These days it's cool to be ethnic and to be different, but when I was a kid, it was not cool - at all. My friends would come over and my mom would make crepes with eggs, stuffed with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and spinach. And they'd be like, 'What is this?'

She felt very uncomfortable in front of the camera when Giada De Laurentiis first began hosting Everyday Italian but has since become more relaxed and open on air. The program examines the catering process behind big event extravaganzas such as the Grammy Awards. As a child Giada often found herself in the family's kitchen and spent a great deal of time at her grandfather's restaurant DDL Foodshow.

She is a three-time winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and in 2012 was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods.