It's been a busy year for Antonia Lofaso. The Spago alumna won over television viewers on Bravo's Top Chef, on which she displayed her culinary prowess and grace under extreme pressure (and quick-fire challenges). She's also the executive chef of the newly opened Los Angeles hot spot Foxtail, to which she brings French-brasserie flair.
The daughter of restaurant owners and lovers of all things culinary, Lofaso gained a passion for food at a young age. She waited tables at her parents' New York deli–style café before beginning her formal culinary education. These days, she is carrying on the family tradition by getting her 7-year-old budding foodie, Xea, involved in the kitchen.
Q: How much time did you spend in the kitchen as a kid? What do you think you learned, and what can children learn generally from being around food and cooking?
A: I come from an Italian and Jewish background, so we were always cooking and in the kitchen—it was almost a requirement. And, of course, my parents owned a restaurant in Beverly Hills, so we were always helping and tasting everything from an early age. But my parents also went out to eat a lot, and they always brought my brother and me along. We loved it. They brought us, so we learned to try everything.
I think introducing kids to different foods at a young age is really important. I think it's important to bring my daughter into the kitchen so she can explore and become curious.
Q: How do you create dishes that are fun and kid-friendly but still exciting for you?
A: We have theme nights. Sunday is my only night off, but during the week we'll have Mexican nights or Middle Eastern nights. Xea actually has a menu board so she can help plan the menu. She loves to go to the farmers' market or the store and pick out the vegetable and the protein. The more they are involved, the more kids are willing to try and explore new things.
Q: What do you and Xea like to cook together?
A: We make a lot of pasta dishes and fresh pasta, and then salads. People think kids don't like vegetables, but I really think people just don't know how to prepare them right. Vegetables taste really good, you know? They just do. They taste good, but if you put them in water and boil them or cook them and then don't season them—that's not something adults want to eat either.
I am not a big fan of the trend of hiding vegetables or pureeing them into other things. I think it sort of insults the child's intelligence—I don't mean that in a bad way. I think kids can really learn to like vegetables if they are prepared well, and I think it is important for them to experience the food and be able to express why they do or don't like something.
Q: Cooking with kids can be a bit of a messy process. Do you have any tips for getting them to participate and still get dinner on the table in a timely way?
A: You have to keep it simple. Ingredients are really the key. You want to have simple, fresh ingredients, and you need to have a game plan. It's almost like having your own cooking show. You want to get all the ingredients together and out and organized, because they aren't organized, it can turn into mayhem. You can give kids their own tasks, and then you can explain it and explore together. Timing is important, too: It needs to be 30 or 40 minutes at most.
Q: What's the most memorable meal you've eaten or prepared?
A: Recently I had dinner at Michael Mina's in San Francisco, and his caviar service blew me away! I don't think I can eat caviar anywhere else.
Q: What was your biggest cooking disaster?
A: Not cooking my pigeon peas enough on Top Chef—and getting the boot!
Q: Guilty food pleasure?
A: Anything with sugar—root-beer floats, cookies, anything with high-fructose corn syrup is usually my favorite.
Q: What do you cook at home/with kids?
A: Breakfast—you can have it any time of day! Pancakes are great for dinner.
Q: Who inspired you to become a chef?
A: Both of my parents. We are just a family of cooks. Holiday dinners, regular dinners, you name it—we were in there cooking.
Q: Best cooking tip?
A: Keep it simple and well executed.
Q: Favorite kitchen tool?
A: My Japanese mandoline.
Q: Any tips for getting picky kids to eat?
A: Let them help you cook. If kids feel a part of the cooking process, they are more adventurous.
Q: If you haven't shopped in a week and need to prepare a quick family meal, what do you make?
A: Cereal. It's always in your cabinet.
Q: What's the ratio of home-cooked to takeout food in your house?
A: Five to two. Five home-cooked during the week, and during the weekend we enjoy restaurants.
Q: Do you have a favorite food-related charity or cause?
Q: What is your philosophy when cooking for your daughter?
A: Anything goes. Anything I eat, she eats. Xea has sat through seven-course tasting menus with me and enjoys every minute of it.
Q: What is an unexpected food item that she loves?
A: Baby Blue Stilton. She loves it.
