Giada de Laurentiis Recalls the "Terrifying" On-Air Cooking Fail That Could Have Ended Her Career

Sure, Giada de Laurentiis once served Nicole Kidman flatbread that the Oscar winner deemed "a little tough" on national TV. But the chef has had on-air snafus even more chilling than that, and there's one incident in particular that she remembers as "terrifying."

The Food Network Star co-host recently told People about her first — and, ultimately, harrowing — appearance on the Today show. "Al Roker was my host,” she recalled. “I made a grilled chicken with three different pestos, but it was actually the stylist who cooked the food… We get to the point where Al says, ‘Let’s taste it’ and cuts into the chicken, and it was raw inside!" 

Well, how would you react? “I just froze, my entire body and mind froze,” de Laurentiis shared. “Those terrifying moments [could] end up being the things that can change your career.” 

Luckily, the chef not only survived the raw chicken incident, but thrived. But if it hadn't worked out — she always did have an alternate career in mind...