When it comes to food, Sofía Vergara leaves the cooking to her son, Manolo Gonzalez Vergara.
“I never cooked [when he was growing up], so he had to create his own food memories,” Sofía, 52 exclusively told Us Weekly at The Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON New York, Presented by Chase Sapphire, earlier this month.
Luckily, Manolo, 33, took an interest in cooking from a young age. “Thanksgiving, for example, my mom always cooks,” Sofía shared, adding, “He cooks turkey for everybody, like 30, 40 people, and he’s always done it since he’s like 14.”
Manolo noted that he “didn’t go to culinary school,” but learned his culinary skills “on the streets.”
The pair teamed up to launch their culinary brand, Toma, earlier this year. In partnership with hospitality executive Sam Nazarian, Toma was inspired by Sofí’s love of Latin cuisine and Manolo’s passion for cooking.
“We really wanted to make something that was really authentic to us and something that was also very accessible and easy to eat,” Manolo explained to Us. “We didn’t want it to be like a sit-down situation. We wanted it to be as broad as possible, and empanadas are the perfect thing for that. The world has enough amazing tacos, so we didn’t need to add tacos.” (The brand’s other products include salsa and pandebono.)
“Manolo has done all this work for this company that I would’ve never been able to do because I don’t know how to cook,” Sofía added: “I know that we wanted to create something that it was special for everybody, not only for Latin people, but we wanted to bring the Latin flavor because we’re Latin and we wanted to be authentic to who we are.”
Scroll down to see what else the mother-son duo told Us about their food favorites, dating preferences and more:
Us: How are your palates different?
MGV: I’m a little more open. She looks at salt and she freaks out!
SV: I hate salty food because I feel like it covers the flavor and it also makes me swollen the next day. Water retention!
Us: What’s a specific food that you two disagree on?
MGV: She loves blood sausage. When I was a child, she’d make me eat it and it was horrendous.
Us: You two seem incredibly close.
MGV: We see each other almost every day, She watches my dog. I watch hers.
Us: Ever get sick of each other?
MGV: Oh no, there’s no conflict.
Us: Sofía, earlier this year you said that New York City is the best place to date. Do you still feel that way?
SV: Totally. Actually, I was talking yesterday about it because now I’m single so … kind of single. [Laughs.] Anyways.
MGV: There’s good people everywhere. You’ve got to know where to look
SV: But I feel like there’s a more diverse group of people in New York than in L.A. because most of the people are in the entertainment business. Here, you have people from all over the world — architects, writers, actors, businesspeople.
Us: Will your dream of a Modern Family movie ever come to life?
SV: It would be amazing. It’s only been four years [since the show went off the air]. But we have to do it fast before Ed O’Neill dies because he’s the old one. [Laughs.]
Us: What are you looking for in your next role?
SV: A good role. I already did Griselda last year, which was something completely different than I had ever done. [So] it could be whatever as long as it’s a character that I can play with and do something special.
MGV: I think she should play Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove. Just throwing that out there!
Us: What are you watching right now?
SV: Yellowstone. I’m a little late to it. It feels like I’m watching a Latin soap opera.
With reporting by Nikaline McCarley
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