NAMES IN THE NEWS : Iacocca’s Recipe for Marriage

DETROIT — Unlike his second wife, Lee Iacocca’s third bride-to-be won’t need any cooking lessons from the mother of the Chrysler Corp. chief. Darrien Earle is a gourmet.

The pair announced their engagement Thursday, but have not set a date for the wedding--Earle’s second. Antonietta Iacocca taught Iacocca’s second wife, Peggy Johnson, to cook Italian food. The marriage ended in 1987 after 1 1/2 years.

Earle, 41, studied at the prestigious Cordon Bleu cooking school of France and owned several Mexican restaurants in the Los Angeles area.

Although Earle sold her restaurant interests last year, her brother, Steve Loomis, said she still cooks at home.

“She’s been in Italy to study food and to France and also Los Angeles and San Francisco,” Loomis said. “Her kitchen looks like a restaurant.”

Her specialties? Tex-Mex, French and Italian.