Surprising Foods That Celebrity Chefs Admit They Can’t Stand Or Won’t Include In Recipes
It's not just your toddler who refuses to eat certain foods. Even the top Food Network and celebrity chefs can be a little picky sometimes. These culinary pros might be a whiz in the kitchen, but it doesn't mean they love every item in the pantry. You might have thought a professional chef will eat any food, but some of them hate the most simple (and delicious) items.
Katie Lee Can't Do Wasabi
The former host of Top Chef is a spicy food lover. She's never had any aversion to traditional South American and East Asian spices, but Lee admits that she just can't handle wasabi. While many of us can't handle the heat of wasabi, Lee can't eat it because she purely "detests" the flavor.
Lee rarely has to use wasabi in her cooking though, since she focuses on Italian cuisine and beachside bites.
Giada De Laurentiis Doesn't Go Nuts For Coconut
The Italian chef might love the sun, but you'll never catch her sipping on a piña colada because she despises the taste of coconut. De Laurentiis told People magazine that in her long career as a chef she's only ever created a coconut-based recipe once.
The Food Network Star judge is also like Duff Goldman and hates bell peppers, the green ones in particular. De Laurentiis has been clear that you won't find any green peppers in her food.
Duff Goldman Can't Stand Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are a staple for many households when it comes to sandwiches and stir-fry, but one of the top pastry chefs in the world absolutely hates them. In a Tweet, Duff Goldman was bold enough to say that "Bell peppers ruin everything they touch. Everything. Ruined. Everything."
Apparently, there isn't a single thing that Goldman will allow bell peppers on. He won't even eat them if they're caramelized with onions on a delicious Philly cheesesteak.
No Mayo For Rachael Ray
Mayonnaise is the #1 condiment in America. We spent nearly $2 billion on it annually, but one person who definitely won't be buying any Hellmann's is Rachael Ray. It's not that the celebrity chef hates the condiment, it's that she hates the shelf-stable ones.
Ray is totally fine making her own aioli but store-bought mayo "sitting on a hot shelf for months and months" makes her "want to retch." Ray's personal favorite is to make Aquafaba, which is a chickpea-based dressing.
Ree Drummond Has Never Eaten A Whole Banana
Yep, you read that correctly. The Pioneer Woman has never actually eaten a full banana. The blogger-turned-Food Network star has never hidden her hatred of bananas and blames it on genetics. According to Drummond, her father and brother also can't stomach bananas.
Drummond's own hate of bananas doesn't stop her from giving the people what they want though. You can still find recipes that include bananas on her website- including delicious banana bread.
Guy Fieri Loves Chicken But Hates Eggs
Fans of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives know that Guy Fieri will eat just about anything, but if you put a plate with eggs in front of him, he'll get noticeably queasy. The mayor of Falvortown explained in an interview that one hard-boiled egg as a kid ruined it for him.
The yolk was chalky and left him gagging as he tried to finish it. Since then, he's had an aversion to eating a plain egg. Don't worry, Fieri still adds eggs to his cooking like other normal chefs.
Bobby Flay Hates Durian
If you're asking yourself "what's durian" then don't worry, you're not alone. The one food that chef Bobby Flay can't stand is a fruit that no normal person has even heard of. Durian is a spiky, green fruit from southeast Asia that apparently has quite the strong, unpleasant smell.
Flay hates it so much that he doesn't even like to have it stocked in his pantry. Considering the fact most people have never even seen one in person, we'll take his word for it.
Guess What, Ina Garten Hates Cilantro Too
The world's most controversial herb has even forced celebrity chefs to take a side. Ina Garten admitted to People magazine that she's Team Anti-Cilantro. Like many people around the world, Garten says she "just can't stand it."
The debate around cilantro exists because part of the population is genetically predisposed to hate the taste. If you happen to carry to OR26A gene, then cilantro tastes a lot like metallic soap. If you're one of the lucky ones who doesn't have that gene, it's the perfect bitter herb to spice up some tacos.
Martha Stewart Will Eat Anything But Won't Cook With Truffle Oil
One of the most infamous celebrity chefs, Martha Stewart, insists there isn't a dish she won't try. Stewart admits that she just loves food so much so she is "always trying new things." That being said, there is one ingredient she won't cook with: truffle oil.
While many chefs hate truffle oil for its overwhelming taste, Stewart dislikes using it because it's not actually made from truffles and is really just a bunch of chemicals.
Gordon Ramsay Hates Pineapple Pizza
Another hot food debate has finally been settled by a celebrity chef. While the internet is still constantly debating whether pineapple should be on pizza, Gordon Ramsay has given us a definitive answer. In true Ramsay style, he said it with class.
On The Nightly Show, Ramsay took a stand and said, "You don't put pineapple on pizza." So shall it was written, so shall it be done. Ramsay is officially Team No Pineapple.
Chrissy Teigen Isn't On The Hummus Train
Chrissy Teigen has shared a lot of strong opinions when it comes to food (like how she would prefer a second helping of potatoes over dessert) but her opinion on hummus almost broke the internet. Teigen once tweeted that she thinks hummus is "the most overrated snack-category food alive."
She didn't stop there. Teigen went so far as to call the delicious chickpea dip a "flavorless paste." The model-turned-chef says that people just pretend to like it because they like pita chips.
Ayesha Curry Refuses To Cook With Foie Gras
Basketball fans know her as the wife of Golden State Warrior Steph Curry, but Ayesha has made her own fame as a cook. The growing restauranteur is anti-foie gras, but not for the reason you think. While most chefs protest the way it's made (force-feeding ducks by shoving tubes down their throats), Ayesha just hates the texture.
The mother of three told People magazine that she's "had it so many ways" and just could never fall in love with it.
You Won't Find Frozen Pizza In Ted Allen's Fridge
The host of Chopped and former food expert for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy loves pizza, but refuses to buy the frozen kind. Ted Allen told TIME magazine that "People should not eat frozen pizza. Ever. It's terrible."
His reasoning is that frozen pizza (and frozen foods in general) are made out of the worst possible ingredients, and packed with "so much sodium...artificial crap and preservatives." There goes every single guy's dinner plans for the weekend.
Anthony Bourdain Hated Airline Food
The late great food critic Anthony Bourdain was never shy about his hatred of airline food. He told Bon Appétit that he believes people only eat on planes because they're bored. That's how the airlines can get away with serving such terrible food.
Bourdain loved to travel so we can only assume he spent a ton of time on airplanes. He eventually stopped eating airline food though and decided that he likes to "arrive hungry."
No Walnuts For Andrew Zimmern
The host of Bizarre Foods has some bizarre food aversions. Zimmern told People magazine that he "can't eat walnuts" in any form. Not even chopped up on top of delicious brownies. Zimmern also refuses to eat raw cookie dough (AKA the best part of the cookies) and oatmeal.
Even Zimmern admits he doesn't really understand it since he "loves fermented walrus anus" but can't stomach something so so simple. Oh well, more cookie dough for us.
Alex Guarnaschelli Just Can't Do Haggis
The first female Iron Chef has some strong opinions when it comes to food she doesn't like. Guarnaschelli told Food Network that you won't ever catch her eating haggis, even though so many people actually praise the traditional Scottish dish. She also hates pattypan squash but is down for other squash.
The chef also has some food she specifically hates to cook with in Iron Chef challenges. Her least favorite? Hot dogs.
Don't Put Okra In Front Of Tom Colicchio
If you're a fan of Top Chef then you might have an idea why judge Tom Colicchio hates okra so much. He's spoken several times on the show that he hates the ingredient and has given multiple interviews complaining about the food.
Colicchio says that his disdain stems from how "slimy" it is. He also doesn't like sea cucumbers or shredded mountain yams, so keep that in the back of your mind if you ever end up on Top Chef.
Simon Majumdar Stays Far Away From Coffee
Believe it or not, one of the top chefs in the world absolutely hates everything to do with coffee. You'll never catch Simon Majumdar drinking OR cooking with coffee, but in his defense, he's got a rock solid reason: he's allergic to it.
Majumdar is also severely allergic to oysters, so you'll never catch him adding those to his meals. Your health and safety come first, but we feel bad that Majumdar will never get to experience the incredible taste of a good cup of coffee.
No More Black Beans For Gail Simmons
Gail Simmons' dislike of a certain food isn't because of mouthfeel or taste, she just had too much of a good thing. The Top Chef judge used to absolutely adore black beans, but now, she can barely stomach a few as a side dish.
Simmons told Bravo that she was once served a bad batch as a judge that left her with food poisoning. Since then, she can't even give them a chance. It's kind of like when you nearly die after drinking certain alcohol in college and can never drink it again.
