Hedy Goldsmith And Mourad Lahlou Live At The Food Republic Test Kitchen

Today we are live from the Food Republic Test Kitchen & Interview Lounge at Little Owl The Venue in New York's West Village. A lot of our friends from the culinary world are stopping by for interviews and fun in the kitchen. See full schedule.

Mourad Lahlou is chef and owner of Aziza in San Francisco and emceeing at today's International Chefs Conference. Hedy Goldsmith, a Miami pastry legend, will release her first book, BAKING OUT LOUD: Fun Desserts with Big Flavors, tomorrow. Both pulled random questions out of a bowl and answered it, no matter what.

Mourad Lahlou

Did you watch cooking shows as a kid?

Nada! We don't have them in Morocco.

There's nothing close to a cooking show there?

When I was in Morocco, there was absolutely no interest in cooking shows. But nowadays, they have Iron Chef and shows from Europe and there are a couple of people who are Moroccan who are doing cooking shows. But growing up, nothing.

How did people learn how to cook in their homes?

The old-fashioned way. Our families were big and people did not move a lot out of their homes. You basically learned from your grandma or your aunt or your mom. You didn't need to have someone tell you how to make something.

Is there anything like Top Chef?

No, there are no competitions. Those things are silly to them – food is not about competition or a race. You can't have first place and second place. It's very personal.

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Hedy Goldsmith

What would you do if you cut your finger off and it won't stop bleeding?

You know what we do in the kitchen? We take the blue painter's tape that we use and I would wrap the hell out of the finger and then wrap a towel around that and continue my shift.

And then, what?

Oh, then I would go to the emergency room.

You have to finish the shift, though?

You have to finish what you're baking because you have to pull it out of the oven if it's in there baking.

Have you had this happen to you before?

Actually, I have. I've cut the tip of my finger off making apple pies for Thanksgiving and needed 17 stiches! They had to take skin from the roof of my mouth...

The roof of your mouth? Jeeez.

Oh, yeah. This was a surgical procedure.

You're feeling good now, though? Is it still numb?

It's been seven years. It's fine. I don't really have much feeling in it, but it's okay.