Times Cooking’s ‘Pizza Interview’ has celebrities make pizzas to loosen up

On a recent afternoon at The New York Times’s studio kitchen in Midtown Manhattan, actors Finn Wolfhard and Natalia Dyer filmed an episode of Times Cooking’s “Pizza Interview,” a casual chat format that asks celebrity guests to make a pizza while they talk. The guests surveyed a wide spread of unconventional toppings — potato wedges, shrimp, Eggo waffles and a tray of purple octopus tentacles among them — and Mr.

Wolfhard described two approaches: “By doing a monster pizza, or something I actually want to eat.” The series began in June; Victoria Chen, the producer and talent booker who has overseen more than a dozen guests, has hosted stars including Ariana Grande, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen.

Ms. Chen also made a pizza on camera with mushrooms, corn, prosciutto, caramelized onions and pepperoni. Chen said the show’s topping bar is extensive and often themed to whatever the guests are promoting, with Young Gun Lee, the culinary producer, doing the shopping. Lee said he goes to at least a dozen stores, it takes two or three days to assemble the ingredients and then one full prep day at the studio.

Key Topics

Culture, Pizza Interview, Victoria Chen, Finn Wolfhard, Natalia Dyer, Midtown Manhattan