THE CAST MEMBERS of the Queer Eye reboot successfully wormed their way into the hearts of the nation – no one more so than food and wine expert Antoni Porowski.
Maybe it’s the fact that he could be John Mayer’s brother; perhaps it’s the fact that he’s a massive fan of The Strokes and therefore kind of reminds you about the boy you fancied in secondary school.
… Or maybe it’s the fact that nobody’s actually convinced he can cook, seeing as the only things he made on the show were varieties of avocado toast.
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LEAVE ANTONI ALONE, OK?! He’s doing his best.
Anyway, here’s some fun facts about the foodie of the Fab 5:
1. He was once the personal chef and assistant to original Queer Eye foodie Ted Allen, despite not actually being qualified as a chef.
The story goes that Antoni and Ted were strangers who lived across the street from each other in Brooklyn, and one day Antoni’s friend suggested that he introduce himself to the TV star at an event.
That interaction lead to some work cooking for the Chopped host, and their friendship bloomed from there.
He invites me for dinner where he demands that I cook, but not in a professional capacity,” Antoni recently told Grub Street. “We actually still do a lot of dinners whenever we can.“
Antoni’s also previously worked as a waiter, sommelier, general manager, and “even a food consultant” in New York City. However, his true passion lies in home cooking.
I have to admit that out of 10 meals, nine I have at home,” Porowski remarks. “I love to cook, I love to entertain.”
2. He’s a first generation Canadian immigrant.
To put it simply – his mam was born in Warsaw, Poland and his father was born in Brussels after WWII. Both of Antoni’s older sisters were also born in Warsaw. Antoni was born in Canada.
“Living in the US, everyone sees me as a Canadian,” he told fellow Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness on his podcast Getting Curious. But Polish is his first language, FYI!
3. The coming-out story he shared on Queer Eye isn’t entirely true.
In an interview with GQ, Antoni explained how it actually went down:
It was edited into the show saying I texted my father saying, ‘I’m gay, it’s okay.’ That’s a very short version of how it actually came about. He made a comment driving me to the airport that I certainly lead a very discreet life. I’m on the plane on the tarmac like, ‘Well, if the plane crashes, I’m going to die and he’s never going to know.’
I decided to send him an email. Because I was living with Joey, my boyfriend now, I wrote my father a very short email: ‘You brought this up. I think it’s time I tell you: I love. I am loved. His name is Joey, and we live together.’ That was it.”
Adorbs.
4. He isn’t going to be cooking a whole lot more in season two.
Sorry, haters. Season one and two of Queer Eye were actually filmed consecutively, so expect him to continue using the KISS method throughout.
Even if they weren’t though, he’s refusing to bow to the trolls on his avocado usage. Speaking to Refinery29, he said:
If the person needs avocados, then I’m not going to deny them avocados because some troll decided I use avocados too much. If the person needs it, I’m not going to withhold that because of what outside perception of me using a certain ingredient is like.”
Here here!
5. He loves Taylor Swift.
Ok, slight exaggeration – he loves 1989, her 2014 album. He told NME that there was “something very fun and poppy about it!” (He’s not wrong in fairness).
The music lover is also a fan of Richard Ashcroft and Oasis. So there you go.
