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Cooking and Culinary Schools

Giada's Advice: Pursue Your Culinary Passion

Chicago fans of Giada De Laurentiis, the cookbook author and Food Network star, gathered on a warm October day to meet the celebrity chef at a cooking demonstration and book-signing for her most recent cookbook, Giada at Home.

De Laurentiis (who some have some have called an Italian cooking goddess) was born in Rome and grew up in Italy. As the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis, she spent a great deal of time at her grandfather’s food emporium DDL Foodshow, which gave her the itch for a culinary career.

After getting a degree in anthropology from UCLA, she decided to pursue her passion and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. The famous Le Cordon Bleu technique is also used at Le Cordon Bleu schools in North America.

In Chicago, as she whipped up one her signature Italian dishes, De Laurentiis took a number of questions from the crowd of culinary students and home chefs.

What's her favorite pasta? Many are good, but she pointed to penne. The ribs on penne grab sauce more effectively.

With all the pasta she eats, how does she stay so slim? This is, she said, one of the most common questions she gets. Well... portion control. It was a habit she learned in Europe. And fresh ingredients are also key.

What is the best way to make a quick dinner? Stock your kitchen with power ingredients like dried herbs, vinegars, and canned tuna packed in oil, and then you'll only have to buy one or two items for a fresh meal -- and you can let your creativity flow.

When asked to give advice to culinary students, De Laurentiis stopped and spoke about her own background in Italy and at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Both shaped her approach to cooking.

"The best thing you can do is find the thing you like the most in cooking, and pursue that. Whatever it is -- baking, pasta, food styling. My passion and background was in Italian cuisine," said De Laurentiis.

"There are so many things you can do. Discover what you are passionate about and do that."