WTVC Exclusive: Bitchin’ Kitchen’s Nadia G

On March 31, 2010 The Fine Living Network officially became the Cooking Channel (aka Food Network 2).  The network features new shows from old favorites like Bobby Flay and Emeril Legasse.  It also presents a whole new crew of TV Chefs to entertain and educate our insatiable palates.

The bell cow of the Cooking Channel’s fall season is the craziest damned cooking show you’ve ever seen, Btichin’ Kitchen which blends equal parts Good Eats, Headbanger’s Ball and Lords of Flatbush. At the center of this tempest of audio-visual overload is Nadia G.

Nadia’s on screen persona is an amalgamation of Alton Brown, Julia Child and Pinky Tuscadero (Google it, ya mook).  And while her style is in the forefront do not for a minute think that Nadia cannot cook.  She mastered her skills at one of the most demanding culinary institutions on the planet, an Italian grandmother’s kitchen.

And though the glitz and glamor on BK may be part of the show I can assure you the accent is real.  Nadia and her show started out on youtube and eventually steamed rolled into a series for Food Network Canada where it became an instant sensation.  Nadia is a native of Montreal and her brash Italian mannerisms and deft abilities in the kitchen soon made her a house hold name throughout the Great White North.  Check out this blurb from the Food Network Canada web site:

She’s young, funny and can cook up a storm in 3-inch cherry stiletto heels. Food Network’s bad girl chef Nadia G. and her misfit crew of food correspondents look at the funny side of everyday life situations and turn them into occasions worth celebrating — with great food and big laughs. Bitchin’ Kitchen is the first-ever comedy cooking show to hit the small screen and it tastes good: From One-Night-Stand Breakfasts to Break-Up Brunches to Impress the In-laws Extravaganzas, Nadia G whips up the perfect blend of food and humor for any occasion. The focus is on accessible haute cuisine, fresh organic ingredients, and a hands-on approach that will inspire hip audiences of all ages to Rock the Kitchen!

Recently Nadia was nice enough to give this old Southern boy a little of her time.

Say someone asks me what’s this Bitchin’ Kitchen all about? What should I tell them?

There’s three things in life that I love and that’s food, comedy and rock-n-roll.  And Bitchin’ Kitchen combines all three.  It’s my baby like that.  Basically what we do is every week we take a new juicy topic whether it’s rehab recipes, impressing the in-laws or break-up brunches, we lay it all on the table and have a few laughs and then we cook an amazing meal that goes along with it.

What advice would you give someone who is about to experience BK for the first time?

I would say get ready for an awesome ride.  There’s definitely no other cooking show out there like it and sit back, relax and enjoy.

How did Bitchin’ Kitchen go from the Internet to the Cooking Channel?

Well we started online back in 2007 it was a great success fresh out the gate.  We won favorite mobile comedy series and we beat Conan O’Brien’s mobile series and “Tap This” which is another mobile comedy series which is written by one of the writers of the Ali G (no relation) Show.  We were super honored to be you know contending with such hard hitters and then of course to have taken the prize home was awesome.  After that success we got contacted by some publishers and they were like, “We love this concept and we want to do a cookbook.”

So I designed and wrote the Bitchin’ Kitchen Cookbook: Rock Your Kitchen-And Let the Boys Clean Up the Mess (available at amazon.com) and that cookbook did very well. It hit a couple of “best seller” lists.  And then finally now we had our launch on Food Network Canada and now we’re launching on Cooking Channel I couldn’t be more excited.  It’s great.

Was it difficult transitioning from the 10 minute Youtube format to the 23 minute format of broadcast TV?

You know, initially we thought there’d be some challenges but honestly it translated really, really well.  Basically it just gave us more creative room.  With the quickies (the mobile series and web show) we would get things done in about three to five minutes which only gives us time for one recipe whereas with the cooking show we got a whole half hour.  So we cook up three dishes for each show and it gives us extra time to do funny stuff like skits and songs. . . We’re actually airing the first music video to ever air on a cooking show in our “rehab recipes” show so it was exciting to just expand on the themes like that.

Are you still filming the show in Montreal?

Yeah, we film the show in Montreal.  We do spend a lot of time in New York and Los Angeles as well and I love it but the studios are in Montreal.

About your set – there is a lot of weird crap in the background of your kitchen – what’s up with that?

I’m a big believer that the kitchen should reflect one’s personality.  The kitchen reflects mine.  We got some really hot, cherry red retro looking frig, I think we’ve got the coolest appliances ever.  We’ve got some crystal studding going on on the counter, basically we love to rock the kitchen.  Some people are into granite and stainless steel and that’s great but for those of us that aren’t I love to find quirky fun stuff like a chain mail dish towel and put it in my kitchen.  It’s just great to express yourself with.

What’s your culinary background?

I grew up in a food-obsessed Italian family.  The kitchen was really the heart of the home.  I learned to cook with my mom, my grandmother, my aunt and I really believe that anyone can learn to make a great meal with the right attitude and the right ingredients.  So as much as I love food from professional chefs and I love to go to restaurants I also know that some of the best food I’ve ever eaten have been home cooked meals.  And I continue to cook Catalina-style Italian food.

If someone wanted to cyber-stalk you where should they go?

All my recipes are available on CookingChannel.com and my website is BitchinKitchen.tv where we have a ton of great, funny articles.  If people want to know what it was I was wearing during the episode we got these great little “rock this look” fashion files.  And you can also find us on Facebook where ever day we have awesome conversations about all kinds of bitchin’ stuff.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Butter or margarine? Definitely butter.
Favorite celebrity chef? Alton Brown.
Which Jersey Shore cast member would you most like to kick? Hmm. None of them really.  Feed them maybe but kick them not so much.
What’s sexier – abs or attitude? I’d have to say attitude.
Foie gras, raw oysters or caviar? That’s a tough one.  I’m gonna go with oysters.

Bitchin’ Kitchen airs on the Cooking Channel Wednesdays at 10:30pm ET.