The List: 10 things John Catucci, host of You Gotta Eat Here! on Food Network Canada, can’t live without
1 | My shaving gear I hate shaving. I used to get all kinds of nicks and scratches. I discovered The Art of Shaving products at a store in Vegas. They’ve saved my face.
2 | My Nakiri knife I found it at a store in Calgary when I was shooting there. I walked in with a couple of guys on the crew and we all started fawning over these knives. They’re light and super sharp. Mine is made for cutting vegetables. It actually makes cooking fun.
3 | My jump rope I hate exercising, but my job requires me to eat—excessively. My routine mostly involves jumping rope in my hotel room. I try to do 100 reps without stopping. And I always wonder what the people in the room below mine must think I’m doing.
4 | My little piece of home My six-year-old daughter, Ruby, made this book for me to take on the road. I look at it when I’m homesick.
5 | My bowling shoes I bowl a lot, mostly with guys from the show (we’re on the road 200 days a year, so we have to entertain ourselves). Wearing rental shoes all the time was starting to get gross, so I asked my wife for my own pair for Christmas. They’ve made a huge difference—though not to my score.
6 | My JFL award For years I’ve been part of a comedy duo called the Doo Wops. In 2001 we won the Homegrown Comic Competition at Just for Laughs in Montreal. It was the moment that launched my career.
7 | My grill I just bought a new one, a really big Weber Genesis. I’d always heard that you should try the lid when you’re buying a barbecue, and this one has an incredibly solid lid.
8 | My Bitondo’s panzerotti I’ve been going to Bitondo’s in Little Italy since my dad first took me 35 years ago. It hasn’t changed at all. I used to go a lot—and I’d devour panzerotti, sometimes even a slice, too—but I’ve cut back. Now, it’s a once-a-year thing. You can’t do more than that.
9 | My favourite T-shirt I bought this Ironhead Valentine’s Day T-shirt on sale several weeks after Valentine’s Day. It’s so comfortable and fits so well. I wear it way too much.
10 | My plaid cufflinks I always wear plaid. When I have to wear a suit to events, I still want to have a bit of my signature look coming through. My friend Victor, who owns Acappella Clothing on St. Clair, found these cufflinks for me. Whenever I have to look good, I go to him.
(Images: Norman Wong)
