Gaga For Giada

Interviews · May 8, 2007

It’s easy to be envious of Giada De Laurentiis. Aside from growing up in Rome (also home to Gucci, Prada and D&G!) with Hollywood lineage (granddaughter of film producer, Dino De Laurentiis), Giada is regularly gallivanting around the globe for her TV host gig on the Food Network (Giada’s Weekend Getaways and Everyday Italian) and as a correspondent on NBC’s The Today Show. During her downtime (umm… when?), she’s a private chef and caterer (founder of GDL Catering in L.A.) and is also the author of Everyday Pasta (Potter, 2007) – her third national bestseller.

FashionJunkie recently caught up with the down-to-earth De Laurentiis at New York Fall/Winter ‘07 Fashion Week at Bryant Park to dish about her favorite desserts, restaurants and of course… designers. 

-By: Dara Fleischer

Giada and Dara at New York Fashion Week

FJ: I have to ask… how do you stay so slim? You’re always on the road for your job and you look fantastic!

GDL: That’s so funny - that’s the first question everybody asks me, by and large, every time. Portion control! I watch how much (and what) I eat. I eat lots of little meals throughout the day and I work out. It’s really not a science. I mean, it is what it is: it’s calories in and calories out. So, if I over-do it one day, then I trim back the next day. But I try to really moderate what I eat. And I eat everything because I love deserts and I love chocolate, so I have to have some of that everyday. It’s just about keeping a balance.

FJ: I noticed on your Food Network show, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, you’re always trying so many different types of food… you can’t possibly finish everything!

GDL: Well, that’s the thing… as with most chefs, we taste and eat so many different things all day long, so I just have to kind of watch it. When I’m shooting it’s especially tough – I try and keep it really plane in between.

FJ: What’s your favorite dish (aside from Italian) to order at a restaurant?

GDL: At the end of the day, I never leave a restaurant without ordering desert. I need to leave a meal with something sweet. I’m very much a sweet person, and so I love that. And a lot of times, I go nuts and order one of everything and I just take a bite of each desert and just try to figure out which one is my favorite. But I never leave a restaurant without having desert.

FJ: What’s your favorite NYC restaurant?

DGL: Right now, The Waverly Inn. They have a roasted chicken dish with different kinds of mushrooms (porcinis and morels) that’s phenomenal and they have roasted carrots that are to die for. They also have fantastic crab cakes.

FJ: What’s your favorite dish to cook?

GDL: Definitely desert. Initially, I was going to become a pastry chef (which I did not!), but that has always been my thing. So my raspberry tiramisu is one of my favorite things. When it comes to comfort food, I love making my vegetable bolognaise – it has lots of vegetables, but it’s really think and hearty so you don’t miss the meat.

FJ: Did you always want to be a chef, TV personality and author?

GDL: TV personality? Definitely not! My family is in the movie business, so if I wanted to do that, I would have. I love food. My grandfather comes from a family of food - they were pasta makers in Naples. That’s where the passion came from. I knew at a very early age (around 10 or 12) that I wanted to do something with food. And the rest just sort of happened.

FJ: Now that you’ve had a sneak peek for Fall/Winter ’07, what do you think you’ll be wearing next season ?

GDL: Coats. J. Mendel has these sleek ‘40’s-inspired coats with metallic thread going through them that are just phenomenal. They have little belts that are tied backwards, so the buckle is in the back instead of the front, and you just tie it like a bow.

FJ: When you visit NYC, where do you like to shop?

GDL: I went to Christian Louboutin this morning.

FJ: Did you buy anything?

GDL: I did! I bought these boots that I have on, which I just love. And Intermix.

FJ: oooohh… good choice!

FJ: And what are you wearing right now?

GDL: J. Mendel.

FJ: Do you have any advice for someone who wants to break into the television business?

GDL: I think it’s really a combination of things. It’s about being in the right place at the right time, being yourself and loving what you do.

FJ: So what’s next for Giada?

GDL: My new book, Everyday Pasta, just came out, and I’m doing more and more things with the Today Show for NBC. I’m just kind of seeing where it all takes me each day, making new decisions and seeing how it all unfolds. The exciting thing about it is that I’m doing what I think is fun to do and what I’m passionate about.

Wondering what else is cooking with Giada? Check out her website, giadadelaurentiis.com