Kate Hackett
Michelle Obama has a new cooking show on Netflix and it seems her daughters have really taken the idea to heart.
The former First Lady shared that her two college-aged daughters were actually fantastic cooks and bakers, but there was a problem.
According to an interview with People, the two girls, Sasha, 19, and Malia, 22, would cook at night — and LATE into the night.
“They were baking way too much at the beginning of quarantine, too many delicious pies. They were good at it! Good pie crust, good fillings,” she said.
“My kids were midnight bakers. So at 1 in the morning, you’d smell cinnamon buns baking,” she says in this week’s cover story. “I had to tell them to stop because we can’t have all those sweets.”
And did former President Barack Obama overindulge?
“He’s just ridiculously disciplined. We hate him,” his wife reported with a laugh.
Mrs. Obama says that she has “retired” from cooking.
“I have retired my cooking badge, I have relinquished that skill to people who are much better at it than I am. Now that [Malia and Sasha] are back, they are cooking more. My girls are very much into cooking, they love the freedom of being in the kitchen, they love creating, they love experimenting. So I’ve passed on that right to the next generation.”
In her new Netflix show, Waffles + Mochi, which premieres on March 16th, Mrs. Obama appears with puppets and guest chefs as they teach children how to prep healthy food.
“Waffles + Mochi, the entire concept is fun. It’s approachable, it’s an adventure, it’s exciting, it’s funny,” she says. “More importantly, it’s something that I would watch even if no kids were around.”
During her tenure in the White House, Michelle Obama’s focus was on healthy eating habits for children and fighting childhood obesity.
Michelle Obama also works with the Partnership for a Healthier America and the “Pass the Love” campaign, which helps give food to families of differing economic situations.
Because her girls were enrolled in remote schooling this year, the Obamas were able to share pieces of the show as a family before it aired.
“This time has allowed us to get some stolen moments back with our girls, who were supposed to have emptied out of my nest,” the former First Lady said. “I was celebrating that they were out building their lives and allowing me the emotional space to let them go. Well, they’re back! It has been more enjoyable than either Barack or I could have imagined.
“They didn’t come back into the same set of rules, because I didn’t want them to miss out on independence. They came back as young women, and our conversations are more peer-oriented than mother-to-daughter . . . a chance for me to explore how they see themselves in the world, what are their worries, how are they as students.”
