Tom Colicchio isn't much for taking selfies — he confesses that he has a hard time hitting the button at an arm's distance. But there is one reason the restaurateur and Top Chef judge will snap a photo of himself. As part of Naked Juice's #DrinkGoodDoGood campaign, Colicchio — along with fellow celebs Kristen Bell, Bobby Flay, and Tay Diggs — are encouraging people to post a selfie with fruits and veggies. For every hashtagged picture, Naked Juice will donate 10 lbs of vegetables to communities in need.
At the launch of this year's campaign, we caught up with Colicchio to talk food photos, cooking shows, and the secret to better sandwiches.
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'Gram Good
While Colicchio isn't an avid selfie-taker, he does enjoy taking pictures of (what else?) food. He laughs and acknowledges that he's not the best at it — yet. "I take the worst [pictures]. People yell at me! But they're getting better," he says. One tip he's picked up? "Don't use those filters, people know they're filters." While he sticks with photos for food that he's eating, he does enjoy posting videos when he's cooking, something that a quick scroll through his Instagram feed will confirm.
While Colicchio isn't an avid selfie-taker, he does enjoy taking pictures of (what else?) food. He laughs and acknowledges that he's not the best at it — yet. "I take the worst [pictures]. People yell at me! But they're getting better," he says. One tip he's picked up? "Don't use those filters, people know they're filters." While he sticks with photos for food that he's eating, he does enjoy posting videos when he's cooking, something that a quick scroll through his Instagram feed will confirm.
Sandwich Secrets
Food photos might be outside of Colicchio's comfort zone, but there is one area where his expertise is hard to challenge: sandwiches. His restaurant, 'Wichcraft, puts emphasis on what it calls the "best hand-held meal of all times." When it comes to making the best hand-held meal even better, Colicchio has one simple piece of advice: leftovers. Last night's roast veggies or chicken can add more oomph to a sandwich than just deli meat and the typical lettuce, tomato, onion.
Food photos might be outside of Colicchio's comfort zone, but there is one area where his expertise is hard to challenge: sandwiches. His restaurant, 'Wichcraft, puts emphasis on what it calls the "best hand-held meal of all times." When it comes to making the best hand-held meal even better, Colicchio has one simple piece of advice: leftovers. Last night's roast veggies or chicken can add more oomph to a sandwich than just deli meat and the typical lettuce, tomato, onion.
Stand & Serve
Many of us first got to know Colicchio as the head judge on Top Chef, where other people do the cooking and he has the hard job of eating the food. (Okay, we know that being a judge is more challenging than that, but c'mon: dream job.) But what if he had his own show that was just him cooking for the camera? He explains that's called a "stand and serve," and his ideal version would be him preparing one food simply and cooking several dishes with it.
Many of us first got to know Colicchio as the head judge on Top Chef, where other people do the cooking and he has the hard job of eating the food. (Okay, we know that being a judge is more challenging than that, but c'mon: dream job.) But what if he had his own show that was just him cooking for the camera? He explains that's called a "stand and serve," and his ideal version would be him preparing one food simply and cooking several dishes with it.
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As an example, he uses zucchini. Cooked in water with garlic, thyme, and olive oil, you have a side dish. Next, he would turn it into a kind of shakshuka with eggs, and toss some of it with pasta. While he didn't offer any names for this theoretical program, we're all ready to set our DVRs; teach us your ways, Tom.
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