-ohhhhh,” Joseph Wambaugh said after savoring a bite of the cheese Napoleon nestled in his salad greens at Le Meridien on Sunday night. “Dee is not going to like this one.”

Wambaugh watched as his wife sunk her unsuspecting teeth into something that looked like a dreamy, creamy, pastry-covered slice of Key Lime pie.

Her husband was right. Dee screwed up her face after one bite. It contained something she avoids: blue cheese.

But Dee Wambaugh raved about the tomato consomme with cream of garlic and floating herb profiteroles, the first course at “Gourmet Fantastique,” the black-tie benefit that netted $15,000 for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. The consomme “had character,” she said. “And a nice flavor--garlic, not garlicky.”

Dee knows . She and her husband, cop-turned-author of best sellers such as “The Onion Field” and “Echoes in the Darkness” (and, come February, “The Blooding”) dine out at discriminating establishments every night. “It’s my hobby,” said Joseph Wambaugh, relishing his third taste of the third course: salmon filet marinated with dill and grilled over wood.

The Wambaughs, along with Linda Isle neighbors Nick and Ileane Doolin, had joined 125 other foodies to dine on the seven-course meal prepared by a cadre of chefs headed by the California Chapter of Les Toques Blanches Internationale, due to compete in October at the Culinary Art Exhibition in Frankfurt, West Germany.

Festivities began at twilight, when guests began to float into one of the French hotel’s reception rooms to toss down champagne and sample hors d’oeuvres arrayed on huge mirrored trays.

“Seventy-five percent of the food served during the reception will be done by us at the exhibition,” said chef Roberto Gerometta--dressed in his “running shoes,” Italian leather tennies--in the kitchen. “The pates, the terrines--all very sophisticated stuff.”

Gerometta said that, were he on the receiving end of things, the course he would most relish would be “the entree. The veal loin stuffed with wild mushrooms foie gras and truffle sauce,” he said.

Mary Wilson, the event’s chairwoman, explained that the veal had to be contracted months ago. “It’s hard to get because of the drought,” she said.

Guest Sandra Beigel, a dinner host with her husband, Jerry, said she donned her dramatic, midnight-blue Victor Costa for the $275 per-person gala because the gown had a “snug fit. I wore a snug dress so I wouldn’t be tempted to overeat,” she said with a giggle. “I’ve only had toast and coffee today. I’m ready!”

Midway through dinner, Sandra was holding her own after nibbling at the profiteroles, the eggplant and bell pepper terrine, the salmon, and the aquavit sorbet sprinkled with fennel. (At which point, Fred Mickelson, board chairman of the local chapter, announced there would be a 15-minute intermission. “And anybody who sneaks out for a smoke will get their name written down!” he warned with a smile.)

“I’m looking forward to dessert,” Beigel said after proclaiming the veal “out of this world.” But dessert, she said, is her “favorite part of every meal.”

Beigel dubbed the strawberry cream “absolutely delicious. A wonderful interplay of texture and color,” she said. “Worth eating only toast and coffee for.”

Nick Doolin, seated at the next table, agreed. “This the one,” he said to table partner Joseph Wambaugh. “This is the winner!”

Wambaugh smiled. His plate was left without a trace.

Also on the scene: Michel Richard, owner of Citrus restaurant in Los Angeles (who--tsk, tsk-- passed out cigars to a few friends); Keith and Chris Lindsay, the florist who designed the towering table centerpieces, and Janet Curci with Larry Burrill, president of the Heart Institute at Hoag Hospital--”Well, sometimes we go off our diets,” Burrill said, sheepishly. Hosts also included Ben and Patricia Fredericks Dolson, James and Linda Pierog, and Anthony and Jan Vitti. Committee members included Ann Dahlberg, Donna Blue, Susan Porter Caput, Sandra Clouse, Joan Coats, Diana Edmunds, Jerry Harrington and Ed Schaefer.