The 'Fight For You' singer, who gets Oscar nomination for her 'Judas and the Black Messiah' song, opens up about her culinary skills and how quarantine gave her time to dig more into it.
- Apr 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - H.E.R. spent a large part of the COVID lockdown perfecting her Filipino cooking skills.
The singer, real name Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, was raised by a Filipina mum and grew up learning the value of good food, but since making it big as an artist, she has let her culinary skills slip - and needed a refresher course last year.
"Just recently, I got really into cooking really well," she tells Billboard. "I FaceTimed my aunt a lot during quarantine, and she taught me how to make kare-kare [stewed oxtail in a peanut sauce] like how my grandma used to make it. I did it...! I FaceTimed her a lot during quarantine."
Food will always be important to H.E.R. because her mum made her realize how important every meal was when she was growing up.
"She definitely taught me the trick of how to make the rice - you gotta do the finger trick," she adds. "When I was young, she'd [mum] call me from work and tell me to make the rice, but I'll forget and hear the garage door open, and be like, 'Oh no!' My mom's like that for sure!"
"My grandpa taught me a lot too, like how you gotta rinse out the rice a couple times. I definitely grew up doing stuff like that and watching my grandmother."
H.E.R. is a favorite to win gold at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25 for her "Judas and the Black Messiah" song "Fight For You". For the best original song title, she will be facing stiff competition from Leslie Odom Jr. who is nominated for his "One Night in Miami..." track "Speak Now" among others.
