The Philly cheesesteak has become so popular, you can find the notorious sandwich on the menus of tons of restaurants across America. However, nothing beats the original with the best cheesesteak found in its home state of Pennsylvania. Local Philadelphians Pat and Harry Olivieri are often credited for the creation of the sandwich in the early 1930s. The two ran a hotdog stand and would occasionally chop up beef with grilled onions and serve it on a roll.
There are several variations of the sandwich but the original sandwich is known for its thinly sliced griddle-cooked beef, grilled onions, topped with cheese wiz served on a hoagie roll. Other versions of the sandwich feature bell peppers, American or provolone cheese, and sweet jalapeno peppers. The local restaurants and their consumers of Philadelphia have been arguing for decades about who has the best Philly cheesesteak but from the outside looking in, their all winners because this sandwich is one of the best to ever be created.
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.