Stanley Tucci labels cooking competition shows 'false and weird'

Stanley Tucci isn't a fan of cooking competition programmes.

During an interview for the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week, host Josh Horowitz asked the Oscar-nominated actor and cookbook author whether he has been approached to appear on food TV shows.

"I don't like competition when it comes to art or food," he asserted. "I think it's silly. I know they're hugely successful, but I just find it false and weird. To me, cooking is the opposite of that. It should be a thing that brings people together, not separates them. A thing that allows for communion, not for competition."

Stanley went on to argue that he finds competition in the entertainment industry to be "strange" as the arts are "completely subjective".

"I mean, it's wonderful when you get nominated for stuff. It's wonderful when you get an award, but do I really believe... You know, because my dad was an art teacher, and he always said, 'How am I supposed to grade this and this, and this?'" the 65-year-old continued, referencing his father, Stanley Tucci Sr. "They're all different people, and they're all different perceptions of what they're seeing. It's completely subjective. So, how do you grade that? How do you say, 'You're the best actor?' Doesn't make any sense."

Stanley is currently promoting the second season of Tucci in Italy.

The show, in which The Devil Wears Prada 2 star explores the different regions and cuisines of the nation, will begin streaming via National Geographic on 13 May.

"I realised as I got older and I travelled to Europe that I felt more comfortable in Europe than I did living in America... There is something truly - I hate to use the word, but magical about Italy, and those people who have survived countless invasions, countless corrupt, inept governments, and yet, they persevere," he smiled.