Celebrities keep coming up with new kitchen products, and we feel like it’s our duty to ask the hard-hitting questions: What does a celebrity actually know about making a good cookware set? What the heck does it mean if you’re the chief creative officer of a beverage company? What does a singer know about making hot sauce or granola? Read on to find out.
Stanley Tucci x GreenPan Cookware
The typical story of celebrity cookware lines goes a lot like this: Trendy DTC brand partners with a celebrity we love. The celebrity decides on some new colors for products we already bought after getting heavily targeted on Instagram, and we’re expected to give them our money all over again. So I was thrilled to learn that Stanley Tucci’s new cookware collaboration, known as Tucci by GreenPan, was actually a new line. Though the ceramic-coated nonstick pots and pans take after GreenPan’s higher-end Reserve line, Tucci—a legit Food Person who makes pasta for breakfast, for god’s sake—clearly had a hand in the design. The colors look sophisticated, the lines feel clean, the lids are made of clear tempered glass, and the lid handles offer enough room that you can wrangle them while wearing an oven mitt.
If you’re only going to buy one piece from this collection, I recommend the Essential Stanley Pan. Known around my house as “The Pan of My Dreams,” the 13" sauté pan has a 6.5-quart capacity and is nearly impossible to overcrowd; I love that I can toss a pound of cavatappi in it without making a mess all over my stovetop. At $200 (or $230 for the stainless steel version), the Essential Stanley Pan is an investment worth making, even though it will probably only last a few years. —Emily Farris, senior commerce writer
Alani Nu Kimade by Kim K
If the last few seasons of The Kardashians showed us anything, it’s how much of a businesswoman and mogul Kim Kardashian is—creative director of a Dolce & Gabbana show, CEO of clothing brand SKIMS, SNL host, and now, energy drink creator. Kim’s latest collaboration is with the vitamin and supplement business, Alani. The brand offers over 10 different energy drink flavors, as well as things like fish oil, multi-vitamins, and super greens. Kim's beverage boasts vitamin B6 (for brain development as well as nervous and immune system maintenance) and B12 (helps with the development of brain and nerve cells) to help “refresh” any drinker.
Light pink in color (I thought that was Kylie’s thing?), Kim’s energy drink has about the same amount of caffeine as a Celsius (200 mg for a 12-oz. can). Although it contains no sugar, it’s very sweet. The can says Kimade is made with artificial and natural sweeteners, but the artificial sweetener aftertaste this left in my mouth was acrid. Normally I like to sip on something other than water to get through my afternoon slump, but if I had to choose between plain water and Kimade? Sorry, Kim, but I’d pick water.
Ed Sheeran's Tingly Ted Hot Sauce
After a successful career of playing the guitar, being English, and having red hair, Ed Sheeran is taking his talents to Kraft Heinz, where he's debuted a line of hot sauces under the name Tingly Ted’s. If you’re asking “what’s up with the name and why does it sound like my creepy uncle,” the brand appears to be named after Ed Sheeran’s BFF and sidekick, a very grumpy teddy bear named Ted. The tingly and xtra tingly hot sauces are sold as a duo—one for Ed and one for Ted. Cute!
Now onto question two: hot sauce, made by an Englishman? Reader, I’m just as surprised as you are. Still, as a once-avid fan of the flaming-haired singer-songwriter, something in my heart fluttered upon seeing Ed’s name on a bottle of hot sauce. I had to try it. The tingly sauce, supposedly a medium spice level, is disappointingly mild—more comparable to ketchup than hot sauce. Any hint of spice dissolves immediately upon making contact with my tongue, leaving shriveled notes of tomato, ginger, and vinegar. Not entirely unpleasant? But definitely not spicy. The xtra tingly sauce has slightly more longevity in terms of heat, but the acidic, gingery undertones eventually reassert their dominance. Ed suggests enjoying his tingly sauces with your late night nuggets and honestly, that sounds like a fitting use for this ketchup hot sauce. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor
Taika x Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi joined the caffeinated canned beverage brand, Taika, as the company’s first Chief Creative Officer since its 2020 launch this summer. As an avid matcha drinker, I was most excited to try the matcha iced latte, and felt a little disappointed when it turned out to be just fine. It was smoother and sweeter than I anticipated, but lacked an overall punch. Taika does use macadamia milk, as opposed to more popular milk alternatives like almond or oat, which could be the reason for the subtle finish. The oat milk latte ended up being the best of all six drinks. It was sweet and creamy, just like the packaging said it would be, and tastes like a classier, less artificial version of those Starbucks Frappuccino drinks in the glass.
The macadamia latte tastes like a whisper of the oak milk latte, which I didn’t hate. I would’ve loved the mocha latte if it was advertised as chocolate milk since there was no discernible coffee flavor. You can totally skip the black coffee: It’s thin, watery, lacks any depth when consumed straight from the can, and isn’t much better even when you try to customize it with your own sweetener and milk. As for the Limited Edition Mateverse drink….I don’t remember the last time I spit out a drink until I tried this one…And I love yerba mate…Hard pass. —Julia Duarte, designer
Jason Mraz’s Granola
While I rotate through my fair share of granolas, I was already a fan of Michele's Granola for its crunchy clusters and craveable flavors like ginger hemp and salted maple pecan. So when I heard the brand was teaming up with Jason Mraz—whose pop ballads got me through the toughest of middle school times—I just had to try it.
The Mystical Magical Matcha Granola, named for Mraz's newest album, has immediate appeal for a daily matcha drinker like myself. The matcha taste and color is subtle, and it plays quite nicely— or "harmoniously" as the brand boasts—with the nuttiness of the coconut and sweetness of the dried fruit. While I would've loved a stronger kick of matcha, Michele's, as usual, has nailed it on the ratio of clusters to scattered bits, and it doesn't send me into an immediate sugar buzz. Every morning, I’ve been delighted to sprinkle some on top of my chia pudding and yogurt, alongside my matcha latte for some needed extra kick, and in the spirit of Jason Mraz, sing “I’m yours.” —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Florence by Mills Coffee Concentrate
Any hope I had for a Millie Bobby Brown x Eggo collab was quickly squandered when I read the Eleven star had a “spit bucket” for every time she had to eat the frozen waffles on the set of Stranger Things. But hey, when one door closes another one opens. Recently, Brown launched her own coffee company, Florence by Mills Coffee, in collaboration with Collab Coffee. The collection includes a small range of coffee products, from ground coffee to flavored syrups, to help you get you started on becoming an at-home barista or add to your already-impressive coffee-making system. Because Philly summers can hit 90 degrees (and I’m a cuffed jean bisexual), I was immediately drawn to the Quick Serve Coffee Concentrate as a contender for my drink of choice this past summer. For $20, you essentially get 16 cold brews without having to pay coffee shop prices, which can be quite painful these days. Paired with oat milk and a vanilla simple syrup of my own making, I enjoyed a cold brew so delicious, so smooth that it tasted like one made by a professional barista. Does this mean I’m going to quit coffee shops? Of course not. But on days when I roll out of bed too late and I need an energy boost fast, this will do! — Esra Erol, senior social media manager
