Giada De Laurentiis: Behind The Fame And Success

Giada De Laurentiis is well-known for the delicious home-cooked food that she whips up on screen. In the beginning, she was torn between pursuing the food-related career or not, so she ended up getting a degree in social anthropology. Eventually, she had decided to pursue a career in food and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. As she suspected, food was indeed a passion she could simply not let go of, so when she got back to California she became a chef. However, the celebrity chef nearly lost her promising career, among other things, when some very revealing pictures of the almost perfect relationship she had come out.

These days, a lot of cooking shows have sprouted on television and many hopeful chefs dream of becoming the next world-famous chef. Because of this trend, it has become much harder to choose which chefs and recipes to follow. With so many different options and recipes, it can be overwhelming for any home cook to try and find the right one for them. On the flip side, the variety is quite helpful as there are more ways to cook the same foods and mix things up as well as try new and exciting things. It really is up to the audience how they choose to use the abundance of information there is on the cooking shows. From basic and easy-to-follow recipes to exquisite gourmet recipes you’d only glimpse at a high-end restaurant, everyone has the right show for their needs or wants. So anyone with any level of expertise in cooking can discover new recipes and advance their cooking skills with time. All this from the comfort of their own home. For instance, Giada De Laurentiis’ Italian heritage greatly influences her cuisine, resulting in her creating tasty homemade meals anyone can recreate for themselves. On top of her cooking show, she has published multiple cookbooks that can also aid people with their food preparation at any time.

Giada De Laurentiis seems to be an exception rather than the rule. This Italian-American chef can come up with food perfectly unlike anyone else, and against all odds, she became a worldwide-known chef. Quite contrary to her cooking prowess, her personal life appears to be less than perfect. She has hidden some things that eventually shook every aspect of her life.

An Obsession With Food

Like many people, Giada De Laurentiis definitely has a love for food – she might even have an obsession with it. However, she thought a cooking career wouldn’t work, so she chose to get a degree in social anthropology instead and went to the University of California when her family relocated to Los Angeles. She graduated from university in the mid-90s. However, she had always thought that cooking was in her destiny and she would go back to it eventually.

Studying In Paris

Even during the time when Giada was still at university studying social anthropology, she always felt her life was missing something. When she finally couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling, she applied for Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, the cooking school which is extremely prestigious. With the goal of becoming a pastry chef someday, she studied under the most skilled chefs and bid her time acquiring more knowledge about cooking.

Going Back Home

After she spent an amazing couple of years in Paris and finished studying at Le Cordon Bleu, really high tuition fee notwithstanding, the would-be chef went back to the United States. Giada then found a job cooking professionally in Los Angeles just a couple of months after she returned to America. She even succeeded in landing a job at the infamous restaurant Spago and working for Wolfgang Puck. A couple of years later, Giada pursued a career in magazine food styling and became a stylist. This decision not only changed her career but her whole life as well.

Leading Food Stylist

By 2002, Giada De Laurentiis had become one of the leading food stylists in the Food & Wine Magazine world. Word about the amazing work she does circulated and a top executive at The Food Network got wind of it. Actually, the network had been trying to find an Italian-born chef in order to bring some Italian flair to their channel. Even though they were not sure about Giada’s on-screen presence, the network eventually offered Giada her very own cooking show called Everyday Italian!

Countless Shows

In addition to her fame from Everyday Italian – her debut show – Giada De Laurentiis has also proven that she is not just a one trick pony. Her fame has reached new heights because of her impressive career. She has been involved in countless TV shows such as Handy Manny, Giada’s Weekend Tutorials, Pixie Hollow Bake Off and Behind the Bash. Due to all the previously mentioned shows, Giada has become even more well-known as a TV personality in the food and cooking world in general. Not bad.

Not That Great A Loser

In the year 2006, Giada and Bobby Flay, her friend, joined a cook-off on TV called Iron Chef. They went against another duo, chefs Rachel Ray and Mario Batali. However, Giada and Bobby weren’t able to beat their opponents. Even though Giada knew that their chances of winning were quite slim, her competitive streak gained complete control over her. To this day, she still says that the loss is among the things which she regrets very much. Amazing! We didn’t really know losing was that level of bad, but apparently, it is for Giada.

A Bright Personality

Giada’s fans tune in to her shows in order to see her amazing skills in cooking, but another reason they do so is due to her bright personality. She is actually rarely seen not sporting her trademark smile! Unfortunately, this happy-go-lucky attitude seems to have been hiding deeper feelings which she didn’t reveal to the world. Irene Wong explained that Giada’s smile conceals the pains, aches, and burns which she gets during the filming of her cooking shows. Therefore, Giada smiles really wide to make her cheeks hurt in order to hide her hurt. This is amazingly logical.

New York Times Best Seller

Thankfully, Giada De Laurentiis didn’t restrict herself to sharing knowledge only on a television cooking show. Similar to others who were also on The Food Network, Giada has likewise shared her know-how of Italian food cooking in her cookery books. Since 2005 alone, she has incredibly published eight books already! Isn’t that amazing? If it isn’t, what else do you call it? Many of her books are about Italian cooking style and her Italian roots. Two of Giada’s books even ranked first at one point on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Award-Winning TV Personality

However, Giada’s gifts don’t end there. Aside from winning awards for her cookery books, has also received awards for her stint as a TV personality. That’s right! She got a nomination for Best Television Host at the Gracie Awards and another in the category Outstanding Lifestyle Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Do you know what the best part is? Giada won both! She was also inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame, another thing she could add under her belt.

Her Own Restaurant

Despite the fact that she is already quite a popular TV personality, it seems that Giada also wanted to her followers to experience her food themselves. In 2014, this amazing chef made a way to give the viewers a chance to personally get to know the food she makes. She opened her own restaurant at the Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas. The classic restaurant is overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio and it gives diners the opportunity to enjoy a meal like ‘GIADA’. Who’s up for a meal at Giada’s?

One Royal Event

Giada De Laurentiis has proven her capabilities in the kitchen many times over, making her the Queen of Italian food. However, she has likewise demonstrated her ability to whip up a meal that is fit for royalty. Really! She did that at a momentous event and viewers got the chance to watch the behind-the-scenes preparations Giada made. Everyone got to see how Giada catered the food for the event in a once-in-a-lifetime TV special on her cooking show. The event was for Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. How’s that for a royal event?

Keeping Things Healthy

We all know that Italian food isn’t exactly the healthiest out there, but we totally don’t mind due to our LOVE for pasta and cheese. Therefore, most audiences wonder how the true Queen of Italian meals stays in shape. Well, apparently, Giada always tries to cook healthy off-screen. She also walks on the beach and does yoga regularly, in her spare time. She does breathing exercises as well. That’s great to hear.

Going Small

As you may already know, staying in shape involves more than just regular exercise. It seems keeps a healthy and balanced food regimen. This is where you might say Giada de Laurentiis is quite a contradiction, and we can’t blame you considering the kind of show she is on. Anyway, she may be seen taking a bite of what she had made for effect, but you won’t really see her consuming the whole thing when she’s done cooking. When she is filming her shows, she just eats vegetables and has small bites of dark chocolate.

Life Lessons From Nonno

Because she is a famous television personality, Giada has experienced first-hand how people can be affected by the pressure from fame. However, her ‘nonno’ or her grandfather has taught her some really valuable lessons. The famous Italian movie producer Dino De Laurentiis was actually the person who first brought Giada, his granddaughter, into the culinary world. She learned about business as a whole from him. In addition, when she was at an early age, she learned to cook and she even helped out in her grandfather’s Italian restaurant back when she was young. In the aforementioned kitchen, Giada used to take the lead often.

Ruffling A Few Feathers

Mostly, the world loves and adores Giada De Laurentiis but in recent years, the popular chef appeared to have ruffled some feathers. In May 2017, The Ellen Show invited her as a guest at the same time as Nicole Kidman. There Giada made fun of her fellow guest’s cooking skills with not just the audience watching, but the whole world too. Giada, just so you know, that wasn’t cool.

Right On Target

Most chefs on TV form their own brand of kitchen equipment and it has become somewhat of a rite of passage. Giada, however, turned down the offers of major brands and huge companies for quite some time before changing her mind and finally saying yes. One of the biggest retailers in America made her an offer she just couldn’t refuse. She was given the chance to have her own kitchen equipment line in her name in 2010. The aforementioned kitchen supplies are still found on sale at Target stores across America.

Almost A Disaster

Having a line of cooking equipment in Target is a feat for a chef, but Giada’s nearly became a disaster. Even though her products had been selling really well, there were some complains being heaped against the lasagna dish in Giada’s cookware line. There were reports that Target needed to recall nearly 150,000 of the aforementioned product because of several complaints. Buyers said the dish had been cracking and breaking while they were inside the oven during cooking, which caused many injuries! It’s a good thing Giada quickly moved on to another project.

The Lovely Couple

At the start of her career, there was no room for romance in the life of Giada De Laurentiis since she was very busy with work. However, everything changed during the early 2000s. It was when she met the famous designer Todd Thompson. The lovely couple made an announcement that they exchanged vows in 2003. The pair appeared to lead a life filled with health and happiness until the year 2014. Giada announced that she and Todd were breaking up. Apparently, things became a bit too much for the well-known chef.

Her Lovely Daughter

Even though their marriage might have ended abruptly, it did give the pair a lovely little girl. That’s right! The duo welcomed their daughter into the world back in 2008. She was named Jade Marie De Laurentiis-Thompson, after Giada, whose name means Jade in English. Giada has reportedly said that her daughter, Jade, is among the most important people in her life. However, the celebrity chef also revealed that her career is always going to come first – her first love – that is the reason she is fine with having only one child.

Her Own Brand Of Knives

In spite of the fact that Giada already has her own cookware brand, it apparently wasn’t enough since she has moved on to a different business venture. She has created her own brand of kitchen knives. Because why not? People who take cooking seriously were the biggest consideration when her kitchen knives were designed, unlike other generic brands out there. This is why the knives fetch some serious money. As a matter of fact, one knife sold for $75 online!

Not That Comfortable On Camera

When Giada is on TV, you would think she’s quite comfortable on camera – like her family. However, contrary to what many people think, being on camera is not really natural for Giada. It wasn’t also her dream to be a TV personality. Because of this and the criticisms that she has gotten over the years, Giada has become even shyer on camera as time went by.

Hosting A New Show

Even though Everyday Italian has made Giada quite popular, she has also had stints in a lot of productions and on major TV shows outside of the cooking shows she hosts. Giada even had a chance to become the host of the new show Behind the Bash, which gives us a behind-the-scenes look on the real-life action that happens backstage in many awards ceremonies such as the Grammy Awards. However, the show was eventually taken off the air in spite of its popularity among TV audiences.

Trying Her Hand In Voice Acting

Ever since her debut back in the 2000s, the career of Giada de Laurentiis has soared even higher. She has not only become famous in the field of cooking but she also explored new frontiers such as voice acting! So, if she’s not cooking on her TV show on The Food Network, she’s probably in a booth recording her lines for the animated series Handy Manny. It stars Giada as the pizza chef Paulette. Now you know chefs can cook in 2D as well as in real life.

Doesn’t Eat What She Makes

In spite of already knowing that Giada just eats salads on the set, apparently, there is a much deeper reason why she is unable to eat the things she cooks. A source that closely works with Giada said that the celebrity chef has a dump bucket next to her so that she is able to spit out the things she is pretending to eat. Of course, she spits it out between takes. A show representative has confirmed this. However, let’s just say that she is making so much food to that she can’t eat everything.

Rumors Of Her Cheating

When Giada and Todd were still married, they were actually quite well-known as a couple. Unfortunately, infidelity rumors followed their union and it was reported that Giada had been cheating on Todd. There were rumors that she was romantically involved with the famous singer John Mayer. As if that wasn’t enough, she had also been rumored to have had similar relationships with Bobby Flay and Matt Lauer. Giada denied all the said rumors and immediately shut them down the minute they became public.

A New Man In Her Life

In spite of the chaos the infidelity rumors and divorce brought about in her life, Giada seems to have gotten a new man: Shane Farley. He is a television producer, but with some digging, fans have found out that Giada and Shane had previously worked on the same TV programs together. The pair only went public with their relationship after Giada’s divorce had been finalized. However, some people have speculated that the two may have dated secretly even before they announced their relationship to everyone. Who knows?

Infidelity Rumors Continue

Her fidelity this time to her new husband has been questioned again. There were rumors that Giada had gone on a dinner date that was quite intimate with actor and model Kevin Navayne. There’s smoke without fire, right? Well, according to the source, Giada was actually seen whispering in her date’s ear. The rumors didn’t really amount to anything, thus the absence of confirmation about it. In addition, Giada and Shane are still together. Well, isn’t that interesting?

Stating Her Limits

Since Giada has been working in showbiz for a really long time now, she has seemed to become more comfortable being in the spotlight as well as interacting with the fans. However, she literally stated what her limits are with regards to her fans interaction with her. Despite the fact that she enjoys meeting new individuals and taking photos, she hopes that they wouldn’t touch and approach her without permission since this experience is rather intimidating for her. She has no problems if they only look, but people shouldn’t touch.

Tiny Chef

It is quite incredible how hard it is to be able to have a celebrity’s true image especially if it is someone who we have seen for a really long time on television. Because we see Giada behind the kitchen counter most of the time, it’s rather difficult to see how she is really like. Because of this, many fans were actually rather surprised when they see that the popular chef is much shorter than they think. In real life, Giada just stands at 5 feet and 1 inch. This becomes really obvious when she is standing next to other celebrities who are taller than her.

A Tight Family

Similar to other Italians, Giada De Laurentiis is really close to her parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, and aunties. This is why the popular chef was absolutely saddened by the death of her brother who was diagnosed with melanoma. At that time, Dino De Laurentiis Jr. was only beginning his career as a Hollywood director. Since then, Giada’s advocated for identifying melanoma warning signs and creating awareness about the disease in general.

Fine With One

Wherever Giada goes or whoever she is speaking with, she is naturally enthusiastic about Jade, her only daughter. However, when someone asks her about having more kids, she confidently answers she is sticking with only one. Now, look at things closely, you will realize that it makes sense since she was already 37 years old when she had her daughter. She is in her late forties now, but then again, there are still women her age who still get pregnant. Just saying…

Passing It To The Next Generation

Those who have some knowledge of Italian tradition are probably aware that most Italian families pass names down a generation and needless to say, the De Laurentiis are not an exception. Their film producer grandfather passed on his name to Giada’s late brother Dino. Giada also passed her name down when she gave her name’s English version to her daughter. This shows how Giada stays true to her Italian roots at the same time including some nice American twist.

She Is A Brand

Giada completely understands her career – that she’s not only a chef, but she is also a brand. Thus, she makes it a point to put on a performance that is at the level her fans expect to see. She is aware that she’s a cook and a media personality. She even told the magazine Travel + Leisure, “They expect the show first and the food second, where from other chefs they expect food first, show second.” She added, “I have to keep that in mind whenever I’m doing things, and to make sure that it really has my signature on it — that it’s happy and it’s warm and it’s inviting.”

The Restaurant She Likes Most

Famous people have restaurants that are their favorite, even well-known chefs! Giada is no exception, as she says Milos is her favorite restaurant located in New York. The restaurant mainly serving Greek cuisine not the sole reason she loves it. She explained, “I love the fish display. I feel like it teaches people about fish and how to pick it and what to look for. And their food is extremely simple. It is not gussied-up Greek food, and, at the end of the day, that’s all anybody wants.”

Best Pasta Ever

It is not a surprise to know that Giada’s other favorite restaurant can be found in Rome, where she was born. She explained, “Rome is one of my favorite food cities. It is also where I was born. And Al Moro is a restaurant in the center of Rome [that] my family has been going to for eons. And they make an incredible pasta amatriciana. It’s a classic Roman dish; so is carbonara. But the amatriciana has pancetta or guanciale and tomatoes and onions and it’s all stewed together, basically, and it’s probably the best pasta ever.”

Start With Valentines

If you want to be like Giada in the kitchen, start with the Valentine meal which she typically prepares – ravioli in the shape of a heart! She fills these goodies with ricotta cheese, then serves it with tomato Pomodoro sauce. She was quoted to have said, “I don’t know why [but when] I think of Valentine’s and romance, I think of ravioli. To me, they’re light, but they’re sexy and very romantic.” To make it simple and easy, she doesn’t make the pasta from scratch! What she does instead is use wonton wrappers. Really smart!

A Different Direction From Fine Dining

Most of the food Giada cooks, or even the food in The Cromwell, her restaurant, is specifically for fine dining. These days, however, she has been trying to come up with ways to make contact with the masses in the new projects she is undertaking. She mentioned, “As much as fine dining is great, there’s a whole sector of people who are looking for a different experience, and not necessarily just a buffet.” Then she added, “I know buffets are still big, but this is a taste of something a little more elevated but at a much lower price point. I think that’s kinda needed here.”

A ‘Fast-Casual’ Atmosphere

So what is it? Pronto! This is what Giada refers to a ‘fast-casual’ atmosphere. Her inspiration came from Italy – her birthplace – particularly the cafes in the country. It allows acquaintances and friends to meet and chat in a period of time that is shorter, rather than getting the full gourmet experience which is as long as a three-course meal. Her tagline is quite easy to understand as well as pretty straightforward. She even has subtitles for it, “a quick bite of the good life.” We definitely like how things sound!

Pronto In Vegas

Where should this fast-paced restaurant be set up? Of course in the city which never sleeps. Pronto is in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The main goal of the place is to reintroduce in the city the simplicity of food. Giada explained, “Vegas is known for over-the-top indulgent dishes, right? And I had these people yesterday say to me: ‘You know, it’s hard to find the basics.’ Oatmeal, yogurt — the basics of basics. Because we’re the land of indulgence here, we forget the simplicity.”

Inspiration And Muse

Giada said that her daughter, Jade, was one of the sources of her inspiration when she was still planning Pronto. Jade is still experiencing the world of food with fresh eyes and has become a muse for Giada. The celebrity chef once said during an interview, “Children don’t have a lot of patience for things that are too chaotic or complicated, or where they have to spend too much time figuring things out. So she’s been a big guide in all this. She likes simple and she likes fast, but then again lots of flavor.”

Unlike Her Other Projects

It is much more casual than what people might have expected from her before Pronto. Everything is different, from the prices to the time it takes to prepare the meals. A lot of the options on the menu cost less than ten dollars and the maximum price for meals is eighteen bucks. Generally, food is served within four minutes – quite impressive considering the food still tastes delicious and pretty elaborate despite the very short preparation time

GDL In Baltimore

But wait, there’s more. Giada doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon as she is set to expand the restaurant empire she has built in Baltimore. A second GDL is opening at the Horseshoe Casino there. In Giana, Las Vegas, the GDL gives customers a fine dining experience. However, the one opening in Baltimore will have another vibe since Giada understands that people in Vegas and Baltimore are not really the same. Thus, the restaurants will have different sets of the menu.

Not The Same Community

When she recounted part of what happened when they were still in the planning for the restaurant, she said, “At the beginning of this discussion everybody just said to me, ‘Let’s just rebuild Giada Vegas but in Baltimore,’ And I thought, ‘No, it doesn’t work here.’ It’s not the same community, which is why I had to spend time here to understand it.” Different food communities and the foodies in the area have expressed their excitement for what Giada has planned for them. For sure, it won’t be a disappointment. Giada seems to be on a roll lately.

Not A Piece Of Cake

It was definitely not an easy task. Giada has to keep her signature style, that is, have a lighter twist on Italian cuisine but still give the community in Baltimore what they love about food. The food also has to remind people of California. She says the menu will mainly consist of seafood. She said, “Seafood is such a big part of who Baltimore is, and so we will incorporate a lot of that, of course, with a little bit of an Italian spin to it.”

The Wine List

Of course, Giada didn’t forget the wine. In fact, she has already thought of what should make the wine list. “What I’m going to do is just pull my favorites from different areas and make sure they’re priced really well, and that will sort of create it.” What’s most important is that she would like to know what guests think and from there, work on improving to get what would work and not work for the area. “This isn’t a one-way street. I’m not going to be eating at the restaurant every night — the folks in Baltimore will be, so if I don’t listen to them, then I might as well just forget doing this.”

Trying A New Concept

This new venture has Giada’s personality written all over it. Giada is really confident that she’ll eventually win the people of Baltimore over, thus explaining why she took the risk of picking a place that is not really a holiday destination. Giada said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to try a new concept. When I’m incredibly fearful of something is when I have to jump off the ledge and try it because otherwise, that fear stops you from ever moving forward.”

Grabbing The Chance

Giada has grown her brand in a clever way. She merged her channels to be able to reach many more people. For example, if you go inside Pronto, her new restaurant in Las Vegas, you will see and be able to buy other items such as her cookbooks, some takeaway desserts and a bunch of other things. This is one great way to do some marketing and to remind people that they aren’t just getting a wonderful dining experience, but also a brand, just like the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and others.

Italian Gelato

We must not forget one of the really common Italian desserts that will surely make it to Pronto’s menu, and maybe the other ventures Giada chooses to get involved in – Gelato! Italian restaurants are not complete without this wonderfully creamy icy goodness! However, Pronto is serving it a bit differently. It will be in a bar that is separate and where people can have it right in the restaurant or for takeaway to eat it somewhere else. Where do we sign up?

A Popular Leo

Whether you are a believer of horoscopes or not, Giada’s horoscope is interestingly spot on. Similar to most Leos, she’s extremely career-oriented as well as highly-motivated to excel in her profession. Even though she was rather shy on camera, she has still managed to make her career thrive when the red light is on. In addition, Leos are well-known for being blunt, and obviously, Giada hasn’t had any problems with shutting down the infidelity rumors about her…