Antoni Porowski Dishes Up News on ‘Queer Eye Season 9’ [Interview]

The renaissance of Queer Eye in 2018 has had a deep impact on everyone involved in the series. The reboot takes the original premise from its predecessor and opens it up to anyone the new Fab Five can help uplift. The series is a wholesome celebration of the power of human connection, as well as a way to uplift LGBTQIA voices. When the reboot first premiered, it became a cultural phenomenon, and eight seasons later, it’s still going strong.

The strength of the series has opened doors to all sorts of new opportunities for the Fab Five as well, including Antoni Porowski, the resident food expert on Queer Eye. Antoni came up in the restaurant scene working with Ted Allen, the current host of Chopped, who was his counterpart in the original series Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. He worked as Ted’s assistant as well as his personal chef. Now, Antoni has his own projects to uplift in addition to maintaining his role in the Queer Eye cast. He currently has a partnership with Lowe’s to inspire people to grow their own fresh foods in their own backyards. He also has a series in the works with National Geographic called No Taste Like Home, where he travels the world “to discover the rich heritages of global celebrities by way of their ancestors’ food traditions, techniques and culinary experiences.” Collider spoke with Antoni about his upcoming projects, as well as tips and tricks for those who have a green thumb.

Queer Eye

Release Date

February 7, 2018

Cast

Antoni Porowski , Jonathan Van Ness , Karamo Brown , Tan France , Bobby Berk

Seasons

4

‘Queer Eye’ Is Back With a New Fab Five Member

Antoni was in Las Vegas filming Season 8 of Queer Eye when he spoke with Collider. When asked about how things are going, he shared, “It’s going good. It is very dry. I am using a lot of chapsticks. I am hydrated. I’m using my electrolytes. It’s a very interesting season– we have The Vegas Strip, which is just like shiny bright lights, and we’re spending a lot of time there.” There is also a new addition to the Fab Five. Jeremiah Brent joins the cast after the exit of Bobby Berk as the new interior design expert.When asked about how things are going with Jeremiah, Antoni shared, “He’s a seasoned professional. He’s been on TV longer than all of us combined. Like, he literally used to do a show with Rachel Zoe, and he’s such a sweetheart. He shows up, he’s like the first person on set and the last one to leave, just very passionate about what he does.” Jeremiah has been featured many times on HGTV alongside his husband, Nate Berkus, and they’ve co-hosted several shows on the home improvement network together.

He also commented on how the series’ popularity has been a blessing but also a bit of a hindrance. Antoni said, “The funny thing is, is like, with, as every season kind of continues, because we’re on season nine of the show now; ten if you count Tokyo, and the producers and the casting directors keep on trying to find people. And it’s harder and harder to [find people] who have actually never heard of the show.” It seems like things are going well with the newest Fab Five member, and Antoni has his own fun projects to look forward to as well.

Antoni Gives Tips on Growing Veggies

Spring has sprung, and many people are frustrated with grocery store prices, to the point of wanting to try to grow their own veggies and herbs. Antoni has partnered with Lowe’s Home and Garden to make those gardening dreams a reality. When asked about tips for beginners, Antoni said, “I think starting small, have a look at what your dietary needs and your eating habits are currently as you stand, and work from there. If you start getting too many things, and you get too overwhelmed, you’re less likely to really make this something that’s a long-term practice or something that you’re really passionate about, because you could just get overwhelmed.” He added, “Herbs are so easy. Mint grows like a weed. So do chives. Herbs get incorporated into literally every single meal of the day.

From there, you can move on to things like greens, and you can get some beautiful different types of kale or some baby arugula or some wonderful mustard greens, and then from there, you can move on to things like cucumbers or tomatoes, which need a shocking amount of water, but you can do cherry tomatoes because they’re a lot easier, and they grow a lot quicker, and they’re freaking delicious, and they can be stored in the fridge.” However, Antoni further explained tomatoes in general shouldn’t be stored in cold places. “Never put a tomato in the fridge, it changes the texture, it gets gritty, it’s not great, but cherry tomatoes definitely work.

In addition to his partnership with Lowe’s, Antoni is branching out with his own series on Nat Geo: No Taste Like Home. When asked about updates on the new series, he shared, “I don’t have any updates. I do know that that’s going to be announced soon because upfront season is going to be starting. So I’m going to find out probably close to when everybody else finds out, but I’m so excited about the show.” He also shared more about the series, saying, “It’s got elements of like the heart of Queer Eye, but on a very, in a very global way, we literally got to travel to, I think, four or five continents in a matter of a few months and exploring family history through the lens of food is something that’s always been deeply important to me just in my own reckoning with my own Polish heritage.” The series uses food as a vehicle to dig deep into the stories behind the foods, bringing people’s stories to the forefront. Antoni said, “To be able to [experience] that with a lot of these extremely public figures who lead very private lives; who are willing to open themselves up about their insecurities; what they know and what they don’t know about their family’s history has just been really beautiful and fascinating. And I hope I get to do it forever.”

To hear more about Queer Eye and more on why you should never refrigerate your tomatoes, check out the full interview with Collider above. All 8 seasons of Queer Eye are available to stream on Netflix. Watch on Netflix