Dave Whelan would probably be an even richer man if it wasn't for his passionate love of soccer. He started out life as a soccer player, in the 1950s and 1960s, enjoying a degree of success and famously breaking his leg during the 1960 FA Cup Final. He used the money he earned wisely and started a chain of supermarkets called Whelan's Discount Stores and retired early from playing to concentrate on developing these.
By the mid-1990s he was the chairman of a very successful chain of sports stores in Britain, but the soccer bug bit him, and he purchased Wigan Athletic Football Club, who at the time were playing in the lower leagues of English football. Whelan invested heavily in new players, better facilities and a new stadium, and his input was rewarded when Wigan were promoted up through the rankings, eventually reaching the lucrative English Premier League in 2005.
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.