The Surprising Reason Alex Guarnaschelli Identifies With This Animal

Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is a beast in the kitchen. She is known for her prowess on "Iron Chef," where she took down many an esteemed chef in their own right (via her website). She is also a former Michelin-starred restaurant runner and current restaurant owner, host of her own prime time series "Supermarket Stakeout" on Food Network, and a recurring guest on "The Kitchen" and "Chopped." 

Fans vie for her kitchen secrets, including the recipes everyone should learn to cook on their own (rice, biscuits, and basic salad dressings), using miso paste to add umami flavoring and richness to dishes, and even adding fish sauce or soy for a kick of saltiness. But have you ever wondered whether she identifies with a beast herself? Maybe she's more of an otter or a friendly deer. If she could relate to any animal, what exactly is Alex Guarnaschelli's pick for which creature she most relates to in the wild?

Shark tank, anyone?

As Guarnaschelli herself notes, she is a bit of a beast, but not the way you would imagine. Her animal likeness is more slippery. When asked which pizza of a group of four was her spirit animal in a Twitter AMA (lion, giraffe, rooster or shark), Guarnaschelli admitted that she's a fan of and relates to a shark. She had the fan who asked the question "guess her response" and when he was unsure whether she would pick a lion or a shark, she chimed in, noting "they are precious and misunderstood creatures that are essential to the earth. It's true of all creatures actually but especially true of sharks."

There's no doubt Chef Guarnaschelli is precious to the delicate ecosystem that is our culinary television world, but it would be interesting to learn exactly how she is misunderstood and why she feels that way, if she is indeed like a shark. Maybe someone should jump back into the Twitter thread and find out!