Victoria Justice 'drank a little bit' to prepare for her new rom-com: 'I had some good Cabernet. It was research'
Because food connects us all, Yahoo Life is serving up a heaping plateful of table talk with people who are passionate about what's on their menu in Deglazed, a series about food.
There's a new rom-com streaming on Netflix and it combines love, wine and stunning Australian scenery.
Victoria Justice, the female lead and former star of Victorious, says she prepared for her role in A Perfect Pairing by drinking some of her favorite red.
"I didn't know a ton [about wine]," Justice tells Yahoo Life. "I've been to Napa Valley before ... I knew enough and I drank a little bit for it and had some good Cabernet Sauvignon: That's my favorite and that was my prep. It was research."
If she were preparing some charcuterie to accompany the wines her character, a wine executive, distributes, the 29-year-old actress says she'd fill the board with Parmesan cheese, baked brie, figs, prosciutto, dark chocolate and one very specific type of olive.
"I only like a certain kind of olive," she admits. "It's the green ones with the pit in it. Castelvetrano olives? They're really good."
Among Justice's other food passions? Sushi — her go-to order includes yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño and salmon with truffle oil — and her mom's cooking. "I'm half Puerto Rican on my mom's side so every Friday we do rice and beans and chicken at my parents' house," she says. "It's a great tradition and I love Latin food so much, so whenever I get to eat that I just absolutely love it."
While she believes there's a common misconception that actresses rarely eat, Justice, who co-stars in A Perfect Pairing with actor Adam Demos, describes herself as "a huge foodie."
"I eat a lot," she says. "I love burgers and I love KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) on occasion if I'm being naughty."
"I would say that's my fast food guilty pleasure," says Justice. "I love KFC so much it's not fair. I get the wings specifically — original wings with their coleslaw, which is the best — and their mashed potatoes. I love the biscuits, too. The main focus for me is the chicken, the biscuit and the coleslaw."
"Ever since I was little," she continues, "I've had the most bizarre taste in foods: My mom would make fresh bread and fresh sandwiches for me when I'd go to school and I'd want to trade them for Lunchables. I would want Hungry Man meals and weird stuff. I always wanted all the 'bad' food."
When she's on location shooting, Justice says she tries to stick to lighter options like coconut water and her favorite flavor of PopCorners chips, the kettle corn variety. She also loves Margherita pizza and believes salsa is a food that inspires connection.
"I can make a pretty good salsa," she says. "I feel like salsa is a thing that brings people together because, you're like, dipping in together and that makes it special."
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