Giada de Laurentiis: It's "Rrrrrrrricohta" You Barbarian!

[HappyDancex2]

I didn't realized Melissa was trained as well. I stand corrected. All I can recall was her season where I thought she repeated she was a home cook and wasn't familiar with restaurant equipment etc. I thought that was her angle. She's actually done very well for herself on FN. I snickered watching her judge Alex G on GGG.

[Lura]

My relief that I wouldn't have to see LBH's boobies for another year was dashed yesterday when I turned on the FN, and there she was on her show.  She was wearing a lavender top with a neckline down to "there," with her twins scrunched tight in a push-up bra that made them dance like a Vegas chorus line as she chopped.  She's a real live game of Follow the Bouncing Ball.  Dom and the boys must be going through withdrawal.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Lura

[BW Manilowe]

Giada's officially divorced. But she has to pay her ex a CRAPLOAD of money, including $9,000 a month in child support for their daughter Jade (despite the fact they're going to have Joint Custody); she also has to pay him 50% of her net royalties on her books published while they were married *&* 50% of unpaid advances on books yet to be published (they had no prenup).

He also gets their $3.2 Million house in Pacific Palisades, CA. They're also splitting up various bank accounts worth more than $2 Million. Neither has to pay the other spousal support.

http://www.people.com/article/giada-de-laurentiis-divorce-settlement-todd-thompson

[cooksdelight]

California is a 50/50 state, no matter who you are you'll pay up if there's no pre-nup.

[BW Manilowe]

California is a 50/50 state, no matter who you are you'll pay up if there's no pre-nup.

And she's really paying up, apparently. Entertainment Tonight reported, besides the stuff I mentioned in my previous post, her ex is *also* getting the furnishings & artwork in the house he got; 2 cars; & their Country Club membership.

I'm trying to figure out what *she* got, besides Joint Custody of their daughter, the 50% of her past & future book royalties that was left after he got his half, & whatever she's getting from the bank accounts they're splitting up. I know she won't actually be hurting for money, but it sounds almost like he's getting way more than she is & that *almost* makes me feel badly for her, though she was arguably the bigger breadwinner of the 2 of them.

[Bella]

He won't get more than half unless she had bad lawyers or his were just better. Tweaking the 50 percent cut is an art form among California divorce attorneys, so it may depend on who had the more creative legal representation.

 

A California-based friend of mine who was the breadwinner and makes a very good income - though nothing like LBH's - was able to negotiate a divorce agreement with her ex that was in her favor. It was more like a 60/40 split instead of the usual 50/50. But the key word is "negotiate." And part of that involved paying some of his ongoing expenses into perpetuity. Like many people in a divorce, at the time my friend was just happy to get out of the relationship and move on with her life. Later, though, she was glad she held out for a better agreement with her ex. She remarried a few years later and had a prenup even though the new husband seems perfect for her, etc., etc. Experience is the best teacher.

 

Anyway, LBH could have had bad lawyers, ex-Mr. LBH could have had better lawyers, the split could be more in her favor that we realize, etc. She's probably happy to have that phase of her life behind her now. And even though I'm not her biggest fan, I'm glad she can finally move ahead.

[rab01]

The stories don't mention what she got in the divorce so they must not want you to know how rich she is.  I bet this leak was agreed-upon between the parties.  They were together a long time and he had a claim on a portion of all her future earnings (she has claimed in earlier interviews that he supported her when she was starting out), not just her books that have already been published or already in progress.  How many houses did they have? How many bank accounts? What did their stock portfolio look like?  How much is her FN contract worth? I'm sure she did fine and got half or more than half of the marital estate.   

 

(This was speaking as a lawyer, albeit not one that practices in California.)

[xaxat]

I was watching the Syfy show Face Off and I think Giada could take a couple of fashion tips from that show's host McKenzie Westmore. McKenzie doesn't expose nearly as much skin as Giada, but her fashion choices leave no doubt about what she is working with [/shallow]

[NewDigs]

The stories don't mention what she got in the divorce so they must not want you to know how rich she is. I bet this leak was agreed-upon between the parties. They were together a long time and he had a claim on a portion of all her future earnings (she has claimed in earlier interviews that he supported her when she was starting out), not just her books that have already been published or already in progress. How many houses did they have? How many bank accounts? What did their stock portfolio look like? How much is her FN contract worth? I'm sure she did fine and got half or more than half of the marital estate.

(This was speaking as a lawyer, albeit not one that practices in California.)

I poked around a bit and more than a couple of outlets are wondering why she has to pay so much. I didn't realize that Todd is almost as rich as she (they each have an est. 15-20 million) so why's he gettin' so much? They point out that she is paying him $9k/month in child support while they have shared custody.

Dlisted, and couple of others, suggest that it's some kind of "hush money".

The Dlisted link also lists properties, etc., values and division.

Edited September 6, 2015 by NewDigs

[cooksdelight]

She has no choice in the matter if he pressed for his half, which legally he can do in California. Unless she proved he did something horrible. Which, may be the other way around.

[Lura]

When I first read about this settlement, my impression was that Todd had given too much away..  Despite the fact that he's hit the jackpot, Giada seemed to me to be a little too eager to give him anything as long as he would disappear.  For instance, the child support:  Unless Giada plans to send Jade to a private school on the Gold Coast, $9K a month seems ludicrous.  Was Giada in some kind of a hurry to get out of that marriage?  It would seem so to me.  The only thing I learned about this divorce is that Todd is nobody's fool!

[NewDigs]

She has no choice in the matter if he pressed for his half, which legally he can do in California. Unless she proved he did something horrible. Which, may be the other way around.

Could she also press for half of his stuff?

It looks, to me, like she's buying more than a divorce.

[cooksdelight]

Yes, she could press for half of his stuff.....if it was a true no-fault divorce. But, as some have hinted, she may be paying for more than just a divorce.

[Fostersmom]

Maybe Giada learned what NOT to do from her pal Bobby. He was determined to make his divorce as ugly as possible and looks like a giant douchebag in the process. Giada and Todd both have plenty of money, she come out looking good in the media, and most importantly, Jade most likely wasn't on the scene of a nasty divorce. 

[rab01]

They've been together since she was 19 and married for the last 11 years.  According to the article, she's exiting with $20 million and he gets $15 million; plus she keeps all of her company and brand (which was created during the marriage) and he only gets a piece of some of the books.  The child support adds up to only about $1 million - that she's paying him suggests that the daughter will spend more time with him than with her, which makes sense given her travel schedule.  It sounds like it was probably a reasonable settlement (particularly if he made more of his money before the marriage than she did).

Edited September 8, 2015 by rab01

[BW Manilowe]

Giada talks about the divorce (nothing that earth-shattering or enlightening--mostly just how 1 minute she was married & the next she wasn't; also she says she's dating again)

http://greatideas.people.com/2015/11/04/giada-de-laurentiis-dating-divorce/

[Wings]

My relief that I wouldn't have to see LBH's boobies for another year was dashed yesterday when I turned on the FN, and there she was on her show.  She was wearing a lavender top with a neckline down to "there," with her twins scrunched tight in a push-up bra that made them dance like a Vegas chorus line as she chopped.  She's a real live game of Follow the Bouncing Ball.  Dom and the boys must be going through withdrawal.

 

Who is LBH?

[cooksdelight]

Little Big Head = Giada

[BW Manilowe]

From Olivia Newton-John's Social Media (Facebook & Twitter):

A pic of Olivia with Giada *&* Jade, who apparently went to see Olivia's "Residency" concert, Summer Nights, at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, sometime this past week.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1123346981011341

https://twitter.com/olivianj/status/683396516506152965

[xaxat]

Did I hear correctly? In one of the promos for the show, does Giada say she got out of her comfort zone by going to Italy? 

Where her family is from. . .where she was born?

[Kromm]

15 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Did I hear correctly? In one of the promos for the show, does Giada say she got out of her comfort zone by going to Italy? 

Where her family is from. . .where she was born?

To be fair. the hospital you were born in doesn't define much other than your natal care and citizenship. And her bios all say she grew up in California, and did her culinary training in Paris. But we all know she's visited Italy quite a lot. Even if we didn't have previous evidence ON TV. those same bios all say her mother remarried and moved to Rome.

[Lura]

Let's see.  Giada's husband dropped her.  She had her alleged fling with Bobby.  She's enthralled by another FN guy who just happens to be married.  She's bought a $6 million Spanish-style love nest in Pacific Palisades, currently being rebuilt for herself and Lover Boy.  She's undoubtedly dreaming of meeting up with Dom again.  Her wardrobe for the show has been through alterations to make sure that the tops are low enough and the hemlines high enough.  Everything seems to be hunky-dorey.

 

Here we go, Giada!  Lights!  Camera!  Action!  Music!  Announcer!  Enter, toddling, in those 7" stilettos!  32 lights focus on Giada's beaming, widespread grin, while 42 giant teeth sparkle, flashing back like the Morse Code in reflection!  Giada has arrived ... AGAIN! ... and her kneecaps are as bony as they were last year.  Bobby Flay smirks down at her, looking smug, as if he's the only man in the house who knows how the real story goes.

Edited May 15, 2016 by Lura

[cooksdelight]

And people wonder why Alton left this show. :)

[Wings]

On 5/14/2016 at 0:19 PM, Lura said:

Let's see.  Giada's husband dropped her.  She had her alleged fling with Bobby.  She's enthralled by another FN guy who just happens to be married.  She's bought a $6 million Spanish-style love nest in Pacific Palisades, currently being rebuilt for herself and Lover Boy.  She's undoubtedly dreaming of meeting up with Dom again.  Her wardrobe for the show has been through alterations to make sure that the tops are low enough and the hemlines high enough.  Everything seems to be hunky-dorey.

 

Here we go, Giada!  Lights!  Camera!  Action!  Music!  Announcer!  Enter, toddling, in those 7" stilettos!  32 lights focus on Giada's beaming, widespread grin, while 42 giant teeth sparkle, flashing back like the Morse Code in reflection!  Giada has arrived ... AGAIN! ... and her kneecaps are as bony as they were last year.  Bobby Flay smirks down at her, looking smug, as if he's the only man in the house who knows how the real story goes.

Well done.  May I add that her bottom teeth are part of that huge smile.  Never have I ever, seen this before. 

And her "correct" pronunciation that is awkward outside the country of origin.  

[Hero]

That Italian chef, Damiano, is going to be on this season. I wonder how Giada will act him around? We all saw how she acted around Dom and the other Italian a few seasons ago. 

I can already see her googly eyes molesting him and her creepy Cheshire cat grin will be in his nightmares for a long time. 

[spiderpig]

Every time I see LBH I think of Monty Pyrhon's dancing teeth:

[DeLurker]

On May 17, 2016 at 8:33 PM, Suzy123 said:

That Italian chef, Damiano, is going to be on this season. I wonder how Giada will act him around? We all saw how she acted around Dom and the other Italian a few seasons ago. 

I can already see her googly eyes molesting him and her creepy Cheshire cat grin will be in his nightmares for a long time. 

I was expecting her to push Dom through the 2nd chance so she could gush over him again. Guess Damiano gets her full attention this ho round.

[Skyfall]

Giana was a little catty last night.

[Aquarius]

1 minute ago, Skyfall said:

Giana was a little catty last night.

Giada is a little catty all nights, IMO.

[xaxat]

I heard an interview with Bobby Flay and he said that he and Giada are constantly debating how to judge the contestants. Bobby believes that cooking skills are the most important thing and camera presence can be taught. Giada believes the opposite, that camera skills are the most important and any culinary deficiencies can be fixed later.

[Wings]

2 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I heard an interview with Bobby Flay and he said that he and Giada are constantly debating how to judge the contestants. Bobby believes that cooking skills are the most important thing and camera presence can be taught. Giada believes the opposite, that camera skills are the most important and any culinary deficiencies can be fixed later.

Bob Tushman agrees with Giada.  He said we can teach them to cook, we need a personality. 

[biakbiak]

Though oddly this show doesn't actually judge either skills well.

[RCharter]

5 hours ago, xaxat said:

I heard an interview with Bobby Flay and he said that he and Giada are constantly debating how to judge the contestants. Bobby believes that cooking skills are the most important thing and camera presence can be taught. Giada believes the opposite, that camera skills are the most important and any culinary deficiencies can be fixed later.

I wholeheartedly agree with Bobby, and I question Giada's cooking ability if she can't see that the food should be the primary focus and goal.  To me, if you're a chef, you should always value food above all else.  If you just want a personality, or if you just want to be a personality than go try out for a daytime talk show.  This is called the food network...the food should come first....always.  If not, you're just another cable channel.  

I want to learn from a food authority, not just someone that has good cheekbones and a sunny disposition.

If what you're telling me is that you're putting people on the food network who know nothing about food than whats the point?  I need them to teach me to cook....not to be in the position where they have to be taught to cook.

 

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Though oddly this show doesn't actually judge either skills well.

It doesn't, because they can't decide which skill is actually important.  To me, it should be an 85/15 split in favor of the food.  I would take a lesson from boring Michael V. before I would listen to anyone who has told me that they value camera skills more than food.

[Kromm]

I'd go as far as 60/40 in favor of cooking skill. Because while you have to know what you are talking about, this isn't about sitting down in a restaurant and eating what someone makes you, but imparting that information to a person on the other side of a camera. The cooking skill is important to establish authority. The communication skill is the implementation here. The cooking rates higher, but not SO much higher that the communication skill isn't a huge chunk of what should be judged.  So 60/40.

[RCharter]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

I'd go as far as 60/40 in favor of cooking skill. Because while you have to know what you are talking about, this isn't about sitting down in a restaurant and eating what someone makes you, but imparting that information to a person on the other side of a camera. The cooking skill is important to establish authority. The communication skill is the implementation here. The cooking rates higher, but not SO much higher that the communication skill isn't a huge chunk of what should be judged.  So 60/40.

I get your point, but most human being have a threshold competence when it comes to communication -- so you're not going to be working with someone who doesn't know how to talk -- even if you get the least qualified person, they can at least communicate reasonably.  If you're looking at communication skill on a scale of 0-100, most human beings are going to hover at 50 or greater, if for no other reason than human being must communicate, so we learn how to communicate at a basic level.  Now are you going to get bright and fiesty with a story about grandma with every meal...no.  But  I would much, much, much rather have someone who is a little dry...even a lot dry but is going to give me good food/good information.  However, human beings don't have to develop any cooking skill at all....so you can literally have someone with no cooking skill.  So, if cooking skill is on a scale of 0-100, you can have a lot of people that have a cooking skill under 25.  Therefore I think cooking should be much more heavily weighted.  

You can get a million people with "communication skill" but far fewer with any cooking chops....and people shouldn't tune into the food network and have questions about whether or not the host knows about food.

So....I would still weigh it at 85/15 in favor of cooking skill.

[biakbiak]

One of my favorite examples is Emeril. He was like a 14 year old boy talking to his dream girl on the first season of Essence of Emeril. It was so painful to watch that it was shocking they aired the pilot much less kept bringing it back then with media training and time he became a complete embarassing over the top buffoon on Emeril Live. It took him years to find a balance between the two that actually reflects how he acts when you meet him in person.

Edited May 25, 2016 by biakbiak

[RCharter]

4 hours ago, biakbiak said:

One of my favorite examples is Emeril. He was like a 14 year old boy talking to his dream girl on the first season of Essence of Emeril. It was so painful to watch that it was shocking they aired the pilot much less kept bringing it back then with media training and time he became a complete embarassing over the top buffoon on Emeril Live. It took him years to find a balance between the two that actually reflects how he acts when you meet him in person.

All true, but I would watch an Emeril show on his worst day before I would watch half the contestants on FNS, no matter how bubbly and cute they are.  Because I know that he knows what he is talking about when it comes to food.

And from what I understand people loved the BAM! Emeril....and I think if BAM! Emeril was trying out for FNS, he would probably be a shoo-in for top 3.

Now, credit where its due....I think this season they have far more contestants that appear to know how to cook good food....so I'm happy to see them putting more of an emphasis on that.  That they sent the first contestant home for food that tasted bad, instead of sending home the food allergy/healthy food contestant who had better food but a terrible presentation shows that they may be really more focused on the food this time around.

Edited May 25, 2016 by RCharter

[Snarklepuss]

I think cooking skill is more important, but I don't know if it should be 85/15.  My two favorite PBS chefs right now, Jacques Pepin and Lidia Bastianich are the real deal.  Who cares if they aren't carnival barkers?  Actually who wants a carnival barker for a TV chef anyway?  Put them up against the cast of "The Kitchen" and it's clear who is superior.  The food really does make up for most deficiencies.  The problem is that FN is not really finding anyone anywhere near that level of cooking skill.  The people they put up are rank amateurs compared to Jacques and Lidia.  Not that everyone has to be on that level, but I think the level of cooking skill has clearly gone down in priority.  I can just tell by looking at most of the food so far that it's nowhere near the quality they should be looking for.

That said, Bobby being about food and Giada about personality kind of balance themselves out.  I think TPTB like that.  I suspect that it's sort-of like that with Valerie and Tyler with him being about food and her being about personality.

[DeLurker]

True about Jacques Pepin and Lidia Bastianich, but the nature of their shows are very different than the ones on FN to me.  FN shows seem to need to fit in a theme, sound bite and be performed before a live studio (often).

Bobby and Giada have reached their saturation points for me; I found Tyler and Valerie's presence made the show much more appealing.

[Totale]

9 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Actually who wants a carnival barker for a TV chef anyway?

The producers of "Food Network Star".

[Snarklepuss]

8 hours ago, DeLurker said:

True about Jacques Pepin and Lidia Bastianich, but the nature of their shows are very different than the ones on FN to me.  FN shows seem to need to fit in a theme, sound bite and be performed before a live studio (often)

But that's not the case with most of their FN Star winners until very recently.  Most of them have at least started out with the traditional "stand and stir" format.  The only FN star that didn't start out with a cooking show is Eddie, and from what I hear on this site and social media, most of his fans want to see him cook.  And FN is still producing stand and stir shows most recently with Valerie Bertinelli and Patricia Heaton.  Even the Pioneer Woman and Giada from Italy were recently airing new shows.  So the concept is not dead at all even if the style of production varies a bit from PBS to FN.  The competition shows and "The Kitchen" are actually in a different genre but on the same network.  I could see Lidia on FN doing a show kind of like Ina Garten (not that she'd want to).  I don't know if Ina is still filming.  The last time I saw something new from her was probably over a year ago but I haven't really looked.

6 hours ago, Totale said:

The producers of "Food Network Star".

LOL, yeah, I meant besides them.  ;)

[SoCal Mema]

Giada, time to put out your torch and exit the building.

[qtpye]

Nicole Kidman actually spit out Giada's focacci one the Ellen show.

http://www.avclub.com/article/nicole-kidman-spat-out-giada-de-laurentiis-focacci-255165

[Wings]

On 5/24/2016 at 7:54 PM, biakbiak said:

One of my favorite examples is Emeril. He was like a 14 year old boy talking to his dream girl on the first season of Essence of Emeril. It was so painful to watch that it was shocking they aired the pilot much less kept bringing it back then with media training and time he became a complete embarassing over the top buffoon on Emeril Live. It took him years to find a balance between the two that actually reflects how he acts when you meet him in person.

4 of us got sub mediocre meals in Las Vegas and his restaurant in MGM Grand.  No care was given, even the plating was bad.  

[LiveenLetLive]

On 8/15/2015 at 3:51 AM, Snarklepuss said:

Actually, Melissa D'Arabian is a trained cook too.  I always felt she was given a raw angle by having to stick within the $10 limit - Like how realistic is that?  Even when she first started grocery prices were going up too fast to manage that and she got a lot of flack about it from the audience.  I don't think that helped.  But I agree that we don't need anymore shows aimed at "country" themes, or grilling/BBQ themes whether they be Southern or whatever.  I have already posted that the network is getting more saturated with that these days.  At least Giada isn't any of those things.  People complain that there is too much Italian on FN but I disagree.  Who else but Giada is specifically an Italian cook anymore?  I'm not even talking about Joe Blow who cooks an Italian meal every now and then on his show, but a chef whose specialty is Italian food?  No one.  And I'm not including Rachael Ray in there because she cooks a wide variety of types of food.

Melissa is a "trained cook" where did you hear that? Her bio was explicitly that she was a former beauty pageant contestant/ turned Disney Exec business woman/turned stay at home mom and "talented" amateur home chef who went to some religious based TV bootcamp. I hated her.

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, LiveenLetLive said:

Melissa is a "trained cook" where did you hear that? Her bio was explicitly that she was a former beauty pageant contestant/ turned Disney Exec business woman/turned stay at home mom and "talented" amateur home chef who went to some religious based TV bootcamp. I hated her.

Quoting me from 2 years ago?  I don't even remember writing this, LOL.

[LiveenLetLive]

11 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Quoting me from 2 years ago?  I don't even remember writing this, LOL.

well I came to see what is up at the start of the new season of FNS--I don't make a habit of hanging out here Snarkle, LOL. but yeah, for whatever reason, Melissa (a perfectly nice woman IRL I'm sure) gives me a hair up the rear--ha!

[Destiny74]

On 11/9/2015 at 4:33 AM, wings707 said:

 

Who is LBH?

Thank you.  I was wondering that also.

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, Destiny74 said:

Thank you.  I was wondering that also.

LBH = Little Big Head = Giada. Goes back many years, probably to TWoP days. Just explaining, not endorsing.

[Snarklepuss]

11 hours ago, LiveenLetLive said:

well I came to see what is up at the start of the new season of FNS--I don't make a habit of hanging out here Snarkle, LOL. but yeah, for whatever reason, Melissa (a perfectly nice woman IRL I'm sure) gives me a hair up the rear--ha!

She seems to have that effect on a lot of people.  When so many people I usually agree with disagree with me it leaves me scratching my head.  I was never a fan of hers but just never detested her like so many people do.  I think she is one of those people that has a hard time projecting warmth and when she does it comes out looking forced and not genuine, so that may be part of the reason for it.  I notice she has pretty much disappeared from the network these days.  She was judging on "Guy's Grocery Games" for a while but hasn't been on this season at all.  Meanwhile Artie has become a fixture.  I noticed the last time I saw Melissa judge she came off quirky and strange, even for her, which also left me wondering what's going on with her.  Then she disappeared.  Hmmmm.....Perhaps it's no wonder.  I don't think she was ever really cut out to appear on TV.