Category: Projects

It’s very unlikely you’ll ever see Chrissy Teigen drinking a Unicorn Frappuccino, or anything Unicorn-themed for that matter.

The model and cookbook author told People on Wednesday while promoting McDonald’s McDelivery service that she is “exhausted” by the new trend.

“The unicorn burrito with cotton candy? That’s not a burrito. That’s a tortilla filled with cotton candy and jelly on it,” she says. “I’m just not understanding a lot of things in the food world and I feel like it’s all about the Instagram now. I mean, I’m old school in the way where I’m like just serve good food and people will come to it. Now everyone feels like they need a gimmick and you really don’t—just make good, hearty beautiful food.”

When it comes to what food she would like to see have a moment in the food world, she had two words: meat pies.

“I do feel like meat pies haven’t taken off enough in the United States,” Teigen says. “Everywhere else they appreciate a good meat pie, like at the gas station you get a meat pie. They’re so easy to hold, so delicious. Ugh, I love them.”

While chatting with PEOPLE, Teigen also gave an update on her upcoming second cookbook, saying the process has been difficult: “The first one, it’s every recipe you know you love, your family loves, then you start to work on the second one and John [Legend] compares it to a second album,” she says. “You want to change it up but you also know why it worked so well in the first place so you don’t want to change it up too much.” The mom to daughter Luna, 1, with husband Legend says her palate has also changed. “Writing the last book I was pregnant, and promoting the last book I was pregnant and the food that I loved is different from the food that I love now,” she says. “That’s definitely the challenge in it.”

“I keep saying I want to put in a few more healthy options in the book but that doesn’t tell the right story,” Teigen says. “To have like a tuna casserole oozing with cheese and then next to it a pomegranate salad or something, that drives me wild, it makes me anxious even thinking about it. So basically I either have to let that part go and realize everyone has different palates and in the same way that I sometimes want a light salad, sometimes I want a casserole. I just have to figure out mentally how to get past that.”

• People

Even while Chrissy Teigen is traveling on tour with her husband John Legend and their 1-year-old daughter, Luna, she’s making it a priority to test recipes for her second cookbook.

“We have tried to book as many homes, AirBnB type places across the country,” Teigen tells PEOPLE on the set of her newest Smirnoff ad. “If John is performing more than one or two nights in a city then we’ve tried to get a house. I’m trying to finish the cookbook and I need a kitchen! I want to tweet like, ‘Anyone hear in Clearwater have a kitchen I can use?’ I have to finish this book!” And though the Cravings author will be watching Legend perform in Los Angeles for Memorial Day this year, she has another fun idea planned for the evening.

“He’ll be performing at the Greek Theater and the [first house that John and I bought] is just around the corner so we might pass by it,” she tells People. “I really think about that place all the time. I want it! I want to get it back almost.” For those who aren’t married to a touring R&B star, Teigen shares her best barbecue entertaining tips, with a refreshing summer cocktail recipe to boot. “You don’t want to be tied down to making cocktails for everybody, like individual cocktails,” Teigen says. “You also don’t want to put them to work either. What I like doing is making a huge punch bowl, or better yet, find one a mason jar beverage dispenser, it just makes everything look very cool, very casual.”

Adding, “I love a bar of anything. I love being able to put together a Frito pie bar, or a taco bar, or anything where people can see fresh ingredients out and be able to pick and choose what they want. We’re all different. We all have certain versions to certain things. I think that’s really important is for people to have a choice in what they want. That’s why a cocktail bar with everything laid out is really important.”

“I love vodka and soda,” says Teigen. “I don’t like really heavy drinks. I tend to love something refreshing and light. For me, club soda really does that job. I really like putting fresh things in my cocktails – you can always add honey or thyme or berries.

“We love to keep things really casual,” she says. ” A lot of people when they come to our home they think that we’re going to have hors d’oeuvres passed out and a DJ playing, but no, we plug it into the iPod. We like to be very relaxed. We want everybody to get that vibe from the second they walk in. That’s why I think it’s really important to have a self-served bar. It doesn’t intimidate people. You have all of your alcohols lined up. You have all fresh garnishes to add. People can really do what they want and just enjoy the party.”

• People