Food Network Obsessed

Antonia Lofaso on Beachside Brawl and Barbie

Episode Summary

Episode Notes

Chef Antonia Lofaso returns to talk all things summer and Beachside Brawl. Antonia reflects on her childhood summers in Long Island, sharing fond memories of throwing block parties and shooting off fireworks. Having lived on both coasts, Antonia shares some of the key differences between East and West Coast food. Antonia reveals how she adapts her restaurant menu to embrace the changing seasons and rotating farmer’s market offerings. She dishes on the second season of Beachside Brawl and some of her most memorable moments from Redondo Beach. Antonia shares her experience starring on Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge as the only Food Network personality. She explains the history of Barbie that she learned along the way and details working alongside HGTV stars to make the Barbie Dreamhouse a reality.

Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/antonia-lofaso-on-beachside-brawl-and-barbie

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Follow Jaymee Sire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeesire

Follow Antonia Lofaso on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefantonia/

Learn More About Beachside Brawl: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/beachside-brawl

Learn More About Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/barbie-dreamhouse-challenge

Episode Transcription

Jaymee Sire:

Hello, hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and Food Network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we have a return guest on the podcast to talk all things summer and how things are heating up on our favorite coastal competition. She is a chef, restaurateur and host of Beachside Brawl. It's Antonia Lofaso. Antonia, welcome back to the podcast. How have you been?

Antonia Lofaso:

So good. It's always so good to see you and talk to you. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Jaymee Sire:

Hi. Hi. Hi. We are so happy to have you back. I love having repeat guests because you know, I feel like there's never enough time to chat about everything and this particular episode is gonna be all about summer. Of course, we're gonna dive into Beachside Brawl, but first I wanna hear what your summer typically looks like on the West Coast.

Antonia Lofaso:

So, crazy enough, I've actually been all over the place this summer, . I know. And and I prefer it that way cuz I mean, listen, I live in Los Angeles and I don't mean to make anyone jealous with this statement right now, but it's like 78 degrees and sunny, 365 days a year over there, . So for the summer, I tend to like, kind of travel as much as I possibly can. And this year I was lucky enough to go along with Guy on Guy's All American Road trip. Oh, fun. So I just got back from South Dakota, Cody, Wyoming, and Buffalo, Wyoming, where I lived in an RV for the last 18 days. So there's that. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And then, you know, it's the year, you know, it's obviously all the months of like graduation. So my cousin graduated high school and so I'm originally also from New York. Like I was born in Long Island and so I spent a little, about, a little bit of time in Long Island. I have some family up in Pennsylvania. I went to see them in Pennsylvania, New Jersey. My goddaughter lives there, and now I'm in New York City. So I'm actually, I've kind of been all over the place this summer.

Jaymee Sire:

I, I mean that sounds like a, a fantastic summer if you ask me. I need to hear more about this RV road trip . Um, I'm from Montana. So you guys like, just like went around Montana. Its like we,

Antonia Lofaso:

I actually went through Montana.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, you did?

Antonia Lofaso:

Yes, and I did. I, you know, my, my rule is that if I lay feet down for at least 20 minutes for a rest stop, I've actually been to the state . So technically I've been to Billings, Montana.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay, well you have to go back another time and check out, you know, Bozeman, Missoula, castle, all those places. But yeah, what was, what was living in an RV with Guy like for, for three weeks. Okay. Well

Antonia Lofaso:

Well to to be clear, I didn't live with him in his RV for .

Jaymee Sire:

I'm glad you clarified

Antonia Lofaso:

. Just to be super clear, there was seven families on this road trip. Oh wow. So was was seven RVs and we kind of did like a cannonball run to every single area that we were in Wyoming. I mean, not really. We, we didn't race, don't worry, but like meant like we, we caravan. Right. And so there were like these seven RVs that from South Dakota, from Denver to South Dakota, to Buffalo, Wyoming, to Cody, Wyoming, back to Denver. And so we, you know, we were living in RV parks, we were fly fishing, we were, you know, playing with, you know, archery games. We went to Mount Rushmore. We had a ton of cooking competitions. A lot of really fun stuff. A lot of fun stuff.

Jaymee Sire:

That sounds so much fun. What was your favorite stop?

Antonia Lofaso:

My favorite stop was like basically watching my boyfriend in a line dancing contest in Buffalo, Wyoming. Okay. Yeah. Cuz he's from like Queens, New York and, you know, just has this like full queen's attitude. And he was in a full cowboy shirt cowboy, like hat boots and did a full line dance, like for his team. And so there was a lot of like really interesting things that happened on the trip. We'll just say

Jaymee Sire:

That. Okay. Well we cannot wait to see that unfold, uh, next summer. You know, as you kind of alluded to, summer is kind of this magical time, especially I think when you're a kid, right? What, what are some of your fondest summer memories from your childhood on both coasts?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, for me it was really like spending so much time in the streets when I lived in Long Island. So there were all these communities. We had block parties like every other week. You know, like when 4th of July kicked off, everyone was lighting fireworks off in the street, no. Like, you know, all the families would bring, you know, their barbecues into the middle of the street. They'd be barbecuing, all the kids would be out, there'd be, you know, everyone would be in their pools in the backyard. Like kids would be running from house to house. And for me that was like my, my most fondest memories of like community life in Long Island where there were always this amazing block parties and these cookouts and you know, 4th of July was always just like such a big holiday. Mm-hmm. , you know, where, you know, obviously they just lit off fireworks, whether they were allowed to or not. and the same, the same thing where I am now in Venice, California. It's like, you know, it's such a big, you know, we have a huge firework display in in Marina Delrey. And for us it's like we have the boardwalk down there. Mm-hmm. . So between Santa Monica all the way down to Marina Delrey, it's like anything you could possibly think about in the summer happens on the Venice Beach boardwalk. And so you can spend your entire day people watching, you know, having like fried Oreos, you know, like Mexican corn playing pickleball, like, you know, swimming, watching all the surfers. And so it's the, it's so the coasts are so, so different and there's so many great memories. But I mean, all of it has to do with like, definitely some form of like food memory without question, fireworks, you know, swimming in a lot of sunshine. Although on the East coast, I like to say this, it's like we get the sunshine and then all of a sudden there's like torrential, humid like downpours of rain.

Jaymee Sire:

Yes. Which was what we've been seeing for the last week for sure. Yeah. Yeah. What, what are some of those food memories that you, you can, that come to mind?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, I was getting into the debate of like, you know, obviously the barbecue has like the all-American hotdog, right? Mm-hmm. . So there's always some kind of like hotdog debate of what everyone puts on their hotdog. And it's always dependent on the coast, which I think is so funny, right? . And then the same thing with the burger. It's like, it's always like dependent on which coast you're on. Like the direction that the burger goes, the direction that the hotdog goes. And then, you know, just what, you know, it's so funny, people ask me this question right all the time about beachside of like the two different styles of food and you know, how we're celebrating it on the show and how we're sort of showing how each coast really just does their one thing so, so, so well and what I love so much about the east coast is right all of the seafood fried elements that we get, right? The, you think about like walking along a boardwalk or being on the beach and eating like fried clams or like the perfect lobster roll or you know, even having a chowder, even if it's like 90 degrees outside . And then, you know, and then on the west coast you're thinking about like, you know, how can I take raw fish and just douse it with a ton of like lime juice and chilies and you know, make all these sort of like fresh highly acidic dishes. And so it, you know, or you know, some kind of like fried fish taco, you know, where I grew up in LA it's like the Baja fish taco mm-hmm. Is like quintessential summer, you know, that fried fish on top of some kind of like spiced mayonnaise and a like perfectly crispy tortilla. And then this like raw cabbage salad that's like highly, highly, highly limed and you eat it with like fresh chilies or you know, everywhere that you go in Los Angeles, especially where I am in la it's like the street taco vendors, you know, where you're getting just like octopus salads and fresh like cocktail and you know, like oysters like right outside. It's just, it's brilliant.

Jaymee Sire:

Ah, you're making me miss my days in San Diego for sure. Talking about exactly those Baja fish tacos. What about like seasonal summer produce? What, what do you look forward to the most when it comes to summer produce?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, I don't mean to sound, you know, so cliche when I'm like, what do you look forward to in the summer? But I cannot wait for corn to come on the scene , you know, and for the record, you know, and I don't wanna get too into like, you can only eat corn in the summer and blah blah blah. Cuz we get corn all year round and whatever. I eat corn in December as well, you know, especially like if I'm doing like some Mexican street corn, like without question all year long. But there's something about corn in the summer that you eat it raw and it's so freaking good. Mm-hmm. , you know, it's like you talk about like the corn milk. I do this dish at Scopa and it's specifically when corn season comes out where I take the corn and I cut it off the cob directly into a bowl. Mm-hmm. because as you're cutting it, it's, you're breaking obviously the kernels and all of that beautiful corn milk. And I'm actually saying milk cuz it is creamy, it is white milky. Yeah. Yeah. As it cuts through that. And I take that corn milk and right that in there, turn it into a vinegarette. So adding a little bit of lemon juice, like a pinch of mustard, whipping it together. And before you know it, I have like this corn milk vinegarette that goes on this like water crust salad. And so there's just so many different things that you can do with corn. I mean, a I would eat it, I would dip it in just hot water, roll it in butter and douse it in salt . But you know, between like the corn raviolis, the corn salads, the cho charred corn, I mean, for me it's just like corn all day. And then also like stone fruit, right? Mm-hmm. , I mean like all of the peaches and plums and like plots and like things that, you know, are only here for a very small amount of time. You know, the best strawberries are in the summer mm-hmm. . And so, you know, really kind of like playing with like the stone fruits and the berries and things like that that, you know, aren't, I mean, I'm not gonna eat a peach in November

Jaymee Sire:

. No. That, that, that seems wrong. Right. It just, I mean,

Antonia Lofaso:

Again, I don't wanna like sound like, you know, uh, oh, I can only go with the seasons, but, but I'm telling you peach is only in the summer.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. You mentioned the, the corn dish at one of your restaurants. How, how else does like your restaurants kind of embrace that, that summer season?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, honestly, living in Los Angeles and being a chef in Los Angeles and having my three restaurants, the change of the season is important to the menu. So when summer is, you know, in town, we are using everything that's coming from the farmer's market. So, you know, everything gets changed. Any kind of fruit that's on like our barta, prosciutto dish, you know, it goes into our summer melons, it goes into, you know, we get beautiful melons in the summer. We get, you know, we like highlight watermelon, obviously tomatoes, but tomatoes more towards the end of the season mm-hmm. . So people sometimes get into like, I can eat tomatoes in June. I'm like, it's until August. August.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah.

Antonia Lofaso:

Tomatoes like your end of the summer, you know, fruit. So all of the, all of the restaurants get like a change out of like normal things that we use as we move into the, into like the winter months or the spring or whatever it is. We change out all of the fruit, we change out all the vegetables just depending on what it is. So,

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. You, you mentioned that the weather there obviously is kind of summer weather all year, all year round. What, what does your perfect beach day look like?

Antonia Lofaso:

So my perfect beach day would be early, early, early. So I'm at the beach, especially like in Venice and Santa Monica where I live. Like, I'm up at like nine, well, I'm up at like 5:00 AM but I'm at the beach by like 9, 9 30. Mm-hmm. I love that kind of cool morning that moves into summer and I ride my bike down there. And so taking sort of this long bike ride, you know, down Lincoln, like through the boardwalk and then setting up camp just out there. And I'm not, it's funny because I remember like having a friend when I was, I don't know, in like the seventh or eighth grade. And every time you would bring like too many things to the beach, she's like, what are you doing? The beach is just like, it's, you don't live here. Right. , you don't have to

Jaymee Sire:

Bring, you don't move in. You

Antonia Lofaso:

Don't move in. Right. Exactly. Like you don't need keys. Like you didn't sign a lease. Like you just, you know, bring what you need for the day. Right. And so I keep it really simple, right? Like I'm, I'm into a specific outfit that I wear, right. And so I am, I put my bathing suit on, but I actually tie my Turkish towel like around my waist as if it could be a skirt mm-hmm. , but then all of a sudden it becomes my towel. Oh, perfect. And so, yeah. And so I've got my towel that is now like around my waist and I ride my bike down there and I always have like a bottle of water. I always have my like little speaker so I can listen to music, you know, a book and you know, some like beach snacks, which is usually just like fruit, you know, maybe like a protein bar. Nothing like, you know, I'm not like building a fort down there and like, you know, started moving. Although that's how my parents were when we were kids. Really? Oh my goodness. My mom used to bring like a hibachi down to the beach. We used to have bacon and eggs like on the beach. Then we would move into sandwiches for lunch and then would make like burgers for dinner. And we would spend 12 hours at the beach. She'd be like, why don't you wanna go to the beach at six o'clock in the morning? I'm like, do we have to ? So my parents would do an entire day at the beach.

Jaymee Sire:

So they were moving in , they

Antonia Lofaso:

Moved in. Yeah. Maybe that's why I'm like a little triggered by it. I'm like, I'm only bringing water.

Jaymee Sire:

You're like, I'm just gonna keep it super simple. Minimalistic. Yeah. Yeah. Well, speaking of the beach, let's talk Beachside Brawl, because you are hosting again for the second season and obviously it's east versus west coast and the competition is hot. What, what do you like about this format compared to other competition shows that you've been part of?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, I love so much the fact that we're celebrating the summer, right? Mm-hmm. and we're celebrating, not only are we celebrating the summer, but you know, I mean, yes, it's a, it's a fun competition like East Coast versus West Coast. But I think that there is like this sort of education and the behind the scenes of what everyone loves about the East coast and what sort of makes it quintessentially east. And then the same thing with the West that we don't always get to dive into week after week on a competition show that, you know, maybe we'll celebrate one episode about the summer, right? Mm-hmm. or a barbecue episode about the summer. This is all eight weeks are all summer driven. And it's like all the things that you love so much about the beach. Like this year we're cooking on the sand, you know, a couple times the captains go out and fish at some point. And so like all the things that you know and love about the seaside, right? Whether it's, you know, down by the sand or whether it's, you know, on a boat or at the pier and the way that you celebrate your summer at the pier or you know, there's so many different versions of it, you know, and so many different things that you can, you know, celebrating the grill, celebrating the smokers, celebrating, you know, and not just having it be like, you know, the things that we think are for the summer, you know, it's like your best summer pizza and you know, all the things that we've grown summer food into, you know, I think all of it's celebrated and all of it's like specifically talked about and then it's specifically talked about for the East coast and the West coast and then also the brilliance of seeing so many different parts of each coast, right? So when people say West Coast, you know, we also are talking about the Pacific Northwest, right? And we're thinking about like what beach looks like in places that are like Seattle, right? Mm-hmm. that are more mountainous, you know, and not so beachy if you will, you know, in places that are more like deep Florida or the Carolinas versus, you know, somewhere that's just like New York or you know, Jersey Miami. Yeah, exactly. And, and here's the thing, I get a ton of dms and questions also. The people are like, when are you coming to the Gulf ? I'm like, I promise we're trying to do it . We know that there's other beach areas, I promise it's only the second season we're gonna do it.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Keep watching and, and make it happen. Right. Exactly. I mean, what, what do you, I mean you kind of just like broke down like a lot of different like regions within those two coasts. What, what do you think is the biggest difference between east and west coast when it comes to that, you know, coastal culinary style?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, I think it's, it's, it's interesting because we have all the, you know, we have all the same ingredients on the west coast that we do on the east coast, or at least we can get them, right? Mm-hmm. . So it's like all the ingredients essentially are interchangeable, right? Avocados are not only allowed to be used in California, although for the record that is of the running joke on Beachside Brawl, that if there's an ever an East coast like contestant grabbing an avocado, everyone on the west coast is like, what are you

Jaymee Sire:

Doing?

Antonia Lofaso:

I was like, guys, the West coast does not own avocados. . And then, and the same thing with the East coast. As soon as like someone's using an avocado, it's like, of course they used an avocado and a and a like jalapeno. I was like, everybody stop . So it's like, you know, there's so many different foods that are interchangeable, but like, I'll give you a very specific, right. There was a gentleman last season who all he wanted to do was celebrate the beef steak tomato, like the jersey beef steak, tomato. Mm-hmm. , which again, summer tomatoes. Yes. But specifically the jersey beef steak. And so again, kind of talking about what makes a jersey beef steak so, so special, right. And it brought me back to my childhood cuz my dad, you know, we're all from the east coast. My dad would talk about Jersey beef steaks before I knew what an heirloom tomato was. Mm-hmm. . And so, you know, of course, you know, on the west coast everyone's like, oh, heirloom tomatoes and you know, the cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market and you know, all the, all the different farms that we, that we use on the west coast, but to understand like the jersey beef steak, tomato and what it means to that state and what it tastes like, et cetera. And so we dive into the specifics of like the ingredients that mean so much to specific states and why they use them.

Jaymee Sire:

Have you yourself, like, learned anything new over the course of these two seasons?

Antonia Lofaso:

What I've actually learned so much, which, uh, I love more than anything is, you know, there's so many, like, we had like this incredible chef who, you know, has like a Cuban background, you know, and another chef who spent so much time, you know, in Florida and New York and you know, I think one of his wife was like Puerto Rican. And so really like diving into sort of like these Cuban familial dish dishes, this, these Puerto Rican familial dishes was like such, I mean, I know a lot about it mm-hmm. , but really seeing it hands on in the hands of a chef who, you know, owns it in a way that like, this was what my grandmother made, this is what my wife makes. These are the traditions that are in our household that are like Cuban by way of Miami. And so to me, really like hearing chefs talk about that. Like it's, it's a different learning experience than like picking up a book and reading about like Cuban food, right? Mm-hmm. . It's, it's just a different, it's a different conversation listening to these chefs talk about their Cuban grandmothers making this dish, what they do in Miami and how that looks.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. It's also fun to see, you know, this season's captains, Brian Malarkey, Eric Ajapon, they're going head, head. How intense does their own competition get?

Antonia Lofaso:

Well, I've known Brian Malarkey probably for the last 12 years, , and he actually gets like, more intense with age . So, but here's the thing with malarkey, right? Like, you could see him and you're just like, oh my God, this man, like, how does he get, you know, it's like, it's crazy. Like how does his mind work like this? His food is phenomenal. Like, so phenomenal. Every single one of his teammates or you know, the, he was obviously like the captain and everyone that, you know, he led on that team, listened to him so intently because both Eric and Malarkey, right? Their backgrounds in culinary competition have gone on for years. You know, some of the hardest culinary competitions, some of the most intense culinary competitions, what they have to teach is not just food, right? It's competition. Right? And so a lot of these first time competitors coming out to do, you know, an arcing show like this that goes on for, you know, eight weeks, they're nervous, right? Mm-hmm. , they've never done this before. They, you know, suddenly are being micd every day. You know, we're on a pier, we've got people stand. I mean, you have hundreds of people standing on the pier like watching us and screaming for us, and suddenly like picking a coast, right? . And, you know, it's, it's really intense. It's really like, you know, it's very scary. And I think having Malarkey and Eric there, not only just to coach them, like, okay, this is how you play this game, but to kind of, you know, have them on their side and on their team. It just made the chefs, it gave them the ability to really cook the way they wanted to cook and feel like they were supported versus they were like, you know, just on a boat by themselves, like making these dishes with no one behind them. And that's how a lot of competitors feel the first time out. You know, the first time out. It's like you got a host, they tell you what you're supposed to do, and then you get no real direction after that. And so you kind of feel like, you know, you're stranded on a buoy. And you know, this is the kind of thing where these chefs fell in love with their, with all of their teams. Like they were so invested in every single one of them winning. And the sad part was right. Like, only I had to keep reminding them every single time someone went home Uhhuh, because the chefs on each team, every time one of their teammates went home, it was like tears. It was like pissed, angry, you know? And I, and I was like, I get that we're all upset, but for the record, only one of you could win. Mm-hmm. , do you know what I mean? . So not that I want you guys to be excited when a team member goes home, but I had to keep reminding them that this is the process and this is what was gonna happen. Because they just behave like such a team every single day. They walked in there and their mentors behaved like such leaders every single time they walked onto that pier that, you know, every time somebody went home, it was just like the world was ending. And I was like, guys, this is, you know, I I I set up the game at the beginning, like, you knew this gonna happen, but it just showed like how invested everyone was, you know, obviously in the entirety of the show and also in their teams, which was really sweet.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I think you bring up a really good point that that mentorship piece I think is really important. In this show in particular, who did you see like the most growth from over the course of either last season or the season?

Antonia Lofaso:

Well, it was, it's so funny too because Eric and Malarkey just mentor so differently, but their teams respond to both of them like so incredibly well. Mm-hmm. , like Eric was like very like, undercover, you know, just, he had that like quiet confidence that mm-hmm. that he, Eric has like that dad voice, you know, like your mom, when your mom was like, wait till your dad gets home, and like, your dad didn't say anything for 30 minutes and you were just like, oh my God. Oh, that's what Eric was like, right? and malarkey would just like come in running and screaming. And so, um, both were equally as effective just for the record, you know, there was, there was so much growth and, and I don't wanna give anything away. Of course, I don't wanna give anything away, of course, but there's a young lady on the East Coast team who like was I had it, there were so many tears, like having conversations because one of the biggest moments I think we had, she had made this ma fungo dish, okay. Again, like, you know, coming from, she wanted to do a, a dish specifically from Puerto Rico, and it was supposed to be this upscale dish, and she decided to put, and I watched it happen, right? I, she decided to put the green banana in the blender. Mm. And in my mind, I was like, you just made the stickiest glue in the world, right? And it's so strange because we all know that like the ma fungos, like all of the bananas, like fried and then it's mashed, you know, with garlic and, you know, some cone and butter, et cetera. And I was like, I wonder why she's putting it in the blender, right? And so we ate the dish and afterwards she was like, well, I knew that you said that it needed to be like an upscale dish, so I needed to make it into a puree. So I, I changed what my grandmother did and I was like, why would you do that ? Do you know what I mean? And we had this moment, her and I, where, you know, I said the word refine doesn't mean changing years of tradition for like, cultures of food that have dishes that are made a specific way because you think it's supposed to look a certain way, right? Because of what you think fine dining or refined is supposed to look like. And it was this really deep conversation. Eric looked at me a afterwards, he's like, I'm so happy you said that to her. And I was like, I don't even care if this plays, I want, like this is just like, you know, young chef to like older chef, right? Mm-hmm. because we all, we've all struggled with that, but you know what I mean? Like, oh, you know, this sort of very sort of peasant style dish that I make in Italy that doesn't really come across in like a fine dining restaurant, so therefore I won't do it. And I'm like, no, like what your grandmother made, like what your abuela made was exactly what you should have given us. Mm-hmm. . Because actually what you gave us is now sticky glue that we all hate . Do you know what I mean? Mean that might send you home. And actually every other part of this dish is so beautiful and so delicious. And what makes it refined is just the way that you played it, whether it was a puree or just a small little mash of something mm-hmm. . And so it was this very sort of intense moment of growth where I was like, do not change your culture of food because you think it's not refined. Mm-hmm. , you know, it was really like, she was crying. I was crying. It was like this. Yeah. It was like, you know, I was like, I don't even care if this plays, I just hope you never do. I don't hope you never change your culture of food again because you think someone's not gonna like it a specific way.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I mean, I think, I think that is a moment that she will never forget for sure.

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh yeah. We talked about it for a while.

Jaymee Sire:

coming up next, Antonio tells us what it was like filming Beachside Brawl in Redondo Beach and later gives us a scoop on her appearance on Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. Stay tuned. Well, as you mentioned, you know, the show is filmed in Redondo Beach and you can see the people on the pier standing by. They're checking out what's going on. They're getting involved. How, how do you interact with them in the show?

Antonia Lofaso:

Uh, we loved everyone that came out. It was like, at first, it's funny because, you know, Brian Lando, who's the executive producer on the show mm-hmm. , he was like, I hope people come and watch this. I was like, I hope people come and watch it too. Because the energy on the pier brought so much to not only Brian and Eric, you know, as, as like team captains, but it to all the chefs cuz they felt like people were somehow invested. So it was crazy, which was even more amazing. Everyone in Redondo Beach was so excited that we were back for another season. Mm-hmm. . So they were all like, oh my God, we were wondering if you're coming back. And as soon as they found out that we were there, they were there every single day. . So the crowd started on day one. It took us like, I think like eight days to film or nine days to film. But it was like every single day there were more and more people as if they went and told their friends . And so, and then the crazy part was, you know, and I'll, I get a lot of stuff on Instagram where they're like, well, you know, you're filming on the west coast, so therefore it's like, not really fair. I'm like, guys, there were more East Coast people there than there were West Coast people. I think at one point, the East coast side, everyone's like, I'm from Philly, I'm from, you know, there were all transplants from the east coast that are now on the west coast that were cheering on the east coast. And then you got all the people on the west coast. You had some families divided, which was really funny. , the dad's like, I'm going East coast. And they were screaming and chanting and like doing the countdown with me when they had 10 seconds left. You know, it was, and they were just like, I mean, you know, where you would think sometimes like, you know, it took us like 12 hours to film a day. They weren't even tired. They were bringing out chairs. like, they're like, we're watching this whole thing.

Jaymee Sire:

Go down. They're ready to go. Oh,

Antonia Lofaso:

A hundred percent.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. I mean, did it get hot? Did the sun affect anything at all?

Antonia Lofaso:

No, it was like nine degrees below zero outside. We shot , we shot this in March. Oh, okay. We shot this in March. So, and for the record, like we're on the pier, so the pier is like in the ocean . And so there it was, it was cold actually.

Jaymee Sire:

. All right. Well, how, how did that affect it? Did that, did the the cold affect anything in the competition?

Antonia Lofaso:

Um, no, I think it just, it's interesting because once everyone was moving, we were totally fine. But there were times where the entire, you know, it looks, I mean the sun is out, right? Mm-hmm. , so the sun's out. I mean, it is like, people are in the ocean, people are walking around and like swimming and stuff. But it would go, because we would start at like eight o'clock in the morning. So at eight o'clock in the morning it was like 50 degrees mm-hmm. . And then by noon it was like 85 degrees and we're all sweating, you know? And then as the sun goes down at like four o'clock, it's like 50 degrees again. So we were having like our own change of the season within one day.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Within the same day. Yeah. Do you get to check out any like of the local spots in Redondo while you're filming? Or is it just all work the whole time?

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh My God, are you kidding me? We like, so funny enough hotdog on a stick, which was my very first job, like stomping lemonade and frying corn dogs. I love that. The original hotdog on a stick is on the Redondo Beach pier. So I was there like every day. Okay. , there's this incredible like, bia place who does like bia tacos and like quesadillas. So Mm. Literally we were there like every day. Plus you've got the quality seafood fish mart that was down there. So we were like getting lobster rolls and shrimp cocktail and like fried clams, like anything you could possibly think of. Like, we were all over that pier every single day. The contestants, the chefs, the guests, chefs. Like, it was, it was so much fun. It was basically like we were having our own like summer camp, but we were shooting a show .

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Uh, that sounds like a dream. We

Antonia Lofaso:

Actually didn't even do, funny enough, we didn't even do, instead of us doing catering for all of the crew, we just gave them like stipend because everyone just wanted to eat on the pier every, every single day. Oh, fun. Yeah. So everyone was just like, where are we going for lunch today? Like, sometimes it would be this, sometimes it would be that, and of course everyone's like frozen bananas, like churros, you know, you know, huge ice cream, like sundaes, like it was, I'm telling you like we were all at a giant summer camp.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. It sounds exactly like summer camp. That's so fun. . Well, we will see who's crowned the winner in the finale, but in your opinion, which coast has the best food?

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh, I can't tell you that I

Jaymee Sire:

Antonia Lofaso:

I can't tell. That's like choosing like your favorite child, you know, . It's, and it's so hard for me too, right? Like growing up on the East coast and obviously like all my family still lives on the east coast and, you know, so whenever it's like, okay, I know what I love about the East coast and then I live on the west coast now all my businesses are there. Mm-hmm. . So for me, I'm like, oh my God, I love the West coast. This is what I love about the West Coast. You can't decide, you can't choose. It's like, and every single day it was like that. And so thank God I had, you know, sometimes always one if not two other judges to help me really kind of like figure it out.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Well we are looking forward to seeing everything unfold, but you also made an appearance on HGTVs Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. Yes. What was that like?

Antonia Lofaso:

So first off, I was so excited that HGTV like had me on to do this, the Barbie dreamhouse. I could have never even like dreamt that ask ever in my entire life, . So, and how about this? I have a Barbie now. Okay. I have a Barbie who has like black Converse wear

Jaymee Sire:

With your own Barbie? Yes.

Antonia Lofaso:

I have my own Barbie. Oh my God. She has a black leather jacket. She, her hair's in a bun. She's got black Converse on. She like looks just like me. Like I love her so much. My partner Jasmine Roth, who shoots a show, she actually was one of the guest judges on Beachside with me. Like, her and I are like, I'm obsessed with her. She has a show called something. I think I fixed my house or something like that. I don't remember what it

Jaymee Sire:

Was. Wrecked my house. Yes, I

Antonia Lofaso:

Wrecked my house. Yes. Yeah. She is the best. And so her and I basically redid the kitchen, obviously. What else would I do? and the, the family room. And it was, I mean, I was breaking down walls, I was ripping out cabinets. I learned how to cover cabinets. There's a lot of like toy features that I've now just like learned. And honestly, like this kitchen, I'm like, there's so many parts of this kitchen that I want my own kitchen now. , you know, I text, uh, Jasmine probably every other week asking her like, design and like, you know, design recommendations. But it was like incredible. And Ashley Graham is like a life-sized Barbie and herself, like, she's amazing. But it was, it was really, really special. It was actually really special just spending time with the HGTV. Like folks, they're so much fun for the record, they are just like chefs . They just don't cook anything. They rip things apart, but they're literally just as crazy. .

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. And you were the only, like, you were like holding it up for all of the Food Network people.

Antonia Lofaso:

I was representing the food worker people at the Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. Yes.

Jaymee Sire:

And, and you guys kind of, it sounded like each team, you know, had a different room that they were assigned to and kind of a different era of Barbie and your, your guys' era was 1960s.

Antonia Lofaso:

1960s.

Jaymee Sire:

So, I mean, how much fun did you have with just that theme in general?

Antonia Lofaso:

Well, first off, I was a Barbie girl. Like I loved Barbie. Absolutely.

Jaymee Sire:

I was gonna ask you that. Yeah. So I

Antonia Lofaso:

Don't, I don't wear a lot of pink, right. But I wanted to always like cut Barbie's hair. Mm-hmm. , like, I was into like styling Barbie. She like, you know, was my, she was my brother's Shark's girlfriend, like , you know what I mean? Like, I had multiple Barbies. It was amazing. Wa like learning the history of Barbie, you know, that was like the most incredible part. Right? So the sixties is when, was like the first Barbie dreamhouse, so kind of understanding the, the birth of it, right. And seeing the design change and actually seeing sort of, you know, the growth of Barbie, if you will, which is was like so brilliant. But when you really kind of get into the depths of it, and I don't mean to sound like so crazy right about it, but in 1960 before there was a, an actual person who went to the moon, right?

Mm-hmm. , they actually designed an astronaut Barbie. Oh my gosh. And there was a picture of her that we actually hung in the family room. Hmm. And so it was this, you know, it was sort of this very like undercover, you know, what women could do. Right? And what was this possibility? Women and young girls, you know, and giving them this like, sort of ideology without really screaming it from the rooftops. Mm-hmm. . It was just this very sort of subtle, like, you get to play with this doll that's dressed as an astronaut Right. Before there's even an astronaut in space. Right. Wow. And then there wasn't a woman in space until like, you know, the late eighties I think. Wow. And so it's, it is just a, you know, there, there were all those kinds of sort of, you know, small little sprinkles of, you know, of thought that went into the doll that it wasn't just so much. You know, and it's interesting talking to older people who, you know, cuz my generation of Barbie was like the eighties and nineties, right? Mm-hmm. or really the eighties. And, but having people that played with the doll in the sixties talk about, you know, what it meant to them. And it, and it was so true. It's like there was this fantasy world that you lived in. That you played in. Right. And so it was, it was kind of fun to go back and think about sort of the generational, um, you know, thread that like that has us all together, right? Mm-hmm. that goes from the sixties and seventies, eighties and nineties. And then also just seeing like the design trends and all of that. It was really like, it was really special. Very, very, very special. I did also get to thumb through the very first Barbie cookbook ever.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh yeah. I didn't even know that was a thing.

Antonia Lofaso:

Yes. I have pictures of it on my, on my cell phone. I don't know if that's legal, but I have them there's a lot of recipes for Ken. I'm just gonna throw that out there. Okay. But not like, he not healthy. He looked a lot of fudge, apparently. , there's a lot of like fudge recipes. Also a lot of peanut recipes. Apparently there was zero peanut allergies Okay. In the sixties because like every other, there's like an entire chapter on peanuts. I was just like, oh my God. But yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

What, what kind of food or drink would be served in a Barbie themed restaurant you think?

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh, right, . Well, so it was actually really funny. One of, one of the designers, actually, I forgot her name, but she was the designer of the very first black Barbie. Right? Okay. And so we were, we were having a conversation about, you know, and I was like, oh my God, you know, what do you think Barbie ate? And she's like, Barbie watched her, her figure. I was like, all right, everybody calm down. Bye . I was like, that's not very progressive now, is it? Yeah, . I was like, we're, I was just like, we're gonna be like, we gotta be progressive in all areas. Like Barbie can eat whatever she wants to. Whatever she wants. Yeah. Like whatever Barbie wants to eat, Barbie can get down on anything. .

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, did it get competitive or was it more of like a, a friendly competition in this case?

Antonia Lofaso:

You know, like I said, the HGTV design stars are just like chefs.

Jaymee Sire:

So they’re very competitive.

Antonia Lofaso:

They're very competitive. They are very competitive. They do not like to lose, you know, I was in a whole other world, right? I was just like, Jasmine was like, we should break this wall down. And I was just like, are we allowed to? And she's just like, I don't know. And so we just did it. And then they were like, the other team was very mad because we broke into their wall. Oh. . And so I was just like, I'm just here as a guest and like, uh, you know, and so there was a lot of that that happened.

Jaymee Sire:

Well, we are very much looking forward to, uh, seeing that unfold as well as Beachside Brawl. What, what can we look out for on the, on the Beachside Brawl finale as it wraps up?

Antonia Lofaso:

Well, so the Beachside Brawl finale is actually gonna be a two hour finale. Mm. It is, you know, we've got Guy Fieri and Alex Guarnaschelli who are going to actually be our finale judges, which made me nervous. It's like, I work with them all the time and I love them. You know, like they're friends and all of a sudden they were coming to set to, to judge, and I was all of a sudden like wildly nervous, which was strange. But it was really like, it, it's, it's an incredible finale. Like when the judge, when all of the, uh, chefs saw them walk onto that pier and they knew that that was their finale judges, it just made it very, very real for them. Like, what this meant. And so, you know, what,

Jaymee Sire:

What did the, what did the crowd do? ,

Antonia Lofaso:

Whoever was screaming, are you kidding me? You know, poor guy and Alex, they were on those little like, golf carts being like, ushered from the back of the pier to the front of the pier. And like people were chasing them on the little like golf carts. So it was, it was, it was a lot of fun. Uh,

Jaymee Sire:

Well, can't wait to watch. We were gonna finish things off with a little rapid fire round. Okay. And then we have one final question for you. All right. Summer cocktail or mocktail of choice?

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh, the spritz. Campari Spritz. And if I wanna get a little crazy, I'm gonna throw a shot of gin in there.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, okay. Love it. Favorite summer movie?

Antonia Lofaso:

Favorite summer movie. Okay. Do not make fun of me. .

Jaymee Sire:

Okay.

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh my God. What was that movie? The Surfers? They were like, they were, they were.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, you kind talking about point break.

Antonia Lofaso:

Point Break. Not point break. It wasn't the guy Surfers, it was the

Jaymee Sire:

Surfer. Oh, you. Blue Crush.

Antonia Lofaso:

Blue Crush. Best summer movie ever.

Jaymee Sire:

Love Blue Crush. Yes.

Antonia Lofaso:

Thank you.

Jaymee Sire:

I think that's a good one. I would not make fun of you for that.

Antonia Lofaso:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Jaymee Sire:

Favorite me time Activity

Antonia Lofaso:

For the summer.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah.

Antonia Lofaso:

Favorite me time. Activity for the summer. Bike rides on the pier. Mm. Bike rides on the, on the boardwalk.

Jaymee Sire:

Your next travel destination.

Antonia Lofaso:

Next Travel destination. Well, we were just talking about this like, I, I missed the Barbie premiere in LA so I'm trying to get to the one in England. Oh, okay. And also I just got back from like Wyoming. I need to go home.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, that's true. All

Antonia Lofaso:

Right. Then my next, my next destination needs to be Los Angeles.

Jaymee Sire:

It’s just home. Okay. Home. Fair, fair, fair. Um, guilty pleasure TV show right now.

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh, guilty pleasure. Television show right now. What did I just, I'm actually still watching Succession. Mm, okay. Like on repeat and honestly. Okay. You ready for what I do literally almost every year? I watch, oh my God. What's that? President drama from like, the, the nineties.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, oh, from the nineties?

Antonia Lofaso:

The West Wing.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, West Wing.

Antonia Lofaso:

I watch the West Wing like on repeat . Like, I just kind of have it in the background playing. Cause I just feel like, it just makes me feel better.

Jaymee Sire:

It's just like your comfort. Your, it's like your comfort show. Yeah.

Antonia Lofaso:

Why isn't, what's his name? The president? What's his, yeah. What's his name? Martin Sheen. Best president. Best president that's ever been. Martin Sheen.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, I love it. Um, all right. Desert island ingredient.

Antonia Lofaso:

Oh my god. You can't ask me Desert Island ingredient cuz I have like seven.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay, well give us, oh, . I was gonna say give us all seven.

Antonia Lofaso:

I can't live without because they all go together. Like I can't just say bread. Right. Because it goes with like olives and cheese and olive oil and prosciutto, you know what I mean? And so like, you can't just give me one .

Jaymee Sire:

You can't just have the bread. Yeah.

Antonia Lofaso:

No, but I want that like my, like my, if I was like last meal, like on a desert island, it would have to be like cold cuts olives, like olive oil, cheese, bread, like it, that's actually one ingredient. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

It's just like a board of all of your favorite Yeah.

Antonia Lofaso:

As an Italian. That's one ingredient. Yeah. Okay. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

Fair. I'm gonna give that to you. Well, as you know, we always ask our guests the same question at the end of each episode, but since you've been on before, we're gonna keep.

Antonia Lofaso:

I don’t remember. I answered some awful memories. That's true. I will not remember what you asked me.

Jaymee Sire:

You, you will not remember. But also like, let's keep it beachy. Summer themed for this. Okay. So we wanna know what would be on the, the menu for your perfect food day. So take us through breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. You know, they can be different coastal locations, different summer locations. You know, you can time travel. I like this. Regular travel, whatever you wanna do. It's, there's no rules.

Antonia Lofaso:

I can time travel. You just took us to a whole other thing right now. Just threw, you really just need it like that much harder for me because you were like, oh, one ingredient on the beach and I gave you a charcuterie board and now you're asking me to give you an entire meal where I can, I like,

there's

Jaymee Sire:

Antonia Lofaso:

Rules. Yeah. So I can go back into the twenties for Exactly. Okay. So a perfect entire day of eating for me would be for breakfast. Okay. Would be like a long Island diner breakfast. Mm, okay. Which would be like a Greek omelet. Mm-hmm. . Okay. That would start off with like, it would be like feta cheese, spinach, tomatoes, right? Mm-hmm. . And then, but then I would have to get hash browns from California because the east coast doesn't do hash browns. They do like potatoes. Mm-hmm. . So I want the hash browns. Okay. Okay. And then I'm gonna bring my la into it too. And I want a side of avocado, of course I want a side of crispy bacon. And then I want french toast. Like just classic like diner french toast, like syrup butter for the table. Mm-hmm. . Okay. Then for lunch I would have, I would transfer over to like Cape Cod area and I would have like lobster hot, like a hot lobster roll with like extra brown, uh, like extra drawn butter. Mm-hmm. fried clams and like a chowder for sure. Yeah. Then for dinner I would probably go Italian of course. And you gimme this option? No, you

Jaymee Sire:

Have to, you gimme this option. Have to. You have to.

Antonia Lofaso:

I would definitely go everything I just said on my stranded island. Right. . So I would have the like Italian cured meats, cheeses, alls like crispy artichokes, marinated peppers, a lot of bread, fresh mozzarella. Then that would go into a super easy pasta of like penne spicy tomato sauce. I actually like to toss arugula it going back to like see how my la New York flipped.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. You just like to like combine it, talk

Antonia Lofaso:

Back and forth. And then I would toss like fresh arugula into that. But then I would shave Parmesan cheese into it and then, but I would finish it with Pecorino but then shave Parmesan into it. So I had both and then it would be like a New York steak. Now that I just said steak. There's also like a whole steakhouse dinner that I just thought of

Jaymee Sire:

that you now you're, I mean add it on. Okay.

Antonia Lofaso:

I would go, there's no rules. So it would be a porterhouse cooked medium and then I would have it with like cream, spinach, onion rings, benet sauce and I don't think I want dessert. Okay.

Jaymee Sire:

Antonia Lofaso:

Just cause I had an Italian dinner and a steakhouse dinner together. I feel like we're good.

Jaymee Sire:

I mean I, I feel like this was a very on Brandand bicoastal Antonia perfect food day. So I'm just,

Antonia Lofaso:

I'm trying to tell you like I flip flop back and forth to the coast. Like if I'm in a diner in a, you know, in New York. Right. It's so funny too cuz like if I get a bacon, egg and cheese from a bodega, sometimes I'm like egg whites, , . That's,

Jaymee Sire:

That's not allowed. .

Antonia Lofaso:

They do it for me and I don't apologize. .

Jaymee Sire:

Well it's been such a joy catching up with you and hearing all things, you know, summer, Beachside Brawl and Barbie dreamhouse. So thank you so much for taking the time.

Antonia Lofaso:

Always so good to see you.

Jaymee Sire:

You can catch Antonia on Beachside Brawl Sundays at 9:00 PM Eastern on Food Network and streaming on Max. And you can also catch her episode of Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge also streaming on Max. Make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.