Harvard graduate, entrepreneur and chef, Nick DiGiovanni dishes on his plans to break his ninth Guinness World Record. The philanthropist reflects on his favorite one yet, a wholesome holiday donation that made a massive impact.
Harvard graduate, entrepreneur and chef, Nick DiGiovanni dishes on his plans to break his ninth Guinness World Record. The philanthropist reflects on his favorite one yet, a wholesome holiday donation that made a massive impact. Nick shares what led him to create the first-ever sustainable food major at his Ivy League school. While crafting curriculums with professors, working on his senior thesis and interning for a Michelin star restaurant, he became a viral content creator. Nick nonchalantly explains how he juggled it all, and compares cooking in the prestigious San Francisco kitchen to his experience learning to cook from his grandparents. He reflects on his biggest takeaways, surprises and achievements competing on Master Chef and becoming the youngest guest to place third on the show. Then he shares how his business background helps him manage his cookbook, warehouse, spice company and content teams. He explains his intentions for and favorite recipes in his soon-to-be-released cookbook and his involvement with charitable organizations like Farmlink. Finally, he tells fans what he has planned next, the best and worst parts of being a content creator and what’s on the menu for his perfect food day.
Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/nick-digiovanni-harvard-grad-turned-viral-chef
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Learn More About Master Chef: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/food-network-challenge/episodes/master-chefs
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 Jamie Sere, and today we have an all business chef boasting billions of views with his record breaking cooking content. He is a Harvard graduate entrepreneur, chef, and content creator. It's Nick DiGiovanni. Nick, welcome to the podcast. So excited to have you join us today.
Nick DiGiovanni:
Thank you for having me here. I'm super excited.
Jaymee Sire:
So a Harvard graduate turned viral content creator. I cannot wait to dive into this story, but first things first, what Guinness World Records are, are you breaking today?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Funnily enough, we are working on one really. We've been spending most of the morning on, on planning, planning one out. Okay. That should, should come pretty soon. I believe. I, I, I believe I still have to keep it under wraps. Okay. Cause we haven't signed all the, all the paperwork yet, but it's gonna be bake. It's gonna be bake.
Jaymee Sire:
Okay. So beyond the lookout for that, how many do you currently hold right now?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I believe we are at eight now. Eight? Yeah. I think we're at eight now. We failed one last year, so that's why I have to sometimes
Jaymee Sire:
What, what's your favorite one that you've done?
Nick DiGiovanni:
We did a very, very fun and also fulfilling one last year that was, we donated a lot of turkeys for Thanksgiving, so we were able to get a record out of it while also donating all of that food around Thanksgiving. That was probably my favorite one, perhaps alongside the giant gigantic sushi roll that we made.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah, both are great and, and also very special for, for different reasons, obviously. Yeah. So you created the first food related concentration at Harvard called Food and Climate. It incorporated coursework in chemistry, climate science, anthropology, public health, and the business of food. So as someone who didn't love school, why did studying the intersection of all these elements really appeal to you?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I was just struggling for a while to figure out what exactly I wanted to study, and Harvard especially was a place that I think was really trying to not necessarily fit you into a box, but just try to, you know, they ha they have such a well established education system in the school and university that it's sort of hard to propose anything outside of what they already have. And I was trying to do that of course. So, you know, I just looked at the whole food system in general and tried to find, at the end of the day, I tried to find a really fun, but also academically legitimate way to, to study more about everything surrounding food, if that makes any sense. And just these, these different terms are what kind of lined up to, to fit, fit there and make, make sense. And it worked out.
Jaymee Sire:
What did you think of, of how the, the program kind of developed a as as you were there?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I thought it was really fun. I mean, I think I was working alongside these different professors who a also, I think were having a good time with this sort of new thing, because you have to imagine they show up to school every year too, and have kind of the same thing year over year. And so this was something new that they could be a part of. And so I think in general, it was just this big fun team effort to, to figure out how we could keep tying all these things together and convinced the college and the school that it was something worthwhile. And funnily enough, a friend sent me an article the other day from Harvard that looks like they're doing a bunch more stuff with this kind of intersection with food and climate now, which is really fun to see for me. So, yeah.
Jaymee Sire:
That's awesome. And what is, what is that feeling like to know that you kind of spearheaded and, and sparked that whole thing?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Well, in a sense, I would say that I think I, I, I certainly would give credit to the people around me that were the ones that I think I got some of those ideas from. For instance, I had, you know, Michael Pollen teaches every year at Harvard, and I was getting advice from him on this stuff. And people who are already sort of these big groundbreakers in their own, in their own ways. And so, so in a way I sort of felt like I wasn't necessarily inventing anything new by pulling all these things together. All the, all the sort of research and a lot of the infrastructure was kind of already there. I just had to present a case to the school that I should be able to study this as my, as my, as my true major during school there. So of course it's really fun to see now that there's sort of more coming out about it. But, but at the same time, a lot of the stuff that I was learning too is, you know, I mean the, the climate science side of everything and the, some of the sort of the more, more, I guess, depressing and, and sadder things that I learned and read there aren't so fun to see. So in a way it's not good, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah,
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. I mean, what did you discover during your undergrad that that still like, influences your sustainable approach to food and cooking now?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I think in the, at the end of the day, it just was the idea that food is so heavily tied to, to the environment, to, to the climate. And I hadn't really realized that before. I mean, I just liked food, so I kind of stumbled upon this fact, I guess. And so that, that is the very simple thing that I took away from all of it, is just food is so much more involved and tied to all of what's going on with the environment than I or a lot of us ever would think.
Jaymee Sire:
Mm-hmm, meanwhile, you were also interning at a three Michelin star restaurant in San Francisco. In San Francisco during this time. How did that education differ from Grandma d Giovanni's lessons at home?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah. I mean, you, you have to imagine a rigorous three Michelin Sarge chef is a lot different than my sweet small grandma at home
Jaymee Sire:
Which one is more scary. Your, your grandmother or, or chef when they're mad?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, that was a very odd time. Just the knowing that I was gonna leave campus soon. And even though you say on paper that you're not gonna tell anyone, the fact is you have to tell a few people
Jaymee Sire:
What was the reaction from, you know, classmates, professors when they eventually did find out?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I think everyone was just excited. I think e everyone, everyone there on campus was very supportive, even more so than I thought they might be. Just of the fact that I was chasing down this dream that I had and that it was starting to work out a little bit more. I, I think people were super excited. There were all these rumors going around campus that, you know, that I won or, or that I, whatever. And so that was kind of funny, but I just kind of had to sit back and just keep my mouth sealed.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. Just let it all unfold in real time. Right. Yeah. What was it like going from, you know, cooking in your dorm to being on this massive stage with lights and cameras?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, I mean, that was, that was a big, a big jump, a big transition. Probably one of the most dramatic ones I think I've ever had to, to face, but also really fun. It was, it was something that for me, I think helped me a little bit find my calling and, and, and I felt so comfortable despite all the chaos and the hustle and bustle of a TV set like that, I had liked it mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. And, and, and despite the, the rumors on campus, you did not win, but you did end up finishing third and the youngest person in the history of the show to do so. To what do you credit that accomplishment?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I would say first and foremost family. The, the, those people that very early on supported my love for food. And that wasn't just one grandmother that was family on both sides. My mom and my dad, and also just so many people around me, friends growing up who knew I loved food. Even on the playground as a kid, when I would bring these weird snacks to school that I had concocted and I would share them with friends. I, I remember the ones that would taste like a little piece of my uncooked Ramen snack with all the seasoning on it.
Jaymee Sire:
What I, I needed to know more about these, like these playground snacks that you were creating as a kid.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I, I mean, I, of course, I'm sure I had the, some of the conventional lunchbox snacks that everyone else had, but then I would bring weird random things from home, you know, I later found out, for instance, crushing up ramen and eating at raw is not so, is not looked at as such a weird thing to do in, in other, but I didn't know this at the time. And so, and in the US it's certainly not a common thing to do. And so I would, I, I must have eaten some one day at home, cuz we used to eat Ramen a lot when we were kids. And I would crush it all up raw and I would put it in a little Ziploc bag, pour the seasoning packet over it. And I remember my favorite flavor was always the creamy chicken flavor
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
And I would pour the seasoning packet, shake it all up in there, and then throw it in my lunchbox and I would have it for add recess for snack. And, and it was amazing. And I would share it with kids and some were probably, you know, wondered what's wrong with you? But I remember the ones that didn't say that, you know? Yeah. So.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. Little did you know, you were just in early training for, for Master Chef. How did your vision and your future change after that experience?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I think in one sense it's hard for me to, hard for me to say because I've never had a great sense of what's gonna happen tomorrow, what's gonna happen a week from now, what's gonna happen a month, a year from now. It's always just been kind of this, take each opportunity as it comes and then go from there. And, and that's just brought me on all these really weird and crazy paths in life. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. Speaking of which, I mean, let's go back to 2020. How did you get the idea to, to post your first video and kind of start creating that content?
Nick DiGiovanni:
It was actually my, my agent Maza, who I'm still working with today. And she, she and I found each other right as I finished Master Chef. And I think we're, we're both, we're both Persians, so I think that's one way that we kind of initially bonded mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. I mean, and it's, it's really evolved in such a wild way since then from, you know, a humble how to, how to cook a steak video to, as we mentioned, breaking multiple Guinness World records. You've had guests like Tom Brady, Joe Jonas, how much of your Harvard, you know, business savvy do you apply when determining kind of what direction you're going with your content?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Well, I think, I think the analytical side of me and some of the people on my team, we definitely lean on it once in a while just to, just to try to take calculated risks now. Because there are lots of different opportunities that are flying around when it comes to making videos or collaborations like you. And so we try to look at all of those, but also do a little bit of research, do a little bit of thinking on, on will this pay off or what, you know, is this, is this something that, that we should dive into? Because a lot of these things are, you know, it's a lot of work and it's a lot of travel or a lot of money for a really, really quick, quick thing that may or may not pan out, if that makes sense. So, you know, before you jump on that flight and take the entire team and get them all planning on this, planning around this one thing and spend the money to go there and stay in the hotels and bring the cameraman and get the editors ready, it's this kind of, should we, should we do this or should we not do this? Yeah. And then once we get the green light, that's when we dive in. But I think that's really the biggest area that that kind of thing comes into play. It's a lot of just like a, just like running a professional kitchen, there's just a lot of preparation that goes into everything.
Jaymee Sire:
How, how big is your team these days and how is that, I guess, changed and evolved from when you first started posting videos?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, I mean, it's grown quite a lot, which is, which is crazy to say. And there's just sort of these different areas of, of all sorts of things that we're working on now. So we have a team around the Salt company, Osmo, the, the Seasoning company. And, and you know, that kind of stands on its own two feet. There's a warehouse in LA and, and there's a team around it and that, you know, that's its own sort of thing. And then, and then we've got the, the cookbook and there's a huge, huge team around the cookbook cuz we had the photographers and, and we had, you know, people helping me to read over the, the recipes and the proofreading kind of things. And of course the, the editor and I mean, just quite a, quite, quite a few people for that. More than I, more than I realized when I went into the behind the scenes for, for a book like that. And then, and then the everyday team that's sort of helping to, to, to ideate and, and create videos and film and edit. I mean, there, there are so many different sort of pieces of the puzzle now that fit together. And so, so I look at it as one kind of giant team. But the reality is a lot of them don't know each other
Jaymee Sire:
Coming up next, Nick discusses breaking multiple Guinness World Records and later talks his new cookbook knife drop, creative recipes anyone can cook. What is your favorite type of content or video to produce?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I would have to say, you know, I I, I certainly always love a fun challenge and, and that can really be anything. I mean, one of my favorite videos lately was we went to, we went to this restaurant in New York with a chef who has two Michelin stars at one restaurant and then one at his other. And I did some fun seven-eleven Cookoff challenge against him in his kitchen. And that was really fun. I mean, we just, we walked to, to 7-Eleven together and you have this, you know, top-notch chef who's kind of, who's kind of humbling himself to walk over to 7-Eleven and get these kind of cheap, random ingredients with only $20 is what we each had. And then going back to this really fancy kitchen and, and cooking this very sort of basic dish against me. So that kind of unexpected, fun, unique kind of challenge. Those are always really fun to me. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Who are some of your favorite creators to collaborate with?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I, the funny thing is I've never, I I will tru truthfully, uh, I've never had a bad experience, which is great. And I'm almost surprised to say it in a way just cuz we've done so many different things with so many different people. But mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Are you surprised to find the community so, you know, welcoming and supportive of, of each other?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yes and no. I mean, one of the things I think I picked up on early on was that it's really hard to, to get far, especially in a space like this, where you really can't hide anything from anyone. It's really hard to get far if you're not just nice to people and mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
That's so awesome. Hear and yeah. And I also love that you, you are using your platform for good causes. You know, we talked about the Turkey donation a little bit ago. What, what other philanthropic challenges have you done that you're really proud of?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, so we've worked a lot with this company called FarmLink, which it was an easy sort of initial partnership for me because I have three younger brothers and they were all working with this company when they were in college. And it's a company made up of a bunch of sort of younger kids who are either in college or recent college grads who started this whole initiative during covid of basically saving food that was gonna be wasted by farms because no one was buying it cuz we had the restaurant shut down and we had all this the chaos happening in the, in the entire world, but especially in the food and the food side of everything. And so they were basically, they were basically getting money to pay the farmer's affair price for that food and then bringing the food straight to food banks, which is a really cool idea. That's awesome.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah.
Nick DiGiovanni:
And surprising that no one had really done anything like it before, but it was just a perfect matchup. So we have been working ever since my brothers and I had the conversation that it would be fun to work together, which has now been, I don't know, a year and a half maybe. And they've been involved in a bunch of projects that we've done. So I, I have dedicated most of my focus in sort of the philanthropic space to FarmLink and just figuring out every way that I can to, to work together with them. When I did the Selena and Chef episode on hbo o and we donated money to FarmLink, I believe it was $10,000, which for them that can donate a lot of meals. And then with the cookbook we're donating 10 meals per pre-order copy that's sold. So it's just sort of all these different areas that we can find to loop them in on things. We've done it.
Jaymee Sire:
That's incredible. And speaking of your cookbook, it is coming out soon, it's called Knife Drop Creative Recipes. Anyone can cook. Tell us a little bit about the book and what the process was, you know, in developing these recipes.
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, so it was, I won't, I I it was harder than I thought it would be.
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
I'll say that first. I, I am super happy with how it turned out. I just, in a funny way, you know, I had all these recipes that I've saved up my entire life. You know, I, I've always cooked, I've always written down notes. So at first I sort of said to myself, oh, no problem. I'll just toss these together. I'll clean 'em up and then test them a bunch and make sure they all look good and, and and, and slap it together into a nice book
Jaymee Sire:
What, what was the most challenging part of that process? Just putting the, the book together.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I, I, I, part of me wants to just say the, the unexpected side of, of how much work and how challenging it is to really put something together like this. Because I just, if I'm gonna take on a project like that, I I'm not gonna be happy until I feel it's perfect. And so that ended up just meaning tens uh, hundreds, maybe hours more than I thought I was gonna really spend on it and how I, and, and, and that I sort of allocated to spend on the, on the book. But it had a really great team around it. I found the best photographer I could find the, the editors and everyone at Penang, a random house. They were all amazing to work with. So that side was just, that side was almost easy. It was just sort of
Jaymee Sire:
If someone could only try one recipe from the book, what should it be?
Nick DiGiovanni:
That's a great question,
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
So I'll just tell you the first thing that jumped to mind Okay. Is this recipe from my grandmother, my dad's mom. And it's a, it's, I didn't, I didn't plagiarize, I, I I changed the recipe a little bit.
Jaymee Sire:
Did you give her credit?
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah, of course, of course. I, it's, it's this, it's called scalloped scallops. Okay. And, and which is super creative. And so everyone has probably tasted scalloped potatoes mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Well, we're looking forward to, to, to seeing that in the book with the photos as you mentioned. Speaking of, you know, the knife drop, it is sort of your signature. I'm curious just how, how that started and, and you know, how it's continued and kind of taken on its own personality a little bit
Nick DiGiovanni:
Yeah. Not that I recommend doing it in your kitchen.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah, right.
Nick DiGiovanni:
But it was just this fun thing that I, I thought, you know, it's, it's, it's good to catch someone's attention for a video of course. But aside from that, it's just, I had fun doing it. I actually missed one earlier today. So it's never fun for me to, for me to miss, you know, miss sticking it right into the board
Jaymee Sire:
And, and it's continued and people love you for it. So what do you, what do you hope's next for you?
Nick DiGiovanni:
You know, I'm, I'm definitely very heavily focused on the cookbook. You know, I think that's the, that's sort of the next phase of things is just, it's just getting that out there to, to the people that, that want to use it and, and wanna, wanna bring it to their kitchen at home. And so that's my big sort of project for the next month and a half is just really focusing on, on getting, you know, getting people as excited as I am about it. And then I think, you know, outside of that, we have quite a few fun things planned for the rest of the year with YouTube and we really do spend a crazy, crazy amount of time on those videos. So we're, we're working hard on those, getting ourselves nice and set up and planned ahead for that. And, and then that third kind of part of everything is just that, that surprise factor where I just have absolutely no idea. But I'm excited for it.
Jaymee Sire:
I love it. No idea what's coming next, but I'm sure it can only be big things. It's been so fun, you know, hearing your story and getting to know you a little bit. We're gonna finish things off with a little rapid fire round and then we have one final question for you that we ask everybody. Okay. All right. Rapid fire questions. A guest you would love to have on your channel. One step towards a more sustainable kitchen.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I, I'm, I'm, so, I have an answer. I had an answer right away. I'm trying to think of how the, the simplest way to say it. Learn how to learn how to keep your veggies and especially your greens such as mint, basil, chives, et cetera. Nice and fresh and continuing to grow in your fridge.
Jaymee Sire:
And, and is there one way for, for all of those or it's, it's different for all of them. Right?
Nick DiGiovanni:
I did make a little sort of guide in handbook and even a little QR code video for in, in, in the book. Oh, cool. Um, however, it's generally the same. It's just, I was shocked when I learned that you could take green onions and stick them in a glass and then they just sh shoot up and keep growing. Yeah. So you never really have to buy 'em again.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah. That was definitely my go-to during Covid. I need to get back to it because, you know, yeah. I had like little mason jars sitting around with just little onion sprouts. It was the best. So
Nick DiGiovanni:
Much fun.
Jaymee Sire:
Best memory from Harvard
Nick DiGiovanni:
Getting the special concentration, the special major that I created. Approved.
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah, no, I'm sure that was very fulfilling for sure. Yeah. Um, kitchen tool you cannot live without.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I love a good microplane
Jaymee Sire:
Yeah.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I love lemon zest. I love lime zest. Orange zest. I think for too long I threw away the peels and you know, I just used the juice in there and, and I wish I learned that earlier.
Jaymee Sire:
Something you would like to get better at.
Nick DiGiovanni:
The, the, funnily enough, the first thing that jumped to mind was cooking cuz and it just goes to show you that you can always learn quite a lot more.
Jaymee Sire:
Best and worst part of being a content creator.
Nick DiGiovanni:
Man.
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
The best part for sure is for me is, is having so much food around you. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire:
Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And finally, elite pancake flavor.
Nick DiGiovanni:
This is what I used to make as a kid. Chocolate chips with orange zest.
Jaymee Sire:
Ooh, love that.
Nick DiGiovanni:
I love the chocolate and orange combo. I know a lot of people don't, but I think it's just amazing.
Jaymee Sire:
I do too. I, i love it. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm board with that one for sure. So our final question is, what would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So this is definitely not rapid fire, so we want you to kind of take us through the progression of the day. You know, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. If you're a dessert person, there's no rules. You can travel time, travel, anyone can prepare these meals, you can prepare them whatever you want. It's your day.
Nick DiGiovanni:
Amazing. Breakfast, I would have a beautiful breakfast sandwich and I just mean very simple n nothing fancy, just, you know, a nice English muffin that's toasted with some butter. And then I would throw some just a nice classic fried egg, but not too runny cuz I don't like when it's too much of a mess. Okay. A good piece of cheddar cheese, maybe some sharp cheddar and maybe a, maybe a, a nice fresh juicy tomato with some solid pepper on it. I think that would be, that'd be a great start. Okay. And then, you know, you could pair, pair a mango smoothie. I wouldn't be upset about that either. Okay. For lunch I would go with a nice rice bowl, sort of a Japanese rice bowl with uni sea urchin on one side o on the top there. And then maybe some, some tuna or maybe some salmon. I would go with some salmon on there. And uh, maybe some salmon eggs as well with a little bit of soy sauce. Just super simple. Maybe some green onions on top and a yuzu soda to go with it. Okay. That's my go-to soda. They're these delicious Japanese easy sodas. Mm. And for dinner dinner's a tricky one. What is my go-to dinner? Gotta think about this
Jaymee Sire:
Nick DiGiovanni:
Hmm. For dinner I would have to go with a nice hardy lasagna. Okay. Just a really good lasagna. I would have the type of lasagna where you have ragu and bechamel so that kind of, you pick both, you don't have to pick one or the other. And for the meat in there, I'd probably get a little mix of some lamb, some beef, you know, a little mix in there. Just a really, really good lasagna. It's hard to beat I think at the end of a long day for sure. And I haven't had any water yet today in this thing, so I'll have some water
Jaymee Sire:
And stay hydrated
Nick DiGiovanni:
And then for dessert, you know, I'm not a big dessert person, but if I had to pick a dessert it'd probably be a chocolate lava cake. And, and maybe just a few jelly beans cuz I just love jelly beans.
Jaymee Sire:
Well that sounds like a fantastic day and very fitting based on, you know, our conversation. So thank you so much for taking the time and best of luck with the cookbook and all of your future endeavors.
Nick DiGiovanni:
Thank you so much for having me. This has been a lot of fun.
Jaymee Sire:
Be on the lookout for Nick's cookbook releasing June 13th, and make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoy 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.