Melissa Ordway, Actress And Mac & Cheese Fanatic
See Melissa Ordway in Ted, opening next Friday, June 29. And if you run into her, give her a good mac and cheese recipe.
It's been a while since we continued on our quest to interview the world's most beautiful women about what they like to eat and who they like to cook for them, so when we had the chance to chat with actress Melissa Ordway, we jumped. The gorgeous blonde co-stars in Ted, the Seth MacFarlane-directed flick headlined by Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and a roughneck stuffed bear, out next Friday, June 29.
On the day we speak, she's on a break from shooting the new TV drama Hollywood Heights, a Nick at Nite drama in which she plays a bitchy model, who, Ordway explains, makes the rest of the characters' lives miserable.
While she likes playing the bad girl, she says comedy's more her thing, and when it comes to food, she sticks close to her Southern roots. Here, she talks about how growing up outside Atlanta shaped her (considerable) appetite and how she stays fit, plus she reveals her celeb chef crush and spills on what the craft service table was like on the set of Seth MacFarlane's first feature film (hint: cookies are involved).
Judging from your twitter feed, you seem to frequent LA's excellent restaurants...
Yes, I'm obsessed with food. I wake up in the morning and I'm like, What am I gonna eat today?
How do you keep in shape for modeling and acting? What's your diet like?
I grew up in Georgia, so food was always a very big thing for my family. We have such great food in the South, so I never really worried what I was eating as far as, like, I can only eat lettuce. So I pretty much eat whatever I want. Working out is really important. Going to the gym. Finding a balance between those two things, because I would be so miserable if I couldn't eat what I want. I get really angry.
What about diets?
I tried going on diets, or saying, I'm only gonna eat healthy this week and eat salads, or I'm gonna go on a juice cleanse, and I last like half a day. I find it important to eat what I want and then go to the gym and run on the treadmill. I'm lucky that I can do that so I don't have to do some crazy diet. I just try and do outdoorsy things and keep active.
What foods were you into growing up?
My favorite food from the time I was born until this day is macaroni and cheese. I love mac and cheese, fried catfish, fried chicken, green beans and collard greens. Anything that is deep fried I will probably love. Cheeseburgers, baby back ribs. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite foods. But macaroni and cheese tops the list. I love it so much.
What restaurants do you like in LA?
Ever since I moved to LA my taste has changed a lot because I was exposed to things I never got to eat when I lived in the South. I love curry, I love Thai food, I love love love sushi — there are a lot of great sushi restaurants in Atlanta but nothing like out here.
Ted was a big-budget film. What was the food like on set?
We had amazing food on set. I just remember always being really full. They'd have fresh-baked cookies on set every day. We filmed in Boston. We had a lot of good food.
Mark Wahlberg looks like he's in good shape. He wasn't eating cookies, was he?
Haha. I think Mark might have had a cookie or two, but he is in amazing shape. And Mila [Kunis] is beautiful and gorgeous and most of my scenes were with Mila. Mila would eat — for as great a shape as she's in, you'd think she wouldn't eat that much, but she's really chill and a cool girl and enjoyed her food as well.
A lot of girls we've spoken to are in amazing shape but it doesn't mean they don't like to eat a good cheeseburger once in awhile.
Exactly. It's all about balance. If there's a day that I eat a huge cheeseburger and French fries, maybe I'll stay on the treadmill for an extra 15 to 20 minutes. It's figuring out what works best for you.
What about guys cooking for you? Are you into that?
Yes. I've been very lucky to date some guys who knew how to cook very well. My ex-boyfriend was Italian, so he grew up in a big Italian family and he would cook the best pasta, chicken marsala, chicken parmesan. It was to die for. It would take him all day to make this spaghetti sauce he made. And it was delicious.
You've never dated a professional chef?
I haven't, no. That would be awesome. Where do I find one of those?
A lot of girls think chefs are hot. Ever have a chef crush?
You know who's really cute, the chef who was on Celebrity Apprentice. He has that show Around The World In 80 Plates.
Curtis Stone?
Yes, he's Australian. He's really cute. I haven't known that many chefs in my life so I have never really had a huge crush on one, but every time I see that commercial for 80 Plates — and I watched Celebrity Apprentice — I think he's super cute. I have a tiny little crush on him.
But he's out of luck, because you're engaged, right? To actor and singer-songwriter Justin Gaston. Is he as into food as you?
Yes, he's from Louisiana. You'd think because we're both from the South we'd have similar food, but I have found that in Louisiana, the food is more soupy. He likes things a little bit spicier and saucier than I do. But I've spent a lot of time in Louisiana since I've known him and the food in New Orleans is so good. I've found the things I really like, like Jambalaya, and they have these charbroiled oysters that are amazing.
As you guys settle down, maybe he'll cook some more?
I hope so. He's really busy. He's doing music and acting, so when our schedules are in sync hopefully we'll get to cook a bit more. But right now it's been really difficult. For my birthday, he made me this amazing bread pudding that he got from a family recipe. He has cooked for me before but just not that often.
Back to your career: What kind of movies do you prefer to do?
I love doing comedy. Which will be very surprising once you see Hollywood Heights, because I'm not funny at all in it; I'm actually very mean. When I got to audition for Ted with Seth MacFarlane I was ecstatic. I'm a huge Family Guy fan. So I got to meet with him and audition for him and he laughed at me, which was the biggest compliment of all time. When I get to read a script that's funny I get really excited. It takes a lot for me to laugh because I'm a goofy person but I don't find many scripts funny. But when I was reading Ted I was laughing out loud.
I'm really drawn to projects where I get to be funny. There are so many things in this world that can bring you down, but it's good to be able to make someone laugh for an hour or two.
For more on Ordway's projects, check out tedisreal.com and Hollywood Heights.
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