‘Queer Eye’s’ Antoni Porowski on Hosting Netflix’s Newest Cooking Competition Series & More

Life may be complicated, but cooking doesn’t have to be! Just ask Antoni Porowski.

The Queer Eye star is stepping out on his own by hosting Netflix’s new culinary competition series Easy-Bake Battle, inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven. Seeking to celebrate the unsung heroes of the home kitchen, the show features skilled and passionate home cooks, all with a ton of heart and soul, facing off and using their most ingenious kitchen hacks to prove who can make the easiest, fastest, and most delicious food.

With the clock working against them, the competitors are pushed to their limits. On the plus side, they have a chance to win up to $100,000.

Porowski, who will be joined by guest judges, including Kristen Kish of Iron Chef and Nailed It! alum Jacques Torres, helped pitch and develop the series. He took some time to talk more about it with OFM, as well as his favorite food to make, and what we can expect from the upcoming season of Queer Eye.

Can you begin by telling us what viewers can expect from Netflix’s new culinary competition series Easy-Bake Battle?

With Easy-Bake Battle, imagine a bath—I don’t know why I said bath, but a bath that’s filled with TikTok hacks and Instagram reels that everyone is obsessed over every week and how the trends are changing so quickly. People are using their ingenuity and creativity to make stuff at home and sharing it with the world. That’s basically it, with a lot of incredibly talented moms who are out there defying the odds and catering to their children’s needs and showing it on Easy-Bake Battle and battling it out for $25,000 up to $100,000!

You helped pitch and develop the series. How did the idea for this show come about?

It was something that I thought about for a long time. I looked over a lot of concepts and I wanted to think about the type of show that I wanted to have. I love a good cooking competition show. I’ve been watching them since I was a little kid, but I also love the idea of what I learned on Queer Eye. Empowering home cooks and people who don’t necessarily pursue this in a professional capacity and showing that what they do also has worth. The importance of storytelling through good.

Also, selfishly, I just love people, and I love getting to know them through their food. I think it’s one of the most intimate ways to get to know somebody. You get to know what’s important to them, what they deal with on a daily basis, where they come from, their origin story, and there’s no shortage of that.

Is this your first time hosting a reality competition series?

So, I guest-judged on Nailed It!, but that was more of an international incident because we were all complete nightmares and failed miserably (laughs). Thankfully, I didn’t have to decorate a cake and be judged by Jacques Torres. So, I got to be a judge, but that was it.

Now that you are hosting, what are you taking away from this experience?

It’s so tricky because, not that you asked me, but my least favorite part is telling somebody that they have to go home, which is kind of the nature of a competition show. Do I try to avoid that part? Yes, but everyone told me that was impossible. So, you can’t please everybody, unfortunately, but I love being there to kind of empower them and encourage them.

I would never be capable of doing what these people do on Easy-Bake Battle. Coming in, putting themselves out there, and in such a short amount of time trying to produce something that is edible, creative, and fully delicious. I have so much respect for it, so I try to approach it with as much empathy and compassion as I possibly can. Do I cheat a little and help them a little bit along the way? Yeah, I do, because I can’t help myself.

Have you always had a love and passion for food and cooking?

Yes! I’ve been obsessed since I was a little kid. It’s honestly the language of my family. We used to go to restaurants when I was a little kid, and we would try something, and then we would go home, and one of my parents would recreate it and try to figure out how to make it better. When I travel to cities now, my partner will typically be like, OK, what are the national landmarks or special things that we have to go see? For me, I’m like, no. It’s the restaurants. Where are we have breakfast; where are we having lunch, and where are we having dinner?

You are very much known for your simple tips and tricks to making a delicious meal. What’s the best cooking advice you have ever been offered?

When I was writing my first cookbook, Antoni in the Kitchen, my dear friend, Mindy Fox, who was my collaborator and co-author on the book, she taught me quickly how I overcomplicate not only my life, but cooking. I often use more elements than are necessary. That’s just how my brain works, and she taught me the power of editing.

Get rid of the clutter; make it simple; make it sustainable, and that’s something that I’ve tried to apply. Even to Queer Eye as well. If I’m teaching somebody a really complex recipe, what are the odds that they’re actually going to want to recreate that time and again? You want to keep it simple so that they will make it again, and it’s easier to memorize.

What are some of your absolute favorite dishes to make?

Oh! Absolute favorite. It’s fall right now, so I’ve started making my chili again where I use Guinness, dark chocolate, and chipotles in adobo. If you thin it out, it’s a great soup, and if you keep it nice and thick, you can eat it in a bowl, and it just makes you feel better right away. Literally, any type of stew, whether it’s plant based or it has beef or chicken, it’s so comforting to me in the winter.

I am like a squirrel. They get their nuts and store them somewhere; I do that with stews. I put them in containers. I have to quadruple or quintuple the recipe because we usually end up eating for four people between me and my partner, but then I like to freeze large amounts and save them for another day.

Nothing makes me happier than a day when I’m really lazy and just popping something out of the freezer and being like oh my gosh, I made an amazing bone broth with root vegetables, pulled chicken, and a whole bunch of ginger and cilantro.

Is there anything you can tell us about the upcoming seventh season of Queer Eye?

I can tell you that it was filmed in New Orleans in the heart of summer, so we all look like wet rats (laughs). However, there’s no shortage of wonderful heroes. Truly, hats off to production and to the wonderful casting department at ITV for always pushing the boundaries on telling diverse stories, which I still feel like we’ve only scratched the surface, but I fell in love with that city.

I love it so much. It is so deeply rich in culture, history, and food. Just understanding the nuances between Creole and Cajun cuisine is truly fascinating. New Orleans itself is a character the way that Austin and Texas were in our previous seasons, and I’m just so excited for people to see it whenever it comes out!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Porowski by following him on Twitter and Instagram @antoni, or visit his official website, antoniporowski.com. Easy-Bake Battle is now available to stream on Netflix.

Photos courtesy of Ryan Duffin and Netflix