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So Kelis – chart storming, milkshake wielding, ‘hating you so much right now,’ beacon of lady power Kelis – is a trained chef. Who knew?
Certainly not I, until, that is, her new cookbook landed on my desk, prompting a swift office debate about celebrity cookbooks past and present, as well as a healthy amount of curiosity about whether this book – entitled ‘My Life on a Plate’ – was actually any good.
At a glance, it is. A heady mix of recipes from her travels around the world, as well as those influenced by her mum’s cooking growing up in New York (her mum was also a chef), I can safely say that without actually having tried any of them, the recipes look great. Some dishes I can’t wait to make – the shredded beef sliders with root beer espresso barbecue sauce, for one. Others I might leave out (the pineapple beef served in a hollowed out pineapple, for example). No, there aren’t any milkshake recipes, before you ask.
The thing is, though, if she wasn’t Kelis, would the book still be as good? Or is it just that endlessly curiosity about what famous people eat kicking in? This is what got us thinking… what other celebrity dining habits would we most like an insight into? Here are some cookbooks we would love to see land at Time Out HQ in the near future…
1. The Rock
Suggested title: ‘The Cod Complex’
Granted, it wouldn’t be the most interesting book to look at, but the man eats around 5,000 calories a day in seven meals, most of which involve a lot of cod. There’s also a lot of chicken, and a lot of green vegetables. Ok, it would be the most boring cookbook ever. But the title’s great.
2. Andrew WK
Suggested title: ‘Dinner Party Hard’
Party-inspired dishes, all of which would be guaranteed to make your white clothes (Andrew’s staple outfit) grubby in seconds, with a chapter on how to start the perfect food fight, flip the table over in one, swift, metal-inspired motion, and drink whilst serving.
3. Joanna Lumley
Suggested title: ‘Absolutely F*ck All’
After admitting she exists on a series of almost non-existent snacks, this would basically be the book for anti-foodies, revealing how to make fresh London air, champagne, nuts and – when it’s built – vegetation grown on the Thames garden bridge – taste great.
4. Boris Johnson
Suggested title: ‘Mayor I be excused’
A collection of dishes that will clear a table of unwanted guests the minute they sit down, including a particularly stinky recipe for smoked ‘Boris Pike.’
By Amy Grier
'My Life on a Plate' by Kelis is out now (Kyle Books, £19.99), photography by David Loftus.
Read our interview with Kelis on cooking, 'Food' and creativity.
In the mood for a milkshake? Take a look at your favourite 'shakes in London.