You know her from 'Mean Girls' and 'The Notebook', but these are six things you cannot possibly know about Rachel McAdams

In the Food Talks, celebrities reveal their favorite Italian restaurants, wines, recipes… Because Hollywood people love Italian food just like anyone else!

Sometimes, as a journalist, you get assignments that you hate, that challenge your imagination. Some tickle your fancy and sometimes you get to interview someone that you REALLY love & respect, both for what they say & do all the time. Today, I get to fulfill one of my secret wishes. Here I am at the Warner Studios, waiting to chitchat with one of my fav actress of all times (don’t care what you say): new mom Rachel Anne McAdams, funny, lovely, beautiful, and always ready to smile no matter what, always happy to do her part in promoting her movie, always careful not to say anything trivial.

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Known as a leading romantic lady in ‘The Notebook’ with Ryan Gosling, and as a villain in ‘Mean Girls’, and ultimately as the troubled cop in ‘True Detective’ Season 2 (I know some of you did not like it, but I did and I LOVED her), we will see her in ‘Disobedience’, her new movie coming out on April 27th.

Based on Naomi Alderman’s book, the film follows a woman (Rachel Weisz) as she returns to the Jewish community that rejected her decades earlier for being attracted a childhood friend (Rachel McAdams). Rachel McAdams was born in London, Canada, and looooves Italian food, but… has always Canada in her heart.

  1. I love gelato. “My first film job was in one of Paolo Virzi’s movies, ‘My name Is Tanino’. I was 21, I never took a plane in my life before, and suddenly I was shooting on the beach in Sicily, and there I discovered gelato, which I ate EVERY DAY for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was a magic time, I have wonderful memories of Italy and the Italian people”.
  2. My favorite gelato. “In Sicily I had the famous brioche siciliana, which is round with a little bun on top – the traditional brioche col tuppo – which you can also eat with fruity granita. The granita is so good, the tangerine is one of my favorite, with coffee, almonds, and strawberries”.
  3. I’m not a phenomenal cook, but I can follow a recipe. “I said that before, but if I really like a dish I can be persistent enough to make it happen, maybe not the first or second time, but sooner or later is going to be good” [she smiles].
  4. I can make a great risotto. “I love all Italian food, pasta, pizza, panini, but risotto is one of my favorites. I learned to make it from a friend from Florence. Cooking for me is like a meditation, I love to be able to feed and nourish other people, breaking bread together. For Italian people it is important to sit at the table and share the meal with family and friends, you like your wine but never drink it on an empty stomach, you feed body, mind and spirit”.
  5. Best food in…? “I have to say Toronto! I love it, I live there most of the time, I love to eat in the city. They have everything, you’ll never go hungry there. I don’t drive so I take my bike or walk everywhere. Just one spot: love Cafe Belong down to the Evergreen Brick Works, they have amazing food. They have great salads and soups, and very good cheese. They are ocean friendly, for them food is love”.
  6. My favorite dish. “Again it is a traditional Canadian dish, the bannock. Bannock is a simple bread, back in the days it was a staple of the First Nations’ diet. Bannock is leavened with baking powder rather than yeast. Traditionally, aboriginal and Métis made bannock with cornmeal and they cooked it on outdoors fire, but now there are modern twists, including baked and fried versions. Is like our Canadian version of focaccia”.

Cover photo: brioche with gelato from Gelateria Duomo in Cefalù (PA)