The closest star to us is called 'Proxima Centuri', and from the name 'Proxima', you could be forgiven for thinking it must be quite close. In galactic terms, it is. In real terms, with our current capabilities, it really isn't.
Proxima Centuri is 4.5 light years away, meaning quite literally that light takes four and a half years to get there. And we can't yet travel at the speed of light. Using the technology we currently have, and applying a lot of goodwill to it, our best option would appear to be nuclear electric propulsion, which is at the testing stage with several space agencies, and has the potential to be put to great use in interplanetary travel; it could reach Mars in as little as 90 days. To reach Proxima Centuri, however, would still take a little in excess of 1,000 years. We hope there isn't a galactic neighborhood notice board pinned up in one of the nearby star systems - at the moment we have very little chance of being able to read it.
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.