A Hot Tip For a Hot Dip! The Co-Hosts of THE GOOD DISH Talk Super Bowl Party Food, and Much More

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Timing is everything, both in sports and on television. That’s where the new daytime series THE GOOD DISH and SUPER BOWL LVI connect. After all, everyone’s a winner when the perfect snack is close by while the big game is being played. THE GOOD DISH, which debuted last month and is co-hosted by Daphne Oz, Canadian Gail Simmons, and Jamika Pessoa, airs weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. The fun continues this week with intriguing themed episodes and special guests, including the episode on Friday, Feb. 11, when Oz, Simmons and Pessoa provide helpful tips on party food for SUPER BOWL LVI, which airs Sunday, Feb. 13, on CTV, TSN, and RDS. But luckily, a sneak peek is here already! In a recent virtual interview with Oz, Simmons, and Pessoa, who were on the set of THE GOOD DISH at the time, the subject of SUPER BOWL party food was broached. Oz immediately began to freelance a concoction that sounded quite yummy. “A hot dip – this is my hot tip for a hot dip,” Oz said. “I’m thinking of this on the fly. I’m thinking of a hot queso dip. Take note. A hot queso dip, with tater tots on top. So that when you scoop in with the tortilla chip, you’re getting hot queso, AND crunchy fried potato on top.” Simmons and Pessoa nodded in approval, with Pessoa even noticing that the questioner already seemed to be mentally imagining what it would taste like. Oz concluded, “If that doesn’t scream ‘game day’ … somebody’s winning, I don’t even care who’s winning, that dish is winning!” THE GOOD DISH is winning, too, having made the transition from a recurring segment on THE DR. OZ show, to the hour-a-day replacement for that show, after Dr. Mehmet Oz – Daphne’s dad – decided to run for political office. “Doing a full hour is really different, but for us, you know, it’s a long time coming,” Simmons said. “We’ve been making a version of this show for over two years, in this shorter format, and now we get to do a really deep dive into all the topics and food and cooking that we love, instead of packing it into such a short amount of time. I can say safely that it has been amazing to be able to take single subjects and really learn, explore, have fun, be a little silly, and just be ourselves.” Acknowledging that the interview was being conducted by a Canadian, Simmons found a way to personalize her comments for her native country: “To use a Canadian reference, it’s sort of like the Coles Notes for the kitchen.” Simmons then turned to Oz and Pessoa and explained, “I know that here in the United States, it’s different – you know when you were younger and you would get the crib notes … ” “Cliffs Notes,” Oz said. “Yes, Cliffs Notes!” Simmons replied. “In Canada it was called Coles Notes, different brand.” The fact that the three co-hosts on THE GOOD DISH come from such different backgrounds is what gives the show its spice, according to Pessoa. “It’s the food and us, it’s the package deal that you get,” Pessoa said. “We’re so diverse, professionally and personally. I mean, my background is catering, so I’m always bringing tips for entertaining, how to bring the fun to the party. Gail, I call her the Google of food, because this lady knows everything possible, she’s such a food nerd, and I love her for that. And Daphne, she is the glue, the sanity, that brings us all together. She can fire it off, I’m literally in awe when I watch her, because she has the transitions, and the way she presents her food, it’s so simple, but simple works, and the viewers get it. So we all have our own lanes, and they’re defined lanes, but we still have so much fun. When we come together, it’s like a hurricane.” Or a hot dip! billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv