Jeff Mauro is breaking down which trendy food items are worth it and which ones you should pass on.
First on the Food Network star’s list to dump is the butter candle, which is a viral TikTok recipe that transforms sticks of butter into an edible candle.
“I’ve never looked at a candle, whether it be a Yankee candle or one of the $90 candles, and went like, ‘Yum! Can’t wait to eat that!’ No. Ditch it,” Mauro, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month. “Food and flames only if you’re cooking, it should be around a flame.”
Another ditch for Mauro is the espresso martini, which has made a comeback this holiday season.
“Espresso martinis are basically a legal speedball,” he shared. “I don’t like them because at the end of the meal when people drink them, or even before, I don’t need all that caffeine and the booze together as one.”
Instead, Mauro prefers something classic and “straight up” like a gin or vodka martini. However, if you’re craving a drink that’s on the sweeter side, Mauro suggested giving a mudslide a try which he considers to be a “sophisticated drink.”
If there’s one thing that Mauro thinks you should continue to treat your guests and yourself with is an over-the-top charcuterie board.
“It’s a great way to feed a crowd. The problem with being over the top is you don’t want your people to get too full before the main event,” he explained. “But if you’re just having a cocktail party, it’s perfect. Right? You got a little something for everybody on there and at the end of the night, whatever’s leftover, you either throw it in the fridge or send it home with people.”
Mauro shared he loves walking into a get-together where he gets to enjoy the diverse spread with either a glass of wine or beer.
“I have all the meats and cheeses in front of me with the sweet stuff and the crunchy stuff and the spicy stuff and the nutty stuff and the herbaceous stuff altogether,” he said. “Yeah. I’m swollen in no time.”
Another dish Mauro doesn’t want to let go of is high-end ramen noodles no matter the cost.
“The more squeaky noodles that are just so chewy and slippery, the better,” he gushed. “I know we’re talking like a big bowl of ramen with good pork and good toppings on there. And a broth that’s been made for six days … That’s what I want every time. So yeah, I’ll pay [for it.]”
Mauro is best known for bringing on the holiday cheer as the host of Holiday Wars. The winter-themed competition show’s season 5 finale recently aired on December 17. As the talented competitors create winter-themed sweet displays, Mauro can’t get over how elaborate some of them turned out.
“You can watch any of these culinary competition shows on Food Network and nothing compares to these, just the magnificence of these sometimes 7-foot [sculptures],” he shared. “They’re not cakes [but] they’re made of cake, they’re made of sugar, they’re made of candy, they’re made of cookies … and it’s like each week they get better and better.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
