This week on Food Network Obsessed, host Jaymee Sire sits down with Alex Guarnaschelli, esteemed chef and host of Supermarket Stakeout. The Iron Chef talks about her humble start on Food Network and how she overcame a few early missteps by pumping up the charisma. She describes how her first interaction with Bobby Flay ended in tears and gets real about on-set jitters. Alex takes us back to her first days on Chopped and her favorites memories from the iconic show. Then, she gives all the details on her show, Supermarket Stakeout, and the wacky items found in peoples’ shopping carts. Finally, Alex talks about how a delicious dinner led her to love and the story of her proposal.
This week on Food Network Obsessed, host Jaymee Sire sits down with Alex Guarnaschelli, esteemed chef and host of Supermarket Stakeout. The Iron Chef talks about her humble start on Food Network and how she overcame a few early missteps by pumping up the charisma. She describes how her first interaction with Bobby Flay ended in tears and gets real about on-set jitters. Alex takes us back to her first days on Chopped and her favorites memories from the iconic show. Then, she gives all the details on her show, Supermarket Stakeout, and the wacky items found in peoples’ shopping carts. Finally, Alex talks about how a delicious dinner led her to love and the story of her proposal.
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Find episode transcript here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/alex-guarnaschelli-on-almost-turning-down-chopped-crying-on-set
[MUSIC PLAYING] JAYMEE SIRE: Happy Friday, foodies. We are back for another episode of Food Network Obsessed, the podcast where we dive into all things Food Network and chat with your favorite Food Network personalities. Today, on the podcast, we have world renowned chef and Food Network powerhouse, Alex Guarnaschelli.
She is the host of Supermarket Stakeout. And you may also know her from shows like Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games, Best Thing I Ever Ate, and Food Network Kitchen's Fix Me a Plate. Not only that, but she's the author of three cookbooks, the executive chef at Butter in New York City, and of course, holds that prestigious title of Iron Chef.
But before we get to my interview with Alex, I did want to give a quick shout out to my boyfriend, Justin. Today is our four year anniversary. So happy anniversary, babe. We actually listen to the podcast every Friday, right when it comes out. So he's listening right now and happy anniversary. But we actually met in person four years ago today. And we joke that we've been on one long date ever since.
So we are celebrating tonight by going to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. We're sort of on this, I guess, tour of observation decks in New York City. It's a great time to do it right now because there are definitely not as many tourists. And the rest of the evening was supposed to be a surprise, but we have a shared calendar of-- I don't know if the other couples do that.
And he had made a reservation at The NoMad hotel for dinner and a little staycation. And it populated into his Google Calendar, which then populated into our shared calendar, so I accidentally saw what we are doing. But I'm super excited. We are going to the restaurant at The NoMad. They have kind of a rooftop situation set up, like indoor-outdoor set up with the view of New York City.
And it is a Michelin starred restaurant, which is totally not just in speed. Everyone thinks he's like just as enthusiastic and excited about food as I am, which is really not the case. And he's not a big fan of fancy restaurants, but he knows how much I love it, which is really sweet. So we are going to eat dinner there.
I've never actually eaten there. We've just been there for drinks around the holidays. So it should be a fun little staycation in the city to celebrate four years. And speaking of romance, Alex, actually, has some stories to share as well as she recently got engaged. We talk about that and so much more. So let's not waste any more time. Here's Alex.
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JAYMEE SIRE: Alex, welcome. So happy you were able to join us today. I know you're a very busy woman. While you and I first worked together on the set of Iron Chef Showdown, and I wanted to just kind of tell a little story because I don't know if you realize that at the time. But maybe without knowing it, you actually positively influenced me and kind of encouraged me to speak up more.
So I'll tell this quick little story and see if you remember it. But due to scheduling, we shoot everything out of order a lot of times with these Food Network shows. So it was my very first day on set. It was the Christmas episode. Of course, you were the Iron Chef. And I had never done really one of these Food Network shows before, at least, not in this capacity.
And the wardrobe girl had picked out these ridiculous 4 inch heels for me to wear, and I didn't want to wear them because we're going to be in a kitchen. But I assumed that was just how it was. I should just wear them and not say anything. And I walked on set and we started chatting and you said, you're going to be in sneakers by season two.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: That's a [INAUDIBLE].
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah, and I actually appreciated that so much because in that moment, you kind of confirmed what I had been thinking. And just kind of confirmed that you should go with your gut and speak up if you're not comfortable. And I think that that confidence and that keeping it real mentality that we see from you in person and on the screen is something that people really gravitate to you, and why you have become such a force in this business.
And I'm just wondering if you've always approached life that way? Or if that's something that you kind of also picked up along the way?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: What a question. I mean, I've never done anything but cook my whole adult life. And I think part of what really instills confidence is when you really are an expert at something. The sheer volume of cooking I've done for the last 30 years has made me realize I probably can say I know how to cook.
The confidence piece that you're talking about, that's so hard to sort out. Came from a really unusual place or it was born inside of me and then watered and given sunlight by Bobby Flay, who said, wear what you want to wear when you're on your set.
You don't like your shirt, it's going to show in your performance. You don't like your toenail clipping, it's going to show. And I remember he said it to me and I thought, I don't know if I believe that because I think that we need to look a certain way. We're on television. People are looking at us. So I better wear that super tight sweater and that really uncomfortable pair of heels.
In my case, though, I never wore heels, takes time. It took a lot of time to get there. But I think, I'm sure I said that to you. You looked very nervous, but you also knew what you were doing. And you deserved the position you had. It wasn't like oh, boy, they threw this girl in here and she doesn't know. But you thought, well, I better look my part.
And you didn't need those shoes. Like you looked your part without them. And since somebody told me I didn't need the shoes, I thought, maybe probably, I should tell you, you didn't need them either. It's like paying it forward.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. Well, I appreciated it. And by the way, you apologize the next day, which you did not have to do because again--
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I used to be so nice.
JAYMEE SIRE: No, I was really appreciative. And I think you nailed it on the head. It's just sometimes, get caught up and what other people think you should be doing or not wanting to be difficult because unfortunately, in this business, that stereotype kind of gets labeled on a lot of people that are in front of the camera, and especially females.
So I think that that's super important. So I appreciate you playing along as I told that very long story to start off this talk.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: No, it makes sense.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. So much to talk about, obviously, with you because you have so many different layers to your career and how it fits in with Food Network. You've been in that Food Network family for almost 15 years.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I know.
JAYMEE SIRE: A recurring judge on Chopped, co-host on The Kitchen, obviously, an Iron Chef as we've discussed. But how did you get your first start with the network? Let's go all the way back.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I don't know why or who, but someone asked me to be on Food Network challenge, which is sort of like the savory version of those kids baking shows, that Valerie and Duff do. It's very similar. So someone asked me to be on a Thanksgiving one night.
Five hours-- five hours to make a Thanksgiving dinner. There were four contestants. They picked a winner and then they didn't really pick anything beyond that. So there were four of us. So it was sort of like if you didn't win, you didn't feel embarrassed. Like this is a contest where everyone's a winner. Everyone gets a ribbon.
So I made a Thanksgiving dinner, but it's shot in Denver, Colorado. And I didn't know about altitude. I just didn't know about altitude cooking. I mean, I know it's obvious. So I was boiling water forever or trying to and trying to cook mashed potatoes.
And they literally never cooked. And I just couldn't believe it. I cooked a whole turkey. I made a pie from scratch. I made ice cream. I made all these things. I just couldn't make the mashed potato work. And I was so inexperienced.
I mean, now, I would have microwaved them and baked-- I could have baked 7,000 potatoes in five hours and made mashed potatoes from baked potatoes. But I didn't know. I was like, this is what I'm doing. So I kind of bombed it. My turkey was awesome. My pie was awesome. But I bombed the mash and I didn't win.
And I remember going back to the hotel room after it was over and saying to myself, I'm never going to be asked to be on a Food Network show again. I bombed it. My cooking wasn't good. I look like a dope. My hair color is wrong. What was I think-- I just ripped-- I shredded myself for 70 reasons, I auto shredded. I put myself through the shredder.
But the producer on the show said go and talk to the audience. At that time, they would make you take the mic, like as a contestant, and go into this studio audience and just explain what you made and talk. So I took the mic and I was like hey, guys, I mean, I really bombed this, but let me tell you what I made anyway.
So I just talk naturally and the producer was standing with the audience, laughing. And then he said, you're just really good at this. And I said, yeah, but I bombed my mashed potatoes. I couldn't get out of my head. It was like I thought I was auditioning for a kitchen job.
And then I was a challenger an Iron Chef America. That was my next kind of thing.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, wow.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: So I challenged Cat Cora to an Iron Chef battle. But that day, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Ava. So I went into Kitchen Stadium like hi, hey, how are we today? How's your-- I wanted to be on Iron Chef so bad-- so bad. That was my life goal forever.
But I went in there and it was like God was like I'm going to find something even bigger than this to freak you out. So my stomach is swirling. I'm like there's a little human baking in there. But that's how I got started-- Challenge and Iron Chef. And then I did a screen test, which is hilarious with Sonny Anderson.
We went into the studio. They called us in together into that little side studio in Chelsea. And Sonny hosted and I cooked. And we talked together like we were a duo. I made minestrone. And Sonny was like, what are you doing? What are you making? How you feeling? Tell me about your grandmother. And I was like making the stuff.
And we finish. And they were like, you forgot the beans in the minestrone. I had forgotten these two big bowls of beans. All I had to do was add them in, but I had forgotten them. So at the end of it, and they were like cut. And they were like thanks so much for coming in both of you. They were like Sonny, fantastic job. You were fantastic.
Alex, thank you. I got a lot of head tilt. When you get the head tilt like-- or in a movie where the dog is the star and they do the dog perplexed look into the camera, they gave me a lot of head tilting like, and Alex, yes, yes, Alex, thank you for coming today. And I left. And I and I remember saying to Sonny in the hallway, you crushed that. You crushed that.
She was like, girl, you did too. And I'm like, I did not. You're very nice. I so did not crush that. So I went home and I was like bad mashed potatoes, bad hairdo, minestrone without beans. I lost the Iron Chef to Cat Cora. I was like I'm screwed.
Good start, right? That's not a great story, right? I should have been like I was a star from the moment I-- but no.
JAYMEE SIRE: No. No. Again, I like that you keep it real and you tell us the truth. I mean, I love this story about finding out that you were pregnant with Ava on your first Iron Chef battle. I mean, were you able to even focus on what you were doing or were you just thinking about the news that you had just received?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I remember saying to myself, I think I'm going to have to make a choice. Knowing my personality, I'm either going to be charming and ham it up with Alton and the chairman and be funny and hope to get invited back on that merit. Or be like a superhero cook and just breeze my way through this and not be so social and gregarious.
I knew that I wasn't capable of achieving a balance between the two. And I remember saying to myself, I'm going to be cute and charming and smart and try to go for that. And if I win, I win. Big deal. And I hammed it up with Alton.
And actually, when the chairman's eating my food, he's just looking up at me while I'm talking. And I said, well, you don't really have to do it. You just sit here and eat the food. And he's like yeah. And he laughed. But that was like our bond. Like the first time I met him, I was like, sweet gig, bro. And he was like he looked up at me like astonished and excited.
And I realize oh, probably, no Iron Chef talks like that. Even though, I mean, watching Morimoto, watching Bobby. I mean, I always told Bobby like he looks like a fire breathing dragon. He doesn't do anything. He's just cooking and looking in the camera. He's not saying anything and he looks like fire shooting out of his eyeballs.
JAYMEE SIRE: I think that is an accurate assessment. I have never heard it described that way, but now I'm picturing it.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: And he's always like what do you mean? I don't know what you mean. What do you mean? I'm not like that. What do you mean?
JAYMEE SIRE: Because you're cool under pressure, always.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: I mean, you talk about all these fails or these missteps, but obviously, you took things from there. How did you kind of take what you learn in those first experiences and go back, and then become the Iron Chef that you are now?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I don't know that I did. I know people talk about this cumulative build to something. I don't think it was really that linear. So I had a couple of years there, where I was giving birth and having human. And the producer said, you can't be on next Iron Chef, but why don't I have you in as a judge on a few Iron Chef episodes.
And I thought is this kind of out of order? Like am I someone who can be a food authority, judging that type of competition? So I did a bunch of episodes of Iron Chef as a judge. I met people like Ted Allen for the first time, Batista, the wrestler, Bone Crusher, the rapper.
I met the most eclectic group of different people, judging a bunch of-- and I met Bobby. And that was a really big day for me. Because before I met him, sort of like Morimoto and Bobby, just like these larger than life people. So Iron Chef just yielded-- now, I've been a challenger and I've been a judge.
I always used to joke like all I have left is floor reporter and I will-- and obviously, no one was going to be the host, but Alton. But like other than mopping up after the shoot, I didn't have many more gigs to book on that show.
JAYMEE SIRE: I like that you brought up Bobby too. Because I just found out an interesting fact that he was actually an executive producer on Alex's Day Off.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Which, by the way, you can stream on Discovery Plus.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I know. All that hairspray.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love all the throwbacks you've been posting on Instagram, by the way. But no, what was it like having Bobby as your executive producer on that show?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: That's such a great question. And he's like he hears, sometimes, bits of these little stories. And he's always like, it wasn't like that. And I'm like, it really was, though. The first day of [INAUDIBLE]. So I did a show called The Cooking Loft. And it wanted to be a good show. It did. It really wanted to and it had a lot of good people involved in it.
But I needed more direction. I think, the first day we went to shoot, And he was like we're just going to give you food and you're just going to cook and talk. He's like don't try to teach America how to cook. He's like just talk and cook.
So we all get there and we're all ready. And he comes in and he lived nearby at the time, near the studio where we shot. He came in-- I'll never forget. He's going to deny it in a court of law, but this happened. He came in, in like old school mirror sunglasses like a cop. And he had a cup of coffee and he was wearing like a leather jacket. Very low key. Very low key. And his mirrored glasses. And he was like hello. Very hello.
And I was like hello. I'm so excited. And they were curling my hair and there was like a cloud of hairspray around me. It's unbelievable. They use like six cans of hairspray. So the director, everybody was so excited. And he's like, ready go to the director.
And I'm like, and Bob is standing there looking at me with the mirrored glasses, they're fogging up from his coffee, and I just started hysterically crying.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, no.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Oh, yeah, right then and there. Right then and there. I mean, eyeliner streaming like Alice Cooper has nothing on my makeup. And the whole set was like-- everybody's thinking, did we screw up here? Is this going to work? This was supposed to be her day off, right?
So they cleaned me up and I can hear people talking. When you can just hear [INAUDIBLE] little noises like who's going to get the job of trying to glue me back together. And no one said anything, which was actually kind of perfect because I just cleaned up my act and I just went right into it.
And after like shooting an act of that show, Bobby came over to me. And he was like, you see, you just got rid of your jitters, and now you're fine. He would come and he would watch a lot. He really did, which is kind of astounded me. I thought, this dude probably has bigger fish to fry. But he just was around a lot.
And I just got more and more natural. The whole group of people on that show, Rock Shrimp, his production company. And I had amazing food stylists. All the people on that show, I worked with on so many other shows. And just kind of like funny to look back on it. But I was a disaster. I'm not going to lie to you. And I'm not trying to be cute for like so we have a good interview. I was a hot mess.
JAYMEE SIRE: No, I love these stories. I love them so much because I think it really puts things in perspective for people because I think, a lot of times, people see us on TV and they think everything's perfect and it goes perfectly every single time. But if you know the behind the scenes or how things start, you know that that's definitely not the case.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Oh, my God.
JAYMEE SIRE: If you haven't cried on set at some point in your career, yeah, you're a lucky person
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Girl, I didn't know we were talking about crying. Because I don't know a show I haven't cried on.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. Well, that's good to know. You've cried on Chopped?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Oh, so many tears for what I've had to eat, for stories, for what I see the experience of competing on Chopped doing for someone in their life and how they see themselves. Watching them change in an afternoon just taking a chance on themselves, and just realizing that the judges are just witnesses to those transformations.
We always talk about transforming the ingredients in the basket, but I always joke that the true transformation is the contestants, and what happens to them when they take a chance on themselves. You have to take a chance on yourself with Chopped. So just like Chopped as a whole phenomenon.
The only thing I kind of want to say to you about Chopped, which is also totally true, is that was originally the brainchild of many people. But one of them was a gentleman named Brian Lando, who has his own production company now.
And he does a lot of Guy Fieri shows on Food Network. He works a lot with Guy. Tournament of Champions, Grocery Games. He does Restaurant Impossible. He does a ton of really great shows. And I owe Brian a lot of my career. And these are the types of people that we don't talk a lot about.
But Brian was, at that time, working internally at Food Network on programming. He then went out after and did his own stuff. But he was calling me and calling me, I want you for this show called Chopped. I really think you should be a judge on this show. You're going to really like it.
And I was like I don't want to do it. It's a stupid name, Chopped. What does that even mean? It sounds like a salad. I'm busy. I'm too busy to do that. Like can you believe-- who was I? I didn't have anything else to do. All I was doing was go to the restaurant and working. That's all I was doing. Who was I to say anything?
But I was like-- I even remember saying to him, like I have to wash my hair that day. I'm just not free. So he said, OK, we're going to shoot the pilot. And I'm going to send you the pilot in the mail. So he mailed me a DVD of the pilot, and I was like, whoa. I remember being in my mailroom, holding the DVD and being like, I'm sure. I have it at home.
So my agent called and he's like, dude, not for nothing. He's like, you and Brian from Iron Chef and everything, like you go way back. Go on one episode of Chopped. Come on, just one. It's one afternoon. And I said, if I go once, will you stop? All stop bothering me? Once. This show is not going to last. And it's not going to be good, so I want to go once. And he was like, fine, fine, one.
So I went and I did the episode. And Linda Lee, the executive producer, I was like standing somewhere, probably a craft services, eating like a wheel of brie. And she came over and she said, what do I have to do to get you to be on this show? What would do it for you?
Now, you do a little math in your head because you don't get ask a question like that very often, right? What do you want? And I knew that money was out of the question. If I had been like, I want a yacht and some sorted Skittles in a bowl and a white tiger. Like I knew that kind of stuff wasn't going to work.
And I'm looking around like God, make an ask. And I said, I always have to sit in the middle. Any time I'm here, I have to sit in the middle. And she's like, OK. And I said, no one remembers on Hollywood Squares, you're not like I love the bottom left person. You just center square.
And she was like, OK, you can always sit in the middle. I was like, cool. Little did I know that that's a request that would have-- we're your 12 of Chopped, by the way. Me as like an exec on a green lit committee, not going to ever have that job, me. I'm chopping myself from that.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, my gosh. I love that story. I mean, yeah. You said season 12, hundreds of episodes later, what's your favorite memory from the show? I mean, that's kind of a hard question to pinpoint into one moment. But do you have a favorite memory?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: The very first championship that we had, these two guys were just neck and neck through the whole thing. Their names were Madison Cowan, who you've probably seen on a number of Food Network shows. He's so talented.
This guy just-- he opens a basket and he's like [INAUDIBLE]. It's a weird like extra gift he has. And this other guy named Jason Zukas, who was equally gifted in the same way, but different. Like Madison was more like polished and suave. Like Madison would go like this and then go [INAUDIBLE], and there would just be this dish. And Jason was like grit and sweat, but they ended up with these unbelievable dishes.
Madison ended up winning and I remember crying so much when I had to chop Jason because it was like both of them won. Do you know what I mean? But just crowning a winner and seeing what it did to Madison and even seeing what going that far had done for Jason, those two contestants.
Geoffrey Zakarian turned to me and he said, this is a show that showcases up and coming chefs. He said that's what this show is. And I remember just absorbing that and thinking, you're right. It isn't even about us.
We're the wall in a handball court. And the contestants are just playing handball. And we're just the wall. We just bounce the ball back. And they have to do all the hitting and deciding and strategizing. But you can't do it without a wall. So I guess, that's a great memory for me, starting to really feel like oh, I know what a judge is supposed to do here and I'm going to do that.
JAYMEE SIRE: And now you're hosting Supermarket Stakeout.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. I have to say this is one of the more creative, challenging food competition shows I've seen. It's sort of actually feels, I don't know, like a mash up between Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games, maybe a little Cutthroat Kitchen in there, but obviously, it has its own twists and turns as well. For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, first of all, I highly recommend it. But give us a quick primer on how the show works.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: It's a parking lot. I mean, we never even-- we barely-- we don't eat. Out of respect for Guy's monopoly, on all diners, drive-ins, dives, and grocery stores all across America, this is a parking lot. It's really about the parking lot.
And at first, I was like, we don't even go in the store. How are we going to-- but a parking lot is kind of a weird place. Like it has a lot of mojo and energy to it. There are a lot of people there. Part of the show is just like people walking through the set. Like they have their dog and they're trying to get to their car and they're like, oh, what are you doing here? This is really cool.
Is this like a show? And I'm like, this is a Food Network show. And they're like oh, is Bobby here? And I'm like, no, I'm the host. And they're like OK. So that's kind of fun that there's this real life. But it's three challenges. Contestants, essentially, go up and offer to buy people's groceries as they're coming out of the store. Some people just say no. Some people ask for a lot of money.
The last round is usually dessert, but not always, and you can only use five ingredients. So someone could say like you can go and say, can I just buy the chocolate you have in your bag, nothing else? And people will be like sure, for $100.
So someone coming out of that supermarket might make $100 off a bag of chocolate chips. And then the winner wins $10,000. And it's unbelievable what they make with-- there's a little pantry, but it's kind of dinky. You can't really make-- it's similar to Grocery Games, and that you really don't have a lot to work with, which is good.
And so now we get a peek inside America's grocery bags, which is always fun. There's like a reveal to that. Like, oh, my God, why did this person buy birthday cake and canned clams and toilet paper? But that's how a supermarket is, right? You can go in there and buy like a tracksuit, a wedding gift, 14 mangoes, and a quart of milk. You just don't know.
And we get the cookiest stuff. I mean, somebody bought a 50 pound bag of carrots because they were juicing. They had like a juice diet. So the contestant came running back. They wanted other things in the cart that they saw. But a 50 pound bag like balloons and-- the best is when someone goes for like a birthday party. And they just buy everything and they come out with a cake and balloons and horns and candles, and then nothing to cook with.
JAYMEE SIRE: I think it's great. I do love like the reality show portion of it. And that these are actual shoppers coming out with, like you said, like whatever they went in looking for that day, I think that's super cool. But I want to ask you, if somebody was buying your cart--
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: --what would they come away with?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I'm a Gemini, so it depends on which twin is shopping. I'm the type of shopper-- first of all, I love to go to the supermarket. I just am obsessed with it. So you will always get chicken, eggs, and milk. and bread. Those are the things that I just always end up buying, even if I have enough. I'm just let me get another quart of milk.
So I would be good for that. Because on Supermarket Stakeout, the chefs really want eggs a lot. Because you can take an egg and take that flour, baking powder, and baking soda from the pantry with spices, and you can run with that in a lot of directions.
You can also make a million egg dishes. So eggs are like the holy grail ingredient. And of course, whenever you really need it, there are no eggs. The most popular ingredient purchased at the supermarket in America is bananas. If you can believe it.
JAYMEE SIRE: Really?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yep. So if I were competing I would come on the show with a good banana bread recipe. But you would always get those baseline ingredients from me. And then I'm a big baker because it's very therapeutic for me. So unfortunately, you'd probably get a lot of things that are already in the pantry for me like flour, sugar, baking powder, those types of things, and fruit. I always buy a ton of fruit.
My daughter is just a fruit eating creature, so a lot of fruit, which for a savoring challenge would be. Like thanks, Alex. I have sugar, blackberries, and bananas.
JAYMEE SIRE: I know that production halted last year, obviously, due to the pandemic, and you started self-filming episodes from your home. What was that process like?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: It was so unexpected. First of all, I burned my bushes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, no.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Everybody that watched the show laughed so hard at me because it ended up being weirdly like a halo around my head of burned hedge behind me. And everybody was like, what happened there? And I'm like, yeah, I turned on the grill and I burned all my shrubs. So that was kind of funny.
And everything was like that. Everything was just so comical. It was really fun, actually. My fiance and I did it together and he would just hand me a bag of groceries and say, run with it. And then he would come in and be the judge. And he was very honest about it. He'd be like, I love you. We're still getting married, but not your best work.
And the viewers were like, we love the honesty. We love the trueness. And I like took him aside and said like, could you just kind of like what I make a little bit more often?
JAYMEE SIRE: Well, speaking of your fiance, I know you got engaged last year, so congratulations.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Thank you.
JAYMEE SIRE: How did you guys meet, though?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: So I went out to dinner at a local restaurant with a few friends of mine. And I just really like my dinner. And I knew the waiter. Just knew him for a few years. And I said, this is really good. This is good. I just really into my dinner right now. And he's like oh, my God, my best friend made it. He loves you on Food Network. He'd be so excited to meet you.
And I'm like, look, I've had like a glass of wine. I'm a little dopey, loopy. And he was like just come in the kitchen. And I was like, OK, if the chef doesn't mind. And he's like, no. It doesn't matter. It's cool. So I went back there. And there he was. There my fiance was. He made my dinner. And he just turned around. He had like a giant Bowl of French fries and he said hello. And that was it.
JAYMEE SIRE: That was it? Right then, you knew?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah. I was like, all right then, I'm going to go have some more wine now. Yeah. I kind of did. I kind of did know. I mean, it's easy to say after the fact that you knew because it worked out, right? If it hadn't, I would have been like I had no idea. It's probably because of the results that I'm telling you I knew back then is my point.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah, no. I get that. And he proposed on your birthday last year. Were you expecting it or were you completely surprised?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I'm such a sucker. This is my birthday. I was like oh, God, let's just have a cheese tray. All I want is a cheese tray for my birthday. So we went out to the local store and I bought some cheese and like a baguette, and we were driving back. And he said, oh, my God, there's a baby deer. And I don't see its mother like in this field. And I was like, what do you mean? And I didn't see it. And I was on the phone with my mother.
So he like pulled over and ran out to find the deer and make sure it was OK. But I stayed in the car like on the phone with my mom. He comes back. He's like, I don't know where the mother is and the deer looks like he's just kind of not-- and I hung up with my mother and I got out. And I was like, we're going to have to get an animal welfare. Like we're going to have to find someone to come and pick up the little booby.
Where is the deer? And I'm looking all around. And he's like it's right there. And I'm like, where? And he's like, right there. And I'm like looking, and then I turn and he's on one knee. And he's like, I have to marry you because you just believe every word I say. Like you're such a sucker and I love that. And I'm like, OK, I do, but where's the deer? And he's like, there's no deer. This is just to get you out of the car. And I'm like, very cute.
JAYMEE SIRE: That is really cute.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah. I'm pissed, all right. Where's the deer?
JAYMEE SIRE: Where's the deer? I still want to know where the deer is. Do you guys have wedding plans in the works or is that on hold because of--
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: That's a great question. So two things are holding me back. One, I hate to wear dresses. I never wear them. I don't own a dress. So that's going to kind of be an issue. Like I'm going to have to get it together in that area. I know that sounds like a silly reason.
JAYMEE SIRE: No. I feel like you could do like a really cool like pantsuit or jumper or something like that, that still feels special, but not
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Pantsuit?
JAYMEE SIRE: --[INAUDIBLE] wear a dress.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: That sounds worse than a dress. That's the problem. I may just go in like a robe.
JAYMEE SIRE: A robe?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I planned a huge birthday party for my daughter last year and it got, obviously, canceled. And so I want to have that big party for her first, without any other distractions. So we're waiting to see when that can happen, and then the year after that. So probably, next year, 2022.
And I want to have a really big wedding. I mean, I want a party. I want like 500 people in a field with like a lot of hors d'oeuvres. I don't want anybody I know to cook. That's a question I get a lot. Who's going to cook? Who's going to make the cake? Right for a chef. I don't want anybody I know. I want everybody who's a chef to be a guest. I want the entire Food Network to come, everybody. I don't know. That's a pressure for someone who's going to have to cook for everybody.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. For all those chefs. Who's signing up for that? I mean, somebody that's very ambitious, who is good under pressure and wants to impress some people I think needs to be on that short list. You brought up your daughter, Ava, and I love seeing you guys on social media together. It is really super sweet.
You can see how close you guys are. It seems like your best friends. But I know she cooks a lot, but doesn't want to follow in your footsteps.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: What do you see her becoming in her career?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I didn't cook at her age at all. So she's 13 and I'm thinking-- and yesterday, we were talking about a restaurant and stuff, and she goes, well, maybe, I would cook there. And that was kind of interesting to me. I bet you Ava will have a cooking job here and there along the way, just to kind of explore it for herself. But I see her being a writer.
She writes a lot. She does her homework, and then she's typing. And I'm like, what are you doing? Is that more homework? And she said, no. Just writing a bunch. So she reads me her writing every week. And I'm figuring like if she's doing that at 13, she's probably going to do that as an adult. But you never know.
She will be a really great home cook either way. And I'm glad for that. I feel like she should have that skill to herself. And she naturally has a really good idea of how to arrive at a good flavor, which I find interesting. But yeah, doesn't want to be me.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. No, it seems like she's already a good home cook. And she has a super adventurous palate as well. And I would imagine that's the result of growing up within Iron Chef as a mom. Do you have advice for parents who do have some picky eaters in their household?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: I remember when it was a baby my father said-- I was like, what do I do if she doesn't want to eat? And he said, leave her alone. Kids will eat when they're hungry kind of thing. I feel like parents are upset. Like it's their fault if their kids are picky eater.
The first advice I have for parents of picky eaters is, don't blame yourself or don't think it's some shortcoming of yours that led to it. People are just picky eaters. So I just feel like parents need to just not give themselves a hard time about it, and not be super anxious if the kids are late to the table with loving a lot of different things. Big deal. It's going to happen.
But it's more apt to open up if your children don't feel pressured. Like I must love this quail. Like they're going to get there. They're going to get their. Mac and cheese, burgers, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, we all eat them. They're delicious. Stop lying.
JAYMEE SIRE: They are delicious. And I'm curious, you're on a random Tuesday night, one of you's cooking dinner, who is cooking it and what's the go to just weeknight meal in your household?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: My fiance makes this type of dinner. Sometimes, I put stuff out and I'm like Ava, you make dinner, or me. We really switch off and it's no real rhyme or reason to who does it. We make a lot of turkey burgers. We make a lot of throw a chicken in the oven with vegetables on a sheet. We're big on the sheet pan dinners. Mostly because I don't mind cooking.
I mind a sink full of dishes. To me, a quick dinner is-- a 30-minute meal, I always say, is 29 minutes of cooking and 1 minute of dishes. That's a 30 minute meal. It's the dishes that bother me, Never. The cooking. Never. A lot of sheet pan. Salmon and kale, roast chicken with like chopped up onions and garlic, I'll throw a bunch of vegetables in the oven. We're big on roasting and stove top cooking.
So it generally goes in that direction. Also, honestly, last night, for example, Michael made turkey burgers and baked potatoes for him and Ava. And I just ate like a sweet potato and some roasted endive. And Ava was like yuck. So here's Ava, miss finesse turning her nose up at my endives.
But dishes, I think, weeknight meals are about not making a huge mess, whatever it is that you're eating. And also, I find like cook some grains and have them in the fridge and just toss them with stuff. I always have a vinaigrette hanging around on the counter. That just makes it easier.
JAYMEE SIRE: I hear you on the dishes. That is one of my motivations for starting to cook at the young age that I did because I never wanted to do the dishes. So the rule was always if you cook, the other people had to do the dishes. And thankfully, my boyfriend loves doing dishes.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Seriously?
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah, we have a good relationship in that sense that I cook and I can make a mess and he does the dishes. So this has been so much fun chatting with you. And I appreciate all the stories. I do have one last question before we let you go that we're asking all of our guests on Food Network obsessed just to kind of see-- I love seeing the answers and hearing the answers.
Your perfect food day, so we're talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, you can travel, you can time travel, spend whatever money you want, you can have any chef cook for you, you can cook, your daughter can cook, whatever it is. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, what's your perfect food day?
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Wow, that's hard. I would probably go to Paris for breakfast and go to a bakery and get a bunch of croissants and just things that taste like butter because nothing's better, and drink 70 cups of espresso eating those pastries in the Trocadero in the 16th arrondissement in Paris, looking out at the city.
I would then definitely go to Rome for lunch and have a lot of artichokes in the Campo Del Fiori market. I would just 70 artichoke hearts staring at the market. I guess, I like markets. And then I might fly home to America for dinner. This is such an underrated country. It has the most unbelievable resources and ingredients.
I would go to Los Angeles and I would have a seafood smorgasbord with Santa Barbara spot prawns, Santa Barbara sea urchins. I just think the seafood in that part of the world is unbelievable. Just a giant, never ending raw bar, preferably spread out on a beach in Malibu and watch the sunset. I'd like to finish in America. I think, really, I do. I'm really partial.
I lived in France for many years. And I went to Italy, really, for the first time while I was living there. So I was living in France, broke, took a train to Italy, had some coffee and orange juice, and went to the markets and then took a train home. It was weird. I brought a quart of milk from Italy, home, in my suitcase to Paris.
But why did I do that? Like of all the things, hey, dude, what you get in here while you're in Italy? I got a quart of milk. Such a weirdo, right? So that would be my perfect day.
Dessert-- I mean, breakfast would be really dessert heavy in the scenario I described. But I do have a huge sweet tooth, so I don't know whether like I would need to go to Vienna and maybe have some Viennese desserts. I might have dipped to Vienna after the Santa Barbara raw bar beach crawl.
And then we have a midnight snack, which is in New York City, slice of pizza. So there's a lot of--
JAYMEE SIRE: Yes.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: There's a lot of flying around in my day. Is that OK? Or was there a limited budget for airfare?
JAYMEE SIRE: There are no rules in this question. Absolutely, no rules. So I love that you traversed half of the world in making your perfect food day. And if you didn't want to go back to Vienna, maybe you could just pack some extra croissants in your bag with the quart of milk and have that on the beach.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Can you believe that? And I remember being nervous like a drug cartel. I was like I have a whole quart of milk in my bag. What a weirdo. Right before the pandemic hit, I had tickets to go to Tokyo for the first time and bring my daughter and go to the fish market. And I've never been to that part of the world. So hopefully, when things get back to normal, I'll get to do that. I have a feeling that I would. Had I gone, would probably factor that into my day too.
JAYMEE SIRE: Thank you so much for taking the time. Again, I know you're very busy and we do appreciate it. And love all the stories.
ALEX GUARNASCHELLI: Oh, my God. Yeah. I mean, let me know when you're doing part two because we'll do like biggest bloopers and disasters on all the shows because really like wow. I could probably come up with a real zinger of a story for each one. And I bet listeners would love that.
JAYMEE SIRE: Absolutely. It's a little teaser. So we'll leave them wanting more as we should. So thank you again.
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JAYMEE SIRE: Wow. So much to unpack from that interview. So many amazing stories that I haven't heard before. I cannot believe she found out she was pregnant with Ava the day that she competed for the first time on Iron Chef America. And obviously, did not win that day, but she has been victorious many times since. And I also love hearing her engagement and her love story, and so many other things. There's definitely going to be a part to at some point because there's so much more I wanted to ask her.
Until that time comes, you can catch Alex on The Kitchen, Saturday mornings at 11:00/10:00 Central on Food Network. That's it for today. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. If you did, please subscribe if you haven't already. And leave a five star rating and a review. I will appreciate it so, so much. Until next Friday. Have a great week. And we'll see you for another episode of Food Network Obsessed.
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