At one point in time, Willie Roaf considered pursuing basketball instead of football during his youth. But little did he know during those adolescent years that he would become a Hall of Fame offensive tackle in the NFL. Roaf played four years of collegiate football at Louisana Tech where he grew a reputation for his foot speed and domineering stature. During his senior year, the 6'5, 320lbs lineman was awarded Consensus All-American honors in 1992.
The following year, Willie Roaf was selected 8th overall in the 1993 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Throughout his thirteen-season NFL career, Roaf started in 189 games regular-season games, only missed more than three starts at a time after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2001. Roaf earned the nickname 'Nasty' as an 11x NFL Pro-Bowler and 6x All-Pro First Team selection. If you needed someone steamrolled, Roaf was your man.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.