What we’ve learned about celebrity chefs’ kitchens during the shutdown
thepioneerwoman/Instagram
Inside our favourite chefs' kitchens
With countries around the world in varying degrees of shutdown, millions are working from home and for celebrity chefs this means filming in their own kitchens. Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), Gordon Ramsay, Chrissy Teigen and more have revealed where they usually cook – and it's every bit as glamorous as you’d expect.
Ina Garten
Since shutdown, we've learned that cocktail hour goes ahead in the Barefoot Contessa’s East Hampton kitchen no matter what – and with great glasswear. Ina Garten has revealed how she makes her favourite cosmopolitan over on Instagram. Check out the ginormous martini glass she pours it into too.
Ina Garten
At the start of lockdown the author and Food Network star showed us her stocked pantry, filled with beans, farro (a dried grain), pasta sauce, angel hair pasta, ramen noodles and baking supplies. She explained she’d be posting recipes over the coming weeks that use ingredients people already have in the house.
Ina Garten
We also got to see inside her marvellously well-organised freezer, which contained ravioli, stock, meat, peanut butter, cookie dough and berries. Ina Garten explained: “I used to keep only chicken stock, vanilla ice cream and vodka in my freezer but now I’m really learning how to use it."
Emeril Lagasse
Old school celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse has been keeping in touch with fans via social media during the COVID-19 crisis. We couldn’t help noticing that he has five volumes of the cooking encyclopedia Modernist Cuisine, including History and Fundamentals, Techniques and Equipment and Animals and Plants – essential reading for any keen home cook.
Emeril Lagasse
In his Miramar Beach, Florida kitchen, the restaurateur and TV personality has suggested people cook meals for their family and neighbours during these times. Heeding his own advice, Emeril Lagasse prepares eggplant Parmesan and matzo ball soup. Note how he keeps all his cooking oils and seasonings out on the counter beside the stove.
Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray and her actor-musician husband John Cusimano appear to be having an enviably good time in lockdown. The couple filmed themselves making courgette pizza, spinach cannelloni, basil martinis and Aperol spritz, and their cosy, rustic kitchen in Lake Luzerne, New York looks the dream place to be quarantined.
Rachael Ray
In a kitchen tour, the celebrity cook describes how she designed the room on a piece of paper and how her favourite elements are the wooden island for food prep, the gas stove and the wood-fired pizza oven. The kitchen surfaces are all made from butcher block, too, which means she can chop anywhere she likes.
Rachael Ray
The TV chef and author also shows us inside her ginormous pantry housing pots, pans and store cupboard staples, comparing it to a desk with too many pieces of paper. On the shelves you can see numerous types of dried pasta, tins, vinegars, oils and spices.
Rachael Ray
Ray, who filmed the video in April, said it was still freezing in upstate New York at this time, so they kept their herbs – including basil, rosemary, thyme and marjoram – on the kitchen counter. They also have a 90-second commercial dishwasher, which husband John Cusimano calls his “baby”, and we’re very envious of it.
Gordon Ramsay
The hugely successful British TV chef is holed up in Cornwall, UK, with daughters Tilly and Megan, baby boy Oscar and wife Tana. Ramsay has several other homes, but the kitchen here is simple and sleek, with a white marble island and navy cupboards, as seen in Instagram videos.
Gordon Ramsay
Daughter Tilly films the Michelin-starred chef cooking dinners, such as steak and chimichurri, carbonara and stir-fry in ten minutes, on an iPhone. Some of the tools at the restaurateur’s disposal that you might not find in your average kitchen include a hob with a griddle and a wine fridge.
Gordon Ramsay
In the videos, Ramsay and his daughter bicker lightheartedly, as she yells at him for being late and burning the tomatoes, and he tells her to hold the camera properly. Despite his hot-headed TV persona, he’s no different from a regular dad when he's in the kitchen at home with his family.
giadadelaurentiis/Instagram
Giada De Laurentiis
Through the Food Network chef’s social media updates, we’ve been able to see the open-plan kitchen and living space Giada De Laurentiis shares with her daughter Jade, dog Bruno, and two cats Bella and Luna, in her Los Angeles home. It’s light and bright with a central island, green tiled walls and yellow bar stools.
giadadelaurentiis/Instagram
Giada De Laurentiis
We know the Giada at Home star is a keen Italian cook and so far in lockdown, Giada’s made aglio e olie (garlic and chilli) pasta and a cheesy ricotta, tomato and turkey sausage bake. She also gets input from Jade – who tells her to leave the broccoli out of the pasta bake.
giadadelaurentiis/Instagram
chef_aaronsanchez/Instagram
Aarón Sánchez
In lockdown the MasterChef judge and owner of Mexican restaurant Johnny Sánchez showed his followers how to make mole from his New Orleans, Louisiana kitchen. The space is large but low-key, with a muted colour scheme and a bunch of daffodils brightening up the room.
chef_aaronsanchez/Instagram
Aarón Sánchez
Another thing we noticed about Aarón Sánchez’s kitchen is how many bottles of Cholula Hot Sauce he has. When the TV chef was talking us through his ingredients, you can see six in the background – one in every flavour, including Sweet Habanero, Chili Garlic and Chipotle.
chef_aaronsanchez/Instagram
Aarón Sánchez
The TV chef and philanthropist shares his New Orleans kitchen with his son Yuma. The pair have been passing the time with fun games – such as racing each other to eat a roll-up fruit sweet with no hands.
Jamie Oliver
British TV chef Jamie Oliver has been hunkering down with wife Jools and five children in their rural home in Essex, UK. Through updates to his social media, we’ve got to see inside the old farmhouse kitchen and it’s a true country idyll.
Jamie Oliver
Exposed brick, real firewood, fresh flowers and fruit bowls make Jamie Oliver's kitchen feel lived in and homey. Copper pots, pans, knives and cooking utensils hang from the walls like a bric-a-brac shop, and a sign saying Hampstead sits above the aga – it was moved here from their old house in Hampstead, London.
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver was the king of serving food on chopping boards and drinks in jars when Jamie’s Italian came onto the restaurant scene in 2008, and he follows suit in his own home. He mixes up a margarita using a jam jar – a great trick if you don’t have a cocktail shaker.
Jamie Oliver
Like many of us, Jamie Oliver and his family have been having a go at making sourdough bread. Here he demonstrates how to kick things off by making the sourdough starter.
Chrissy Teigen
Model and author Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend have a lovely, light and open kitchen. It has an expansive island in the centre featuring a stove, which is perfect for cooking with the family. Here she makes a bamboo stir-fry with her mother Pepper. Behind is a wide selection of cookbooks, including her own Cravings: Hungry for More.
These are the food heroes feeding those desperately in need
Chrissy Teigen
Since lockdown, the kitchen is where the Teigen-Legend family have been entertaining their little ones with craft and food activities. The highlights have been dipping balloons in melted chocolate to make edible bowls, decorating gingerbread and making hot fudge sundaes.
Chrissy Teigen
Earlier this year, the Instagram chef was complimented by celebrity cleaning consultant Marie Kondo for her tidy kitchen cupboards after they were professionally organised. This adorable snap of daughter Luna in the pantry confirms the family has kept up the good work.
thepioneerwoman/Instagram
Ree Drummond
We’re often allowed inside The Pioneer Woman’s barn-style kitchen on the family’s ranch in Oklahoma. However, since lockdown she’s got a new Food Network cooking show, Staying Home. It's filmed by her children and the behind-the-scenes action has been uploaded to her Instagram.
thepioneerwoman/Instagram
Ree Drummond
We get to see the beautiful open-plan space from new angles, and have a better look at the exposed stone walls and wooden furnishings. We also get an insight into what it’s really like to cook in the Drummond household. Daughter Paige gets a say in what ingredients are used and pimentos are definitely not allowed in broccoli cheese soup.
Now discover the world's most popular lockdown recipes