Ludacris is a multitalented fellow: He remains one of hip-hop’s sharpest MCs, one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors, and a savvy businessman whose successes continue to multiply. However, it turns out there’s one thing he can’t do: Cook. To be fair, stars at his level can just hire private chefs, but it appears he wants to add to his multihyphenate resume, and obviously, the best way to learn how to do something is to hire a celebrity chef and film a television special in which he teaches you techniques to learn your way around the kitchen.
Wait, what?
That’s right, Ludacris turned his learning experience into what will undoubtedly be some truly entertaining TV with Ludacris Can’t Cook, an hour-long special set to debut February 25 on the Discovery+ streaming service. Chai Pani executive chef Meherwan Irani will show Luda how to step up his cooking game and introducing him to new, international flavors to expand his palate — and hopefully, the viewers’ as well. In a video call to Billboard, the “Stand Up” rapper and Fast 9 star explained his rationale for doing the show.
“When men like myself are hungry, we just want to eat,” he explained. “We don’t want to take 30 minutes to an hour to cook.” He calls the experience “an eye-opener” and elaborated on just why it was he couldn’t cook in the first place. “I love my mother with all my heart,” he disclaims. “My mother was not the best cook in the world. Her food and cooking has gotten better and better over a long period of time.” He says his Gabonese wife Eudoxie “does all the cooking, which is part of the reason I can’t cook.”
While it’s unlikely that the special will make him as culinarily skilled as he is lyrically adept, hopefully, he’ll learn enough to be able to pick up a few shifts at home and take some of the work off Eudoxie’s plate.