Rosanna Pansino Interview

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Rossella Rago: Welcome back! So our next guest is our kind of girl, right Justine?

Justine Santaniello: Yes.

Rossella: Rosanna Pansino is a cookbook author, social media baking sensation and host of the new HBOMax cooking show “Baketopia”. So something tells me we’re going to speak the same language over here, right Rosanna?

Rosanna Pansino: Thank you for having me! I’m so excited about this show!

Rossella: Okay first things first, we hear you have some fancy footwear on today. Can we take a peak?

Rosanna: Yes, okay so I am completely-the theme today is mint chocolate chip. So of course, a mint chocolate chip heel.

Justine: Amazing, I am obsessed with them.

Rossella: Okay, so were you involved creatively from day one of “Baketopia”? I mean how did you get to put your personal touch on everything?

Rosanna: I just feel so grateful that the production company trusted me not only to host and be a judge, but also be an executive producer. I really feel like they enjoyed-we loved going back and forth with creative. I am a consumer of entertainment. I love watching shows, and specifically I love watching baking competition shows. I think I’ve seen every single one out there, and so they really listened to the feedback of how to make this one very unique and different. And so they did listen to my creative input and I’m just so excited that they did because this is a show that’s a little bit different than all the other ones out there because I challenge bakers to not only make the trendiest foods that are out there, not just a traditional biscuit or a cookie that you’ve seen, you know, hundreds of times. Which there’s nothing wrong with that, I love a good solid cookie, but I wanted to see the trendy foods that are being created and more shared now all over social media. Which are like the jelly cakes and the things that are extremely popular, and also challenging the bakers to create desserts that have never existed. For instance, I pushed them hard, and I don’t regret it because we got some treats that have never existed before.

Justine: So, what have the fan reactions been like and the support for the show? We know that you have such a dedicated following. How did everybody react to the news about the show?

Rosanna: They were so excited. Usually I listen to my fanbase. I joke that I have almost three billion bosses. You know when my fans want a cookbook, I will make one for them. They have been asking for a baking show for years, so I’m just-I couldn’t be more proud. I am completely obsessed and I think that they’re going to love it because I waited till the right time for the right partners, so this is, it’s-it’s the absolute best. My whole heart and soul went into it that I can do, so I hope that they-I think they’re going to love it. There’s a lot of excitement about it from them online, so I just can’t wait till they get to see it. So I hope people love it as much as I did. It-filming it was amazing.

Justine: Thank you so much Rosanna. This was awesome.