#WCW hardcore!
There’s something you should know. And that something is this: it simply does not – I repeat, does NOT – get much cooler than Gail Simmons! And I’ve been a fan of the Canadian culinary expert and permanent Top Chef judge for years now. So when I finally got to grab lunch with her in NYC a couple of months ago, I was thrilled! Little did I know that my foodie crush and I had so much in common! As soon as we sat down, we reminisced and bonded over our food experiences, the Toronto neighborhoods we grew up in (Go Canada!), the dance schools we went to (hey Roland and Romaine!), the cooking schools we studied at and the camps where we spent our childhood summers-WALDEN!
Gail has a deep love for exploring and sharing new foods with the people around her, motivating and inspiring them to do the same. She’s easily one of the kindest people in the biz, so I’m SUPER excited to feature her for my blog’s first #WCW.
Gail, you’re just the best.
Here are 18 facts you didn’t know about one of our favorite foodie babes.
1- My favorite midnight snack is spicy chicken wings.
2- I once did a competitive gymnastics routine to “Rhythm of the Night” — while wearing a spandex unitard. It was special.
3- I’ve eaten fried larvae. And cod sperm. Not together.
4- My favorite food memory from growing up is making “magic soup.” My mom would let me into her spice cupboard and hand me a big bowl and wooden spoon. I would sprinkle, drizzle, stir and mix for hours. The result was never actually edible, but it was so much fun to create!
5- My favorite movies are “Back to the Future” (parts I & II only).
6- Once during shooting, I fell asleep at the Judges’ Table. It was 6:00 am and we had been shooting for hours. On a short lighting break, I put my head down and was out cold for 20 minutes. The crew took pictures and never let me forget it.
7- The first thing I eat in the morning is usually whatever my daughter eats: avocado toast, eggs with veggies and cheese, banana pancakes, oatmeal with berries, yogurt with muesli and coconut flakes, [etc.] We love breakfast!
8- My ultimate hangover cure is a fried egg sandwich with American cheese, tomato, avocado, pickles, hot sauce. Coffee. Repeat.
9- I tap dance. Seriously. Took lessons for over 10 years.
10- My guilty pleasure is salt & vinegar chips. (Although I do not eat them that often, so don’t have too much guilt when I do!)
11- I’m hooked on Game of Thrones, Homeland, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Quantum Leap.
12- If I could eat only one food for the rest of my life, it would be Maple Syrup IV.
13- My go-to karaoke song is “Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News.
14- I love the smells of fresh-baked bread, figs and my daughter
after a bath.
15- My death row meal would be pasta with sea urchin and chilies, grilled rare porterhouse steak and lots and LOTS of butterscotch pudding.
16- My spirit animal is an orangutan
17- I’m newly obsessed with sumac. Put it on everything.
18- My favorite way to spend the day in NYC….Breakfast at Russ & Daughters. Walk across town through LES to Soho, to West Village, stopping to eat and shop along the way. End at Highline and walk it all the way up, gallery hopping and sightseeing, lunch at Chelsea Market. Afternoon at Natural History Museum. Or maybe the Bronx Zoo! Dinner and cocktails at Red Rooster Harlem!
By- Eden and Renny Grinshpan
