Giada DeLaurentiis: The Secret Ingredient is Joy

0:00Think about when you're on the go or you're eating and you're stressed out. How does your stomach feel? I don't think it matters if you ate a light meal or a heavy meal. You're probably not going to feel well. If we can be laughing and having fun and enjoying the people that are around while we're eating, we will feel better. That piece of the longevity piece is just as important as the food you're putting on the table.

0:32Mick Hunt:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Make Unplode. And today I have a guest that I'm going to open up to because she has no idea how she has personally changed my life. I'm talking about from Food Network Kitchens to building lifestyle empires. She has redefined what it means to be a modern culinary force. She's a bestselling author, an Emmy Award winner, and a true entrepreneur. Please join me in welcoming the visionary, the authentic, the Jada De Laurentiis. Jada, how are you doing today, Daryl? I'm great. How are you? Thanks for having me. Now, thank you for being here and just thank you for being present and the person that you are.

1:17Mick Hunt:So I'm going to let you know something that you don't know that I'm probably going to get in trouble for and I'll just have to deal with it. Because, you know, Robert Irvine is my best friend, right? Yes. But I didn't start watching Food Network or Robert Irvine until you. Like, you are the person that brought me into the food culture. And it was simple. It was because, one, your presence was amazing. But two, it was like you were storytelling and teaching me personally, like, how to make really cool dishes. And I got to appreciate all the different things that you brought to the table. So, Jada, thank you more than you know.

2:01Well, thank you for watching. I think, honestly, when I started my journey on Food Network, I was incredibly shy. And it took me a long time to get comfortable to tell those stories and just comfortable cooking and talking at the same time. I think I'm not sure that everybody, I mean, maybe now they realize it, but it's difficult to storytell, be comfortable and follow a recipe and make it look easy and not stress if things you know are happening that shouldn't be happening. And, you know, you also have a lot of people watching you that are not really watching you. They're sort of looking at their phones while you're doing your demo and they're reading a magazine and you're just like, who am I talking to?

2:48I'm talking to a black screen. I've got nothing to look at. Like there's a black hole there and there's nothing, nobody behind it. So I think in the beginning days, it was very difficult. So the fact that over the 20 some years that I was doing it, it became impressionable and somehow really connected people is really a gift. I could never have imagined.

3:13Mick Hunt:Well, it totally is you and you totally have a gift. And I'm glad that you said that you make it look easy because, you know, I have all of your cookbooks, right? Like all of them. And the first few times that I tried to make something, I was like, it's not as easy as she made it look on TV. Like there's patience. Like cooking taught me patience. No, no, no, no, no, no. The cookbooks totally make it easy to follow through. I'm talking about when I was watching what you were doing on TV and it was like, let me try to replicate it that way. Which is why we, that's why I did cookbooks, right? Because people kept saying to me, wouldn't it be great to have it written down?

3:51I'm like, why? You can just watch the show and write it down. It's cheaper that way. And people are like, no, no, no. If it's in a book, then there's a photo and we can revert back to it. You can give us little like hints that maybe we missed on the show. So that's why we did the cookbook. So it makes me happy to know that it was helpful.

4:08Mick Hunt:No, totally helpful because trying to follow you on TV, I was like, nah, I can do it, but I can't do it in 30 minutes. I can't do it that way. Well, there's a lot of editing, as we all know well, right? Like, you only see the good stuff. Yep. Jada, again, honored to have you here. And I always ask my guests this first question about there be caught. Right? That thing that's deeper than your why. Like, if I were to ask you what's your why, I'm sure I'm going to get your family, your friends, and giving back. But then when I say, but why are those things important? That sentence usually starts with, well, because, and I care about that moment.

4:48Mick Hunt:And what the world probably doesn't see is all the humanitarian things, the philanthropy that you do and how you give and give and give. And so what's your because for that today? Like, why does Giada continue to do the things that you do? I think that my because is connected to, you know, after the many years of doing what I do, which is cooking on television and putting out cookbooks and understanding what people are looking for. and how they want to be connected to a community. And cooking to me is a community. And I think that over the years, from the actual cooking to the cookbooks, to the restaurants, there's so much noise in the food world with whatever kind of, whether it's products and we're learning new things every day about our food source.

5:54And to cut through that noise and sort of give people direction and have them trust somebody that they're going to help them sort of weed through all of that information has led me into doing what I do on Jodzy with my Italian products and really helping people understand how to use these products, what they should look for even if they're not buying my products, and how to better their lives. And that's really the because. Because I don't think that will ever stop. I think that we will always be curious. We will always want to do better for ourselves and we'll always be evolving. And so I learned so much and I find that it resonates when I share it.

6:42And so I just want to answer and help people through the struggle of all the noise that goes around in the crowded marketplace of all the different marketing that is happening. every single day around us. And I just want to help them feed their families and feel well.

7:00Mick Hunt:And you do amazing at that. And that's, you know, again, right before our call, I was talking to Robert and I was even telling him, I think one of the things I appreciate the most about Jada is this, is that you feel care in everything that you do. Like, I feel that you care. I feel that you're putting others first. And I feel family, right? not just the TV shows, but when you look at what you're doing as an entrepreneur, when you look at the conversations that you have, it's just like you genuinely care so much about others. And to me, that makes you one of the greatest humans that I know. Oh my goodness.

7:46I'm blushing. I think I do care a lot. Yes. I grew up in a family who, I think because I'm an immigrant to this country, and I came here when I was seven with my family from Italy. My family taught me to truly care about the people around me, that if you create that community, that's the community that will get you through any hard time. We need each other. I think we've lost that a little bit with all the social media. I think there's wonderful things that social media has brought us. It's connected us in one way, but also alienated us in others. and I think there is no greater gift we can give each other than to spend time in the kitchen cooking for each other and I think that yes, I do care and I do care as to what I do and how the messaging goes out and how people receive it and I care about feedback and I think all of those things make us better are they exhausting?

8:45yeah, they're exhausting and sometimes I'm like I also need my quiet time where it's just me on my own to sort of reboot. And I think we all do. But yeah, I truly care. I do. Maybe to a fault at times.

9:00Mick Hunt:But I see that because I feel like I'm the same way. And sometimes we care more for others than either we should or sometimes than they do about themselves or the mission that they're trying to push. So I totally get what you're saying there. I want to move to something. I think people can see that. I think people see that. Yeah. Yeah. Wholeheartedly. Yeah. So I want to give you some praise and give you your flowers on what you've taught me personally about food. And again, I'm going to get in trouble because Robert taught me how to make eggs, even though I don't eat eggs. But here's the unplugged truth.

9:39You taught me how to appreciate pasta.

9:44Mick Hunt:Because growing up, for me, I wasn't a huge fan of pasta except spaghetti. So I always associated pasta with spaghetti. Sure. Many people do. So watching Jada and then the first cookbook that I got from you, I got to truly understand what good pasta was like. So I'll tell you the reason I didn't like pasta was because I was cooking it way too long. So I didn't know what I was doing with making it. But then understanding how to, my words, commingle it with other foods and ingredients and understanding the essence of the right oils. Like you open my mind to so much. Like when when did you know that that was a thing for you of how to teach others how to appreciate Italian cuisine, Mediterranean cuisine, but not what we think of here in the States when pasta is spaghetti for them?

10:37Well, I think the way you see pasta is very much how a lot of people for a long time saw pasta. And there's probably still people out there that still see it that way. I grew up cooking and I grew up in an Italian family. And my family imported a lot of the ingredients that we used because in the 70s when I moved here, we didn't have ricotta cheese. We didn't have mascarpone cheese. We didn't have really barely any pastas, no jarred sauces, barely tomatoes, no olive oils. Like all of that stuff didn't exist. I think people don't realize. And that was only what, 50 years ago? So we've come a really long way.

11:23But so we imported everything. I didn't think what I was doing was that unique. Yes, did I see at school that people ate differently than I did? Yeah, but I don't know. I think when you're a kid, you feel like everybody lives the life you live at home, right? Yeah. So as I grew up, I started to realize, oh, I am different. And I knew I was different even at a young age because I ate lunch by myself for a long time when I was very little because my mother would give me chocolate sandwiches or leftover pasta. And the kids were like, you're weird. You're just frigging weird. And we don't want to be around you.

11:58So I did realize it, but I didn't at the same time. it was so much ingrained in my food and in my lifestyle and culture. And so I think that it didn't dawn on me until I started doing some stuff for Food Network and until I started Everyday Italian. And I got feedback that like, this is great. We didn't know this. Tell us more. And I thought, you didn't know that? What do you mean you didn't know that? And I think you don't realize it when you live it every single day. You don't think it's that unique. And so it was the people who watched my shows and the feedback I got that taught me, oh, people don't know this.

12:39And I should repeat it 20 times. I should tell people they should put a ton of salt in their water for their pasta because that's the first step to seasoning it. I should tell them that the pasta should be all dead and how to see, how to test that. Like all these things that I thought if I just say it once, we're done. But in learning to be a good teacher, you realize repetition is the way people learn. You repeat yourself and you repeat yourself and you repeat yourself and eventually it sticks, right? And so it was really feedback. Like I didn't know it until I got feedback from everybody. And I'm sure that you doing your podcast, you get feedback and you realize, oh, I should do that more because people like that or they learned a lot.

13:23I already knew this, but they clearly didn't. So feedback from followers And from people who were foodies Is really how I learned it

13:33Mick Hunt:So speaking of feedback I want to give you even more praise Like this is like me just gushing over Jada right now But Jotsi Yeah You're direct to consumer And for everybody that's watching or listening I have links to Jotsi In the show notes in the descriptions And social just click the button But I love the entrepreneur side of you, but more importantly, the products that you have. This e-commerce brand is so fire. Like, I'm constantly ordering stuff. I shouldn't admit it, but I don't care. I'm admitting it. Why? You can admit it. Yeah, I'm constantly ordering. And I do a lot of cooking, right?

14:16Mick Hunt:Like, I do a lot of gatherings with family and friends. And so everybody's like... That's awesome. Oh, so this new sauce that you got, did you get it from Jossie? And so now they're going on there too, just because you've made it so accessible. And it's amazing products, amazing ingredients. I'd love for you to talk a little bit about what made you want to start that and be that true entrepreneur that was budding inside of you the whole time. yeah i you know um again it's when i was doing my shows one of the feedback that i kept getting was people kept asking me well what brand of olive oil are you using what brand of pasta and you know when you do these kind of food shows you're not allowed to show any brands and you're really not allowed to talk about brands because everything is white labeled right for marketing advertising purposes.

15:06And so I realized that people really wanted some guidance. They wanted to understand. So if I'm going to spend the time and energy to make your dishes, I really want to use the right, the products that are going to deliver on that promise that you made when you made that dish. And so that's really what led into Jodzy. And, you know, I realized that a lot of the products were products that I had been using from my parents, that I had learned from my parents, that we either imported or now you could find. And a lot of them are purveyors in Italy that were small farmers that were producing this stuff.

15:39And so I just decided, you know, during COVID, I'm like, people can't get stuff. I'm gonna start importing stuff and making kits with the products that I love, that I use, and put them along with my recipe and then ship them to people. And that's how Jodzy really started. I mean, it started earlier as a blog, but this is when the marketplace really started. And what I started to realize is the things that people loved were the olive oils, the tomatoes, the pastas.

16:06Mick Hunt:Okay, here's something my younger self would have benefited from. Most of us picked a bank at 16 and never looked back. And it's been nickel and diming us ever since. That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like those traditional old banks that gatekeep the perks and pile on fees unless you carry some massive balance. Chime is the most rewarding, fee-free banking. No overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. Here's where it stacks up. You get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category you choose, like gas or groceries. You build credit through regular, everyday spending with no credit check.

16:43Mick Hunt:Your savings grow at a rate nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, Spot Me spots you up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash mick. That is chime.com slash mick. It only takes a few minutes to sign up, and Mick Unplugged listeners can earn up to an extra$350. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details. And so I started to really hone in on those products and really make it streamlined.

17:27And what I realized as well is that gluten-free pasta was becoming the home run. And that was the sort of, yeah, that was sort of the front runner. And Mick, I'm not a gluten-free. I'm not gluten-free. I have gluten-free people in my family. I do, but I am not. So I was really surprised to see it was gluten-free pasta. And again, that only came about because so many of my followers were like, we want a great gluten-free pasta, one that holds up to the sauce, one that is great the next day, where people aren't coming over and saying, oh, yeah, that's gluten-free, where they can't tell. So I'm not making multiple dishes to make everybody happy in my family or in a crowd of friends when I'm having a dinner party.

18:09And so that's, I worked really hard to kind of source that. And that became what became, you know, the number one product on the site. And now, you know, we've launched into retail and the retailers are craving this gluten-free pasta, where I think there might be a hole in the marketplace as to, yes, there are other gluten-free pastas. but they don't deliver on that promise that it's going to be, you're not going to be able to tell the difference between the two. And that it's clean without, you know, fillers and gums, which a lot of gluten-free pastas have, sadly. And from Italy. And bronze cut.

18:46And slow dried. And all of the other things that matter in the end of the day to make a great pasta that now people have, you know, learned about. Yeah.

18:56Mick Hunt:So I almost got into an argument with family that didn't believe that it was gluten-free because, again, I don't, I'm not gluten-free by any stretch of imagination either. But when I made it for myself first, I was like, this is freaking amazing because I've had other gluten-free pasta and it was like, okay, it's okay. It'll do if I have to. Right? Correct. That's me. but that and then the nickel free uh tomato sauce like people were arguing with me that this is not gluten free I had to go get boxes and show and pull up your website like I promise you this is it and everybody was so blown away that now whenever I have a get to I could be on the smoker smoking something and people want your gluten-free pasta like okay great we'll have burgers and pasta.

19:49Mick Hunt:Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with it. But yeah, I think that it's really blown me away. And I've eaten a lot more gluten-free pasta in the last couple years, all having to do with the fact that it is just so great when you cook it and you just cannot tell the difference. I would also say that my... Do you know what passata is? Have you tried the passata if you haven't i should send you some yeah the passata is also um and the cherry tomatoes those are also some of my favorite products just because it's again just tomatoes without sugar a lot of passatas in this country have a lot of things added to them they're naturally sweet they have no skin and no seeds which is something my daughter really likes because i found that here in america people like smooth sauces where in italy we like chunkier sauces we like the texture of the tomato broken up and the skin and the seeds like but here they don't so the passata is like drinkable it's that good it really isn't so here's what i'm going to do i usually do this at the end of the show but i want to do it right now because we're talking about it because i know you are a giver i'm going to be a giver too because i support you so much here's what i'm going to do the next 20 people that message me on let's just choose instagram because i know that you're on Instagram too.

21:14Mick Hunt:The next 20 people that message me, Jotsi, and I'll have the links there. I'm going to give like a hundred dollar gift card so that they can go order some stuff because I want to create so many raving fans of what you do. So I'm essentially giving out$2 ,000 that's going to go straight to Jotsi because you're going to love the products. Like I promise you, the gluten-free, the oils, the pastas. Like, I was never a Regatoni fan, but I love yours. I love it. I didn't like the thickness before, but I just, I love it. I know, I get it. I get it. The shapes though, I think, are what also make us unique.

21:56Do we have spaghetti? Yes, we do. We have a lot of, you know, the regular shapes, but to me, the uniqueness are the shapes that I grew up with. The Nodi Marini, the mezzirigatoni, the casarece, the orechiette, the steline. Like those are the ones that to me shine. They just do. And they make eating pasta regularly much more interesting.

22:20Mick Hunt:Totally agree. So again, if you're listening, if you're watching, message me directly on Instagram, Giazzi. I'm going to give you$100 to go spend. And then I want you to tell Giazzi what you love. Like what did you purchase? What did you love? And how are you doing? to like film yourself. Like we're going to like, just trust me. I love it. All I can tell you is trust me. I love it. I love it. Thank you. Absolutely. So I'm going to move to the segment I call hot takes. Okay, here's something my younger self would have benefited from. Most of us picked a bank at 16 and never looked back. And it's been nickel and diming us ever since.

22:58Mick Hunt:That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like those traditional old banks that gatekeep the perks and pile on fees unless you carry some massive balance chime is the most rewarding fee-free banking no overdraft fees no monthly fees no minimum balance fees here's where it stacks up you get five percent cash back on your chime card in a category you choose like gas or groceries you build credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check your savings grow at a rate nine times the national average and if you're ever in a pinch spot me spots you up to$200 fee free join the millions who are already banking fee free with America's number one choice for banking head to chime.com slash mick that is chime.com slash mick it only takes a few minutes to sign up and mick unplugged listeners can earn up to an extra$350 chime is a fintech not a bank banking services and chime card provided by chimes bank partners.

23:56Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details.

24:02Mick Hunt:Because you gave me the hottest take ever when you told me you don't like cauliflower rice. I don't. And the funny thing is I like cauliflower, but I don't like cauliflower rice. I also don't like red peppers or green peppers for that matter. And I don't like coconut either. So coconut cakes, anything with coconut, I don't touch. I'm allergic. If you ever want to kill me, give me coconut flakes. I can drink coconut water, but the flakes... How can you drink coconut water? Because it's the actual flakes. I'm allergic to the actual... Whatever enzyme is in the flake, the protein of the flake, I can't process it.

24:47Mick Hunt:My throat closes up. But coconut water, totally fine. Weird. Okay. Okay, weird. Okay. Fair enough. Yeah, I'm not allergic to any of those things, so I don't think you'd kill me, but I would not feel well. I'll just say that. But yeah, cauliflower rice, it's not that I won't feel. I don't know. There's something weird texture-wise with cauliflower rice. I just, I've never been, it's not my thing. Is it yours? No, not at all. I just got into doing like cauliflower crust on pizza. You can hate me for that too, but that's all I got into. I should just not eat pizza, to be honest. But I guess that's like saying, you know, if you're not gluten-free, you might as well not eat gluten-free pasta.