Interview / Benedetta Parodi: "The kitchen? It's like music"

by Laura Frigerio

She is a successful woman and yet she keeps her simplicity and spontaneity intact: this is why she is the most loved by Italians. Now Benedetta Parodi is back in the bookstore with "It's ready! Save dinner with over 250 quick and easy recipes " (published by Rizzoli) and, just for a change, the volume went like hot cakes. But that's not all, because while he is writing and cooking, he also found the time to keep a column on Corriere.it and at the end of November he will debut on Real Time with the talent "Bake Off Italy".
In short, Benedetta is truly a woman full of surprises and she demonstrated it to us also during our interview ...

"It's ready!", Your new book, immediately jumped to the top of the list of best sellers in Italy. What effect does it have on you?
I am flattered. It's nice to know that people still want to take advice from me. Every year I try to diversify to offer something new and this time I propose more than 250 recipes that can be prepared in a short time, between 15 and 30 minutes. And for each recipe I also took photos, so that you can see the result. Everything was done in a totally homely dimension.

A curiosity: how do you make a book a year with all your commitments?
By now I am organized, I manage to spread the work over the course of the year and slowly I find the book ready.

Your recipes are among the most "googled". In your opinion is it better to consult the net or a classic cookbook?
If you are a regular "frequenter" of the net it is natural to look for recipes online and it must be said that there are many interesting ideas there, but when you go to the stove, I prefer the book because it is more convenient. Bringing your pc to the kitchen is not the best! And I say this even if for some time now I have my own column on Corriere.it.

You talked about ideas. You have to find several to come up with so many recipes!
Cooking is like music: it never ends. Various combinations of notes lead to different songs and the same goes for the ingredients.

How much has your life changed since the kitchen came?
It was a notable leap from the news, which is an aseptic environment and where you often find yourself giving bad news. With Cooked and eaten I found myself in the right dimension for me, the one that allowed me to have a different, more direct relationship with the public. From there I understood that this was my path and feeling the affection of the public so strong is really beautiful, exciting and rewarding.

Now a new TV challenge awaits you, namely "Bake Off" on Real Time. Are you ready?
I would say yes! I am happy to have arrived at Real Time, where I was immediately at home. Then it is a channel that I have always followed, because it is full of interesting programs, those able to put together in front of the TV mother and daughter. Bake Off she sees me for the first time not in front of the stove but as the hostess, since it's a talent show. A latter genre that I like, because it showcases what people really know how to do.

“Bake Off” is a talent based on sweets. Are you greedy? What's your favourite dessert?
I love sweets and my "classic" is apple pie. But I must admit that I am taking a lot of ideas from the recipes of "Bake Off" and therefore I am starting to experiment.

You cook ideally for all Italians, but does your family feel somehow neglected from a culinary point of view?
No, I do everything to avoid it. Just think that I also put a slate in the kitchen where my husband and my children can write the dish they would like and I, as soon as I get home, I try to please them!

In short, you are really a multitasking woman! But what if you had to define yourself with an adjective?
Do you know what? I feel like a truly accomplished woman!