I’m loving interviewing celebrities over at Cuisine Noir Magazine! Check out my feature on Coby Bell.
You’ve probably seen him clowning around, jock-style, on the hit show “The Game,” and also as a counterintelligence expert on USA’s “Burn Notice.” Coby Bell is definitely a star to watch. Not only is he engaging, but his sense of humor and openness is one of those qualities that never gets old. Go ahead and indulge as Coby dishes on his birthday cake made from Play-Doh, why chocolate is an addiction and how the genius of music and food came together.
Coby Bell Family
ERL: You just celebrated a birthday May 11. Congrats! What did you do to celebrate?
“I pretended to be on heroin, no really. I had to play the role of someone who was addicted to heroin.” But in all seriousness, Coby told TCS that his mom’s birthday is also in May, so they had a Mother’s Day, double birthday dinner with the family.
Additionally, he took his wife and kids to a Thai place in Long Beach called Bai Plu Restaurant & Sushi Bar. “The children weren’t too pleased; all they wanted were the little bits of eggs in the food. So we ordered more egg.”
ERL: No birthday is complete without cake. What type of cake did you have?
“My children made me a cupcake with one candle made out of Play-Doh. My daughter wanted to know why I didn’t take my cupcake with me to Miami [while filming “Burn Notice”]. I told her, it’s made of Play-Doh, it’ll get crushed.”
The crew on the set helped him celebrate with a large photo cake and it just so happens that a fellow cast member has the same birthday.
ERL: So it’s clear that you like cake, what’s your favorite?
“There’s this place in Long Beach called Creative Cakery. We used it for our wedding 10 years ago.” I could only imagine the smile on his face as Coby went on to describe how moist their chocolate chip cake with delicious sour cream frosting was. He says ever since then, they get their cakes from them.
ERL: You’re a father of not one but two sets of twins! How does your family accommodate so many palates?
“They’ve always been into oatmeal. We can count on that for breakfast. Lately they’ve been in to Cinnamon Toast Crunch [cereal] and of course pancakes are always a winner. Making lunch is pain in the butt because their all in school. It’s like an assembly line trying to pipe out 4 boxed lunches.”
ERL: What are some of your children’s favorite snacks?
“The usual suspects: macaroni and cheese, pizza, PBJ sandwiches and more recently some of the children are liking edamame.” Coby explains, “But you never know when they’re gonna change to the next big thing. My wife just started eating the seaweed chips and two of my kids are now really into those.”
Coby Bell
ERL: Judging from your characters Jesse Porter on “Burn Notice” and Jason Pitts on “The Game,” it’s obvious that you keep in shape. Assuming that you have knack for snacks, what are some of your favorite treats?
Dark chocolate is major. “I can’t leave Whole Foods without getting one treat for the car ride. I’m not a fan of the chocolate flavor combinations though, because chili peppers have no business being with my dark chocolate. I really like it [plain dark chocolate] as its own magical thing.”
ERL: Growing up, who were your primary culinary influences?
Although Coby says he doesn’t cook, he definitely remembers his grandmother as an amazing cook. “Thanksgiving and all those big meal holidays were just incredible with the greens, stuffing and the other soul food. As I got older, I learned that soul food is delicious but it’s not good for me because it’s loaded with fat. It’s the best tasting thing in the world, but you have to eat it in moderation.”
ERL: You got a chance recently to have fun and express your musical talent with the “Dip and Pitts” song (The Pittsy Shuffle) on “The Game.” In actuality, you really have an interest in music. If you could compare your musical sound to the taste of a particular dish, which dish would it be and why?
With a big resounding “Wow,” Coby went on to tackle this question explaining his philosophy. “To me a good song is a good song. I don’t care what kind of music it is, Jazz, Reggae, Country or Classical. If it makes me nod my head, it’s great! It’s the same with food, it doesn’t matter if it’s Mexican, Thai or French, a good dish is a good dish. When I’m writing a song, I’m not thinking about the type of song I’m going to write. I just write it and I know that when people hear it, they’ll get it. Same with food. Once you taste it, you know. If it’s great, I love it.”
ERL: We got into your foodie side, is there anything you would like to tell TCS about any upcoming projects?
“I’m having a lot of fun with what I do. I’m filming and spending time with my family.
You can expect “Burn Notice” back in June and “The Game” will return next season. I’m also working on a future project with a producer/writer/buddy of mine that’s really promising.”
And last but not least, Coby tells TSC that he’s expressing his musical talent, which has always been a love, on an upcoming project with Milky Junior & The Milky Way. “It’ll kind of be to funk music what Jack Black did in Tenacious D with Heavy Metal comedy.”
We’re looking forward to it too Coby. All the best!
Shelley, The Food Relationship Coach™
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