Giada De Laurentiis Wants This Iconic Food Network Chef To Make Her Last Meal

Any fan of Giada De Laurentiis likely knows that the popular celebrity chef is a chocolate enthusiast. From upgrading her hot cocoa with a Nutella-like spread to incorporating the ingredient into her morning smoothies, the former Food Network star finds plenty of ways to include it in her recipes. But the fact that it's the primary component of what she'd dine on for her last meal may be a lesser-known detail. And there's one iconic chef she'd choose to make a decadent dessert fit for saying farewell: Ina Garten.

In 2009, De Laurentiis told Redbook, "[Garten] makes this chocolate espresso cake with this special sea salt, and there's caramel in it too ... It has that perfect combination of sweet-salt smooth, sticky but rich, fudgy kind of flavor. That would be my last meal. That's all I would want."

Details are slim on exactly which of Garten's recipes results in the type of deliciousness that would warrant a last-meal request, but the Barefoot Contessa's chocolate cakes sometimes use espresso twice: once in the batter and again in the frosting. All that's left is to add an element of caramel and sea salt, all while following Garten's tried-and-true cake tips.

While Ina Garten's cake was top of mind in 2009, Giada De Laurentiis has had some other sweets that she would classify as last-meal-worthy. In a roundup of New York City eats on her Giadzy blog, she pointed to Levain Bakery's dark chocolate chip cookies as a potential final supper. She describes the treat as "giant," which is definitely believable, given that Levain's cookies clock in at 6 ounces. 

Then, in 2020, De Laurentiis was back on a cake kick, telling People that she'd choose a seven-layer chocolate cake as her last meal. "I would eat all of the frosting on the outside, then I would peel off the cake and eat the layers in between," she enthused, likening the experience to a scavenger hunt.

Three separate options for a last meal isn't too shabby, especially if she chose to have them altogether. But will De Laurentiis update her choice again? It may be hard to say, but it seems fair to predict that no matter what it is, De Laurentiis will stick with chocolate as her go-to.