Laila Ali Is Ready For a 'Late Nite Chef Fight'
Laila Ali is a four-time undefeated world boxing champion. (Her record includes 24 wins, 21 of which were “knockouts,” and zero losses. We’d say she did father Muhammad Ali proud.) The mother of two children, ages three and six, she completed 2012’s New York City Triathlon as “Mombassador” for Aquaphor in a little over three hours. She’s also a fan-favorite competitor on season four of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” making it to the final round of the competition. And an avid cook, Ali has appeared twice on Food Network’s celebrity edition of “Chopped” and emerged as the champion.
The key word here is “competition.” Ali likes it, and she kills it.
Starting November 29, Ali will host FYI’s new cooking competition show “Late Nite Chef Fight” alongside Vic “Vegas” Moea. The concept: Two professional Las Vegas-based chefs enter into an after-hours cook-off, each working out of food trucks neither has ever set foot inside before. No fancy ingredients, no haute equipment. They present their dishes to two expert judges—rotating guest judges include Spike Mendelsohn, Michael Chernow, Casey Lane, and Chris Oh—and the winner takes home bragging rights and a meal cooked by the loser.
“I’m a fan of cooking and cooking competitions, so it was the perfect show for me,” Ali told us. “I don’t even feel like I’m working.” Below, she tells us more about the show, premiering this Saturday at 10pm EST, what she cooks for her kids, and how she stays fit.
"Late Nite Chef Fight" is based on the real after-hours chef competition that takes place in Las Vegas. What’s that all about?
Jolene Mannina [the show’s creator] has been heading up this competition that happens late at night, when a lot of chefs that work in high-end restaurants get off work. They have to cook in popular local food trucks, and they don’t know what ingredients they’ll have access to or what kind of equipment is on the truck. There’s an audience of people cheering them on and watching. It’s a fun, vibrant party scene. It’s right off the Vegas strip, people are having a little alcohol…
Why food trucks?
When you’re used to working in high-end restaurant kitchens with fancy equipment and sous chefs, and now it’s just you and a truck—that’s the competition. These chefs want to prove that they can cook in anything with anything. A lot of people believe that if you can cook well, you can make a great meal no matter what.
A lot of these chefs come in really confident, and it’s fun to see that wane a bit. They’re like, “Wait a minute, I don’t have a burner.” I’ve seen chefs put frying pans on top of the hot oil in a deep-fryer to get heat. I’ve seen some interesting things…
The winner gets to enjoy a meal cooked by the loser. How does that play out?
It’s a humbling experience [laughs].
It’s not really personal most of the time. When you go into battle, you’re not friends…People have to get their minds right and do a little trash talk or whatever it is to get to that competitive place. Then, when someone wins and someone loses, it’s over and they’re friends again. It’s all in good fun.
Any highlights from the premiere that you can share?
All the shows are exciting in different ways. I like to see the different personalities, like when there’s a pairing up of a self-taught, more rugged chef and a classic French chef. I like to see people with different styles go head-to-head.
What’s your cooking philosophy?
It’s just the way that cooking should be, which is clean. You don’t feel like you’re eating healthy food, but you are eating natural, wholesome, organic ingredients. I use grass-fed butter, I watch the types of oils I’m using, I get a lot of vegetables in there, I don’t overdo it. People take their yams and put tons of butter and tons of white, refined sugar and maybe maple syrup on them when, really, yams are naturally sweet. Just bake them!
I’m teaching my kids how to cook at a young age. I want them to know where good, whole food comes from; I want them to understand that vegetables grow from the ground and fruit grows on trees. I took time with that on Thanksgiving—they were in the kitchen helping. I had them picking the collard greens apart before I cleaned them, and I was taking pictures and creating memories. We’ll never get this time back, so it’s important for me.
What did you used to eat before or after you went into the ring?
I’m retired from boxing now, but a big part of my life still is working out. When I wake up, I just have water and some type of fat, like a tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil. That keeps the body in fat-burning mode and starts teaching your body to run off of fat and burn fat as opposed to carbs. So, I work out after that, on an otherwise empty stomach, and then have a shake afterwards with protein, another form of fat like almond butter, and greens. That’s my practice now.
More chefs on TV:
Top Chef Partners with Blue Apron
Whole Foods Has a TV Show
The Most Memorable TV Thanksgiving Meals
What’s your favorite cooking competition show?
