‘Magnolia Table’: Joanna Gaines Boycotted the Idea of Filming Her Cooking Show the Conventional Way
Joanna Gaines is the endearing star of Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines. The cooking show starring the Fixer Upper host is part of the Magnolia Network programming, which discovery+ subscribers can watch now. As the network gets ready to expand this summer within their app before the January 2022 launch on cable, Joanna is opening up about the idea of the show. The media mogul revealed the real reason she films her cooking show at home.
Joanna Gaines always dreamt of hosting her own cooking show
In the latest issue of Magnolia Journal for Summer 2021, Joanna details how her cooking show came to be. As it turns out, the interior designer had always dreamt of hosting her own cooking show. With the launch of her own TV network, Magnolia Table made her childhood dreams a reality.
“When I was a little girl, I loved to pretend that I was the host of my own cooking show,” Joanna says, “While my sisters would venture outside to ride their bikes around the neighborhood or climb trees in our backyard, I kept to the kitchen, setting up shop on our island, pouring ingredients into small bowls while talking to a camera that didn’t exist.”
Joanna continued explaining that as she became a wife she was “intimidated by the thought of cooking full meals.” She was not experienced in the kitchen but in practice, and starting a family, “the kitchen became home base.”
Why is ‘Magnolia Table’ not filmed in a studio?
Fans of Magnolia Table have seen that Joanna cooks right inside her home as this is something by design. When the star pitched the show, there was a suggestion that it would be best to do it from a studio. However, that’s not something Joanna felt was right as it wasn’t authentic to her.
“I was told early on that most cooking shows are filmed in studios where variables like lighting and sound can be controlled, which all makes sense,” Joanna explained. “But I struggled with the idea of it. I’d imagined something different—a space that felt authentic, that radiated with the same warmth and familiarity of my own kitchen at home. Not only as a comfort to me, as I stepped into a real-life version of something I’d only ever played pretend, but also for anyone tuning in.”
Joanna points out that “kitchens are sacred places” as they bring the family together. She notes that the kitchen is where most of us gather in the morning for breakfast and afternoon for dinner.
“They are the backdrop for a lifetime of nourishing and of being nourished,” she added. “And the way we feel when we step into our kitchens to create something matters and is every bit as important as the meal we’re making.”
Where to watch episodes of ‘Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines’
Fans of Joanna have been enjoying Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines since the launch of the discovery+ streaming service. The first season is comprised of six episodes where Joanna cooks a Friendsgiving feast, comfort food, biscuits, and more.
Season 2 of the show has already been made available on the app where Joanna cooks brunch, Italian food, Mexican food, and Korean food. There are currently five episodes available and new ones are released every Friday.
Starting July 15, fans will be able to watch the show on the Magnolia Network app. It is presumed that these episodes will be available free of charge but with ads like on traditional TV. The full-on Magnolia Network will launch in January of next year and it will take over the DIY Network.
