Extraordinary Health 28 | Page 23

Photo credit Ellen Silverman FOOD-OBSESSED ACTOR FREDDIE PRINZE JR. WOOS OVER EVERYONE IN THE KITCHEN! What happens at dinner time when busy Hollywood stars have to figure out healthy, delicious food options to please the entire family? Mealtimes can quickly turn into a recipe for disaster. Some families manage quite nicely with the help of personal chefs, restaurants that reserve tables on a moment’s notice, or trusty home delivery services on speed dial. However, none of these options describe the Prinze household, where actor and producer Freddie Prinze Jr. whips up home-cooked meals every day for his wife, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, and their two children. Family favorites such as Gazpacho Salad, Spicy Fish Tacos and Zucchini Parmigiana are the inspiration for his newly-released cookbook Back to the Kitchen (Rodale 2016), a labor of love that aptly describes his first passion. “I was set to go to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena,” said Prinze, who grew up cooking fiery dishes with his mother in Albuquerque. “Before I was ready to leave, I got my first acting job and moved to Los Angeles. But cooking was always my first passion.” Although starring in films and television shows commandeered much of his time, Prinze could always be found near a stovetop or a grill when he wasn’t behind the camera. As a famous teen actor in the 1990s and 2000s whose credits included She’s All That, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Wing Commander, he was the guy on the set who routinely lured fellow cast members away from bland craft services food to sample home- cooked fare in his trailer. And thanks to his mother’s insistence on always cooking with fresh herbs and her knack for improving recipes 100 different ways with New Mexican green chiles, his meals earned consistent praise from family and friends. While he honed his craft as an actor, traveling all over the world on film locations piqued his curiosity for exotic cuisines and expanded his culinary skills. Vol 28 • Extraordinary Health ™ 21