Can't decide on a last meal? We consult the professionals.
As a frequent judge on Food Network's "Chopped" as well as a finalist on the current season of "The Next Iron Chef: Redemption" and a recurring contributor to Cooking Channel's "Unique Eats," Chef Amanda Freitag has seen (and cooked) it all. She's also eaten her fair share of fantastic food, which is probably why she opts for a satisfying four-course meal — complete with beverage pairings — as her last. Freitag would first indulge in "foie gras terrine on toast with Champagne" followed by "pizza with a glass of Chianti" and then a "burger with a beer." And for dessert, it's "warm chocolate cake with coffee ice cream and a cold class of milk."
"My last meal would be dirty. So dirty, in fact, that it may kill me before they can," claims Nadia G, the creator and host of "Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen" on the Cooking Channel. "I’d start the feast with a decadent bite of buttery foie gras terrine topped with a dollop of fig jam and caramelized shallots. Then gimme a tender, buttermilk fried chicken leg on a waffle smothered in maple syrup." For her third course, Nadia chooses "an angus beef Chicago-style hot dog" with extra peppers and "a side of classic Montreal poutine" with extra cheese curds. "Time to cleanse my palate with some vodka-doused lemon ice," she continues, specifying her need for extra vodka because "dying is a bit scary." Nadia then declares that it's "time for round two!" and says, "Bring on my nonna’s homemade egg fettuccine with 8-hour Sunday sauce loaded with tender brisket and spicy Italian sausage. For dessert: Bacon chocolate. And my habanero mascarpone cheesecake. Oh, and ribs."
"I get asked this all the time and the answer changes every week," says Andrew Zimmern when questioned about his last meal. The chef, television host and James Beard award winner counts himself blessed to have sampled an "enormous list of superb foods" over his 51 years, but says that his experiences make it almost impossible to narrow down his choice. On the day we asked, he chose "cherrystone clams on the half shell with a bracing ginger beer," along with the "spicy ma-la noodle and hacked cured duck from YuBo Family Kitchen in Chengdu." The "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern" star says he would enjoy those courses while "spit-roasting" a young kudu (a species of antelope) to medium rare before enjoying the animal with "summer corn and a nice tomato salad." For dessert? "Coffee ice cream with hot fudge sauce from Prince Puckler's in Eugene, Oregon."
Catherine McCord is the mom behind Weelicious.com, a website dedicated to instructing busy parents on how to cook healthy, quick and kid-friendly meals for their young ones. When it comes to her final meal, however, McCord opts for a tempting meal that would satisfy kids and adults alike. "My last meal would be my mother's chicken tetrazzini, my grandmother's fried okra and a great big baked Alaska with layers of ice cream and cake!" she says.
Chef and television personality Curtis Stone, the host of Bravo's "Around the World in 80 Plates" and "Top Chef Masters," has big plans for his last culinary hurrah. "Foie gras, truffles, caviar, roast beef, red wine, chocolate — I'd feast on everything that I normally don't eat, too. If the world is ending, you may as well get your last taste of the good stuff," he says.
Chef Nate Appleman can currently be seen on Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef: Redemption," where he's battling for the coveted title against some of the best chefs in the country. Appleman, who was also the victor of "Chopped: All-Stars" and a competitor on "Iron Chef America," has a simple yet respectable request for his final meal: "Fried chicken and chocolate chip cookies."