Exclusive: Cardi B Says Her Family Turned Her Into a Cook — But She’s Got a ‘Picky Girl’ on Her Hands
The “Bodak Yellow” rapper spoke to PEOPLE about cooking for her two kids and her partnership with Knorr
Cook is not a title Cardi B necessarily wanted, but it’s one she has now.
“I usually am not a person that cooks, but I have been cooking because I got two kids now. So it’s like you really just don’t have a choice,” Cardi, 30, tells PEOPLE on set of her new campaign with Knorr. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or not or you’re famous or not. It’s like your kids, when they hungry, they going to be like, ‘I want it, and you got to cook it now.'”
Through the partnership, Cardi is introducing the Taste Combos: a menu of delicious and affordable recipes. One of the dishes is Cardi’s chicken made with a medley of veggies and Knorr Chicken Bouillon, which is a staple in her home.
“That’s one of the reasons why I picked my recipe, because it’s a recipe that is quick for me, and that my daughter loves. Because she is picky girl. She don’t like nothing,” she says of daughter Kulture Kiari, 4½, whom she shares with husband Offset. They are also parents to son Wave Set, 21 months.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(776x340:778x342):format(webp)/Cardi-B-01-060523-247e0cec90564ac180b3ec628a26f70d.jpg)
When it comes time to cook dinner at home — Cardi likes to do the “easy” stuff.
“My husband loves soul food, but my daughter, she don’t really care for that. She just likes the simple things. So she loves chicken pasta. That’s why I picked the one that’s in the Cardi Combo,” she says. “I call it the Marry Me Pasta.”
“I like to cook tacos,” she adds of her skills. “I like to cook everything that’s easy. That’s what I like to do. I hate doing hard stuff.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(705x486:707x488):format(webp)/Cardi-B-02-060523-4458a4d3248a403fab090b5ba0b33fd5.jpg)
CARDI B/INSTAGRAM
Earlier this month, the “Up” rapper gave her fans an inside look at Kulture’s yummy school lunches, which featured homemade dishes including chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and boiled corn, with added extras of chopped fruit, yogurt, and M&Ms, flavored milk, and chips.
“Kulture school lunch be everything,” Cardi tweeted with a red apple emoji.Growing up, Cardi says nobody taught her how to cook since her mom was “impatient.”
“I actually learned how to cook when I lived on my own. My boyfriend at the time, [he] taught me how to cook my first meals. Then after that, boom, I just get it popping on my own,” Cardi tells PEOPLE.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/cardi-b-offset-kids-a19f8c8893b84c1b8f482b9ecf622c6d.jpg)
Offset, Cardi B and their children. CARDI B INSTAGRAM
She adds, “But you know what’s so crazy? I wish that things were a little bit easier when I was 18 and I got kicked out and I started learning how to cook. Because now you could just literally go to YouTube and learn how to cook everything.”
The Knorr Taste Combo meals can be prepared in under 30 minutes and are under $4 per serving. Fans who are located in select areas of Manhattan or Chicago can try out making the Taste Combo for themselves by ordering via Grubhub. Search “Cardi B’s Taste Combo” on Thursday and use the code “KNORRCHI” for Chicago and “KNORRNYC” for Manhattan. The combo will be free of charge once the promo code is applied. Customers will receive the combos at their doorstep on Friday.
Cardi surprised tri-state area families for her campaign with Knorr. In the video above, fans walk into a kitchen to find the rapper, who is cooking with bedazzled tongs and a blinged out jar of Knorr Chicken Bouillon.
“I know it’s good!” Cardi says as they taste her recipe.
