Antoni from "Queer Eye" Shares the Most Important Lessons He's Learned from Martha

You may know Antoni Porowski as the Fab Five's food guy on the hit Netflix show Queer Eye. Perhaps you've gotten misty-eyed watching him and his team dramatically change their contestants' lives, helping them find love, build confidence, and even rekindle a passion for cooking. But if you've ever wondered who inspired Porowski's own love for food, wonder no more. We chatted with the Canadian chef and reality TV star during a cooking class for Olly (Porowski is an ambassador for the vitamin brand) and learned that Martha (and Big Martha!) solidified his passion for cooking. Read on to find out what exactly he's learned from both women, his favorite Martha recipes, and his best advice for budding chefs.

Martha taught him to love his roots.

Porowski says he's always been especially fond of the videos of Martha cooking with her mom, Big Martha. In fact, he says watching the mother-daughter duo in the kitchen inspired him to be proud of his own cultural roots and its traditional cuisines. "As somebody who was ashamed of his Polish heritage growing up, to show somebody like Martha Stewart-such an icon-being proud of her heritage and sort of sharing that in the kitchen with her mother, whether making pierogi or golbaki, and learning, teaching, and just having that interaction really helped shape me as a person," he explains.

He admires Martha's baking techniques.

Though we've seen him cook everything from a classic French omelette to a savory pork tenderloin on Queer Eye, Porowski admits that baking isn't really his forte. But he's willing to learn-especially if Martha could be his teacher. When we asked what his dream cooking segment with Martha would entail, Porowski declares, "It would have to be something either involving baking or pastries. The way that she ices a cake [with] this level of precision and care and patience, she's never stressed when she's doing it and I could really learn. I'm just putting that out there in the universe!"

His favorite Martha recipe is a salad (with a twist!).

Like any good chef, Porowski has a few go-to food rules when in the kitchen, from always opting for the freshest ingredients (even with maple syrup or vanilla extract) to keeping flaky Kosher salt nearby to finish off a dish. As for his go-to Martha recipe? The star says he loves her citrus lobster salad. "It's one that I actually make regularly," he tells us. "She uses lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, orange juice, and shallots, although I lightly pickle mine. It's just a beautifully decadent, but light perfect summer salad to have."

He thinks everyone should master this one classic dish.

Inspired by a Polish version he enjoyed growing up, Porowski believes everyone should know how to make a perfect meatloaf. After all, is there anything that says "home cooking" quite like this comfort food staple?

His advice for new cooks? Start simple.

And by simple, he means Italian. "For anybody who's intimidated by cooking, I think a perfect introduction is really looking at some of the classic Italian recipes by legends like Marcella Hazan, who often used a very limited amount of ingredients, but really crafted the perfect recipes," he says. The secret to Hazan's famous tomato sauce, for example, is just a stick of butter and half an onion-a reminder, perhaps, that for the best things in life, often less really is more.

He prioritizes self-care-and thinks everyone else should too.

Porowski explains that his hectic schedule can make it difficult to find time for himself. "I have days that are completely insane with my schedule, and I don't have time to fully take care of myself and properly eat," he says. "Implementing OLLY Gummies is perfect because it sort of takes that part of the work away and it's a really enjoyable process. Just the mere act of engaging in some self-care-doing something for yourself-is important."