Earlier this week I got to chat with Melissa and Joey Maggiore, the sibling stars of the new Food Network reality series, Family Style. Premiering tonight, August 26th at 10:30pm ET/PT, this “odd couple” of the restaurant world, share the same goal: to make their new Italian restaurant, Tommy V’s, in Carlsbad, Calif., a success. Melissa, the grounded front of the house, and Joey, the prankster chef, are often at odds, but pull through in the end. I ask the siblings about having to collaborate professionally (something I know a lot about), what are some of the worst pranks Joey's ever pulled, and what they like to serve on Sunday for their family. Enjoy!
What is like collaborating with your sibling? Are there boundaries that aren’t really there because you’re not working just with a professional colleague; do the lines get blurred? What are the challenges?
Melissa: There are no lines. That’s the problem. [laughs]
Joey: Melissa needs to stay out of the restaurant and let me do what’s right, but she doesn’t listen, so that’s the problem. [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah, right; yeah, right.
Joey: But I don’t think there’s a problem. We work very well together, and obviously we have a competitive side – like I said, we’re always trying to one-up each other, but it makes the experience better. I don’t think there are boundaries; I think we work together pretty well.
Melissa: I think that it actually becomes an issue at times, especially when we’re not only working with each other. There are other people around, and obviously when you’re running a business, everyone has to have a job description and do it. And if Joey and I were just business colleagues, there would be a line. He wouldn’t be able to talk to me that way sometimes, or what I said would have more relevance; but because he’s my brother, I’m running the front and if I run to the back, if he’s upset, he’ll just tell me off or he won’t do it – obviously he couldn’t do that if I were just managing the restaurant and not related to him. Sometimes the lines are blurry —
Joey: Sometimes your mouth gets in the way. Is that what you were going to say? [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah, right. Your mouth is always in the way. But I also think that times it makes it interesting or uncomfortable for some of the people who are working with us, because they still have to stay within those realms of professional conduct, and sometimes Joey and I overstep. I’m kind of nervous to see the show and episodes, because I’m sure we’ve overstepped, and we’re going to think, Oh my God, we shouldn’t have acted this way! [laughs]
What is the best or worst prank Joey has ever pulled? Best or worst, depending on what side you’re on.
Melissa: The worst prank Joey’s ever pulled? In my life, and this one’s just downright mean. I was at home one day, and my brother came over, and he had these lottery tickets --
Joey: [hysterical laughter]
Melissa: and he said to me, Oh I got these lottery tickets. So I was like, Why is he giving me a lottery ticket? And he says, You never know Melissa, we might win. Well let me just preface this by saying that I was going through some problems – I just got divorced, picking up pieces of my life, could’ve used the extra money – and I scratched the ticket and I couldn’t believe it! I had to rub my eyes a couple times. It looked like I won $100,00 or something. And I started crying, I was so excited. And I looked at Joey – it was a fake lottery ticket. I’ve never been so mad in my life.
Ooh that’s awful, Joey.
Joey: [still laughing] Yeah, you know, we had a few laughs.
Melissa: And in terms of pranks on the show, take your pick. Joey made me eat raw cow tongue, he made me eat this disgusting crockpot thing, so believe me, every day is like torture.
Joey: No, the funniest one was the funnel trick. You’ve got to tell her about the funnel trick.
Melissa: Oh, the funnel – I’ve tried to forget that.
Joey: So there’s this trick in the restaurant, where I told her, Look, if you can grab a quarter and put it on your head, tilt your head back with a funnel in your pants, if you tilt your head down and get the quarter in the funnel, you win ten bucks. Well while they tilt their head back and shut their eyes, you get a jug of water and pour it down the funnel, so it goes down their pants. We actually got that one on camera so it was pretty funny. [laughs]
Melissa: Yeah, except that I was working that night and I had to go back out there with wet pants, like a wet crotch area. It was terrible.
What is your favorite Italian dish to make at home, for your family or when you guys are hanging out?
Joey: My favorite dish is called sugo, which is basically a Sunday pasta dish – braised short ribs, homemade meatballs, and you cook it all day long. It’s something that the kids grow up on, for me it’s a real tradition in our home.
Melissa: Every Sunday we try to teach our kids a new dish, my daughter and I cook a lot. I love sugo, but my go-to is really simple – aioli. I do it all the time – pasta, olive oil, garlic, a little red pepper. I cook really simple at home, with a lot of seafood. Any pasta with seafood is great for me.
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