Anybody who likes watching a chef prepare a delicious meal on TV is probably familiar with Giada De Laurentiis. This Food Network star has won tons of fans with her authentic Italian food and warm personality. But those aren’t the only reasons why she’s become America’s favorite Italian chef. Want to learn her secrets? Read on to discover how De Laurentiis achieved her status both as a Food Network star and beloved celebrity chef whom millions of Americans love to watch.

1. Giada talks the talk, but makes it easy to understand

Celebrity chef Mario Batali characterizes De Laurentiis as a great example of the kind of chef viewers love to watch, “even if they have no ambition to ever cook what they see on the screen.” He explains, “When I was on the Food Network, we wore chef coats because ‘we were chefs.’ Now there’s not a chef coat on the network because they realized that they don’t want chefs. They want people that resemble someone that’s gonna be in your house.” Batali thinks De Laurentiis and chefs like her appeal to viewers because they speak the language of a chef but make cooking look easy.