The Worst Meal JD Vance Has Ever Made For Usha

In his autobiography, "Hillbilly Elegy," JD Vance wrote extensively about growing up in a poor, working class family and communities in Kentucky and southwest Ohio. Meals were largely hearty and meat-heavy, which he still enjoys today. When he was a guest on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in 2024, Vance mentioned," I'm kind of one of these people where if I don't have a piece of meat, it's not a complete meal." But his eating habits drastically shifted when he met the woman who would become his wife, Usha, while attending Yale Law School.

JD and Usha both sat down with Lara Trump on Fox News' "My View with Lara Trump", when the host asked the Vice President about the worst thing he'd ever cooked for his wife. Usha immediately admitted, "The first one," as the Vice President laughed, via Fox News Instagram. Shortly after they'd first met, Vance wanted to impress Usha by making her a homemade meal. Knowing she was a vegetarian but having little knowledge of the diet, Vance picked up a package of refrigerated crescent roll dough, some vegetables, and ranch dressing.

He explained, "I rolled them [the crescent rolls] out into a pizza shape, and put vegetables and ranch dressing on top, and stuck it in the oven for 30 minutes. It was disgusting, like, it was actually inedible, and it's amazing the relationship lasted because it was the first time I ever cooked for her." The meal may have been a disaster, but the couple's relationship wasn't, despite the VP's lackluster cooking skills.

Fortunately, JD Vance's culinary knowledge has vastly improved since his law school days, largely because of Usha's mother, who taught her son-in-law how to make various Indian dishes. Both of Usha's parents immigrated from India before settling in San Diego, California. This is just one way she has changed the way the Vice President eats. But if Vance has a specific prowess in the kitchen, it's baking bread. During the same Fox News show, Vance shared, "I can make a pretty good brioche bread." Usha also mentioned that her husband makes excellent shokupan, or Japanese milk bread, saying, "He's been working on it for a while, and he does it really well; almost as well or as well as some of the restaurants we get it from."

Vice President Vance hasn't fully converted to a vegetarian diet himself, but he has come to appreciate and crave Indian food, a cuisine in which there are many delicious vegetarian options. On the aforementioned "Joe Rogan Experience," Vance praised the plentiful paneer, rice, and chickpeas in Indian cooking, opting for them over any kind of fake meat, which can be highly processed. As for what else Vance actually eats, he occasionally enjoys ice cream, eggs, and homemade biscuits.