Actor. Author. Gourmand. Is there anything Stanley Tucci can’t do? The answer is no. And I would like to speak on behalf of humanity and say that we are all so lucky to be living in the time of Tucci. What better way to celebrate this man than by looking back at the way his love of food has gifted us with endless amounts of joy? Including a hairnet moment and a pasta thirst trap for the ages, here are Tucci’s 5 most notable food moments that live on the Internet and beyond.
Photography provided by CNN
The Iconic Mozzarella Hairnet
When Tucci’s CNN series, Searching for Italy, was announced, the Internet simply lost its mind. It continued to lose its mind after the release of the first episode, which follows Tucci on the hunt for the freshest pizza ingredients on the Amalfi Coast and shows him gushing over mozzarella cheese while donning a hairnet. It was the fashion moment the world hadn’t realized it needed. And that’s that.
A Hot Take on Corn Chowder
Speaking of fashion, if there’s one film Tucci is most recognized from, it’s The Devil Wears Prada. His character, Nigel, has some of the best one-liners throughout this masterpiece of a movie. One moment that remains in my personal “top movie zingers of all time” list is when Nigel and Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway’s character) venture to the cafeteria together, and he offers his thoughts on the soup of the day: “Corn chowder… that’s an interesting choice. You do know that cellulite is one of the main ingredients in corn chowder.” Enough said.
His Virtual Meet-Up with Ina Garten
A food figure who has delivered iconic moment after iconic throughout the pandemic? The Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten. Upon the release of Tucci’s newest book, Taste: My Life Through Food, Scripps College brought the two together for an hourlong virtual chat where the duo shared their mutual love of crossword puzzles, ragu and the theater of making a meal with family. A true meeting of the minds.
View this post on Instagram
The Pasta Alla Martina Thirst Trap
Where were you on July 18, 2021? I was fending off a serious case of the Sunday scaries, then just like that, Tucci curbed my anxiety with the most serene image of him serving up a plate of pasta — in a striped apron, no less. In the caption, he quips, “Felicity thinks it would have been better with spaghetti.” Stan, if you’re reading this, I guarantee I would have loved it just the way it was. Just saying.
View this post on Instagram
The Only Margarita Tutorial That Matters
I think we can all agree that 2020 was rough. Toward the end of that year, many of us were consuming copious amounts of content (and alcohol) to find any amount of relief from the pandemic blues. Leave it to Tucci to enter the conversation with his Instagram cocktail series that broke through the noise, particularly his margarita tutorial. Even if you don’t drink, his voice alone will take the edge off any bad day.
