The Cook Who Made Shirts Out of Tablecloths

@GrossyPelosi, the best-selling author of ‘Let’s Eat,’ shares his book tour style strategy.

Dan Pelosi on tour to celebrate the launch of his new cookbook, ‘Let’s Eat.’

One of you wonderful people (Aida, thank you!) tagged me earlier this month in an Instagram post by Dan Pelosi, aka @GrossyPelosi. The newly minted New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home had shared a picture of himself clad in a red-and-purple shirt beaming on his book tour. “When it came to figuring out what to wear,” the caption began, “I knew I wanted my outfits to have meaning.”

Pelosi then detailed how he had several tablecloths, all pulled from the gorgeous photographs in his cookbook, made into shirts. “They remind me of home,” he wrote. Be still my SMT heart! Dressing with intention is what So Many Thoughts is all about. I immediately texted my friend, Jamie Stelter of NY1; I remember seeing Pelosi on her morning show a few years ago (his handle stuck with me) and wanted the scoop. “He is a delight,” she said. 

She was right! Pelosi’s story is a pandemic-era reinvention, pivoting from a career in fashion to one in food. He has held onto his design and marketing eye with an admirable thoughtfulness to both what he makes and how he presents it. Below you will find our conversation, which dives into where his social media name came from (and why it serves him now), how he thinks about clothing and cooking (hint: there are lots of similarities), all about his book tour uniform (those tablecloth shirts!), and so much more.

PS: You can find Pelosi’s cookbook, Let’s Eat, wherever you buy your books! It’s gorgeous, the kind of cookbook that doubles as a coffee table book. Hot tip from Pelosi himself: “If you go to the dead center of the book, there is a gigantic sandwich — sexy centerfold.”

Coming soon!

🐝 Last call to share what YOU wore to Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour! Next week I will be highlighting the thoughtful outfits you put together to see Queen Bey (much like the Taylor Swift round-up I did here). Please share all the *thought* that went into your look via this Google form.

@GrossyPelosi on Fashion, Food, and Cookbook Tour Style

Pelosi wearing a shirt made from the tablecloth featured on the front of his cookbook.

Please note: Our conversation has been edited and condensed.

I am so excited to hear about your tablecloth shirts but let’s back up for a moment. How did you get into cooking and, more specifically, cooking on social media?

Dan Pelosi: I grew up in Connecticut. I’m Italian-American, Catholic, there’s a little bit of Portuguese in my family as well. I spent my whole life in the kitchen with my mom, my sister, my dad, my aunt, my uncle, my grandparents. Everyone in my family was cooking. We really focused our lives on food, the classic Italian-American experience. 

I went to design school and worked in fashion retail. The last job I had was as a creative director at Ann Taylor brands. On the weekends I would do what I grew up doing, spending time in the kitchen, inviting people over, having dinner parties. I always wanted to cook for people. 

When the pandemic started, staying home, having a well-stocked pantry, a comfortable house, and knowing how to cook for myself as an adult translated to me being able to help people. I began sharing every meal I made and started really quickly gaining followers. I built a website and a merch line and started raising money for an LGBTQ elder organization because they were extremely in need. I was able to take the attention I was getting — knowing how to cook for myself — and teach people how to do that. It turned into my new life. 

grossypelosi

A post shared by @grossypelosi

When did you leave your job in retail and make this your full-time gig?

I lasted at my job at Ann Taylor for about a year through the pandemic. In the spring of 2021, my therapist wisely said, “If you’re afraid of failing, the definite way to fail at this new thing is to stick with the old thing because you’ll never be able to do both.”

The book deal came during the summer of 2021. Here we are, two years later — because that’s how long it takes to write a cookbook — and I have my first cookbook and now it’s on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s just wild. 

Where does the @GrossyPelosi handle come from?

It came from Never Been Kissed, the Drew Barrymore movie. When I was in college, my friends were all drunk and started calling me “Grossy Pelosi” in the vein of Josie Grossie. I just thought it was funny and stupid and I kept it. [I used it] on MySpace, Instagram, Friendster, all the social media handles. We didn’t know how sticky it would be! [Laughs] 

Now I sort of love it because it takes the edge off of what can be a very anxious experience for a lot of people. What I’ve learned — much more in the past three years than I knew before — is that people can take food really seriously and approach it with a ton of anxiety. I’m so not like that. I’m like, Chill out. It’s going to be okay. My recipes are easy, we’re going to get through this. Let’s  just have fun. 

To be a food presence that also has a silly nickname immediately shakes out what you’re not getting. I’m not a chef. This isn’t fancy. We’re doing home cooking; you put it on the plate and you eat it. That’s the success of it all. 

How do you think about fashion, especially as someone who worked in fashion?

I was at the Gap and Ann Taylor for most of my career. Some of my other friends would say that’s not fashion. Well, to me, I loved working at Gap. I loved working at Ann Taylor. We would use words like “Desk to dinner” and “Work to weekend.” I wanted to help real people, real women, live their daily lives. I think that is much more interesting than high fashion or fast fashion. I would meet women and say, “I work at Ann Taylor.” And they would whisper, “My pants are Ann Taylor.” They don’t want to admit it, but it’s the foundation of their wardrobe.

How I positioned myself in the fashion world is very similar to what I’m doing now with food. This isn’t the highest of highs, isn’t the lowest of lows. You’re going to get food on your table. People are going to like it, and we’re going to have a good time. You’re not going to spend too much money and you’re not going to eat McDonald’s, although you could do both of those things if you want. 

grossypelosi

A post shared by @grossypelosi

How would you describe your personal style?

Colorful, optimistic, and easy. I only wear elastic waistbands. I love oversized. I love a hat. I love my nails — I always have my nails done. I love a high-low. I have a Gucci slide that I bought seven years ago that I wear to every formal event, but I love to wear it with pants from Uniqlo. I was at a wedding last weekend and I wore this gigantic, oversized, long Muji shirt dress. 

People are always like, “Where’s that from?” And they’re expecting some weird answer and I’m like, “It’s from the Gap.” When you work in fashion and you understand color and design, you can walk into any store and pull three pieces off a rack that can be exciting. It’s just about editing.

When it came time for your book tour, how did you think about what you were going to wear?

I knew that for my book tour I wanted to have an extension of the book, an extension of this thing. [Holds up book] And I knew that I wanted a uniform because the last thing I wanted to do is hem and haw over what I was going to wear. Also, I was meeting people for the first time — I wanted to be a presence and stand out. Last May, I had dinner with my friend Eddie and I realized tablecloths were the thing.

Before we get into the shirts, I want to understand what it is about tablecloths that were so important for this book?

I am a home cook. That is the headline. I’m not a professional cook. Growing up, linens and tablecloths were what we always ate on — the family, the history. I love stains on tablecloths, things feeling really lived in, and so I just as much as possible wanted every surface [in the book] to not be wood or tile. The softness of a tablecloth took me back, it felt like home. I tried to make as many tablecloths as possible happen in this book. 

When I was looking to source tablecloths, my boyfriend’s mom — she’s my soulmate — is a total linen queen. She has so many beautiful linens. And so I raided her linen collection and she sent me linens that my boyfriend ate his family dinners on as a kid. 

Tablecloths are so beautiful and so important. I thought to wear them on tour would be so powerful. I didn’t want to ruin the family heirlooms, so I went with tablecloths in the book by Heather Taylor. I love Heather. I reached out to her and asked, “Are  you going to be so weirded out if I make shirts out of your tablecloth?” And she was like, “Oh my God, I love this.” Her poppy and lavender print is on the side of the book and is seen in one of my favorite photos in the book.

One of Pelosi’s favorite shots in the book, featuring a tablecloth by Heather Taylor.

What do you love about that print? 

When I was thinking about the filter that I wanted my book to be seen through, it’s Italian-American but I also wanted it to feel very colorful and gay. I felt like this tablecloth is the sister to the red-and-white gingham, Italian red-sauce-joint tablecloth. I told Heather, “This is the gay Italian-American update that I’ve been waiting for!” So I stuffed a napkin in my shirt [for the picture on the back cover] and made it the hero print of the book.

How did you set about making tablecloths into shirts?

I wanted it to be done in a more modern, fun, optimistic way. Then I figured I could just wear a classic chino and be good to go in my blue Birkenstocks — that’s my color story. I met with a tailor named Albie before I even bought any tablecloths. I took my favorite Gap shirt — it’s a short sleeve, easy, simple shirt. “If you take this and make a pattern out of it,” I said, “then we can get tablecloths and make shirts and it should be easy breezy.” 

The weight of the tablecloths are the perfect weight. They’re a bit heavy and they drape perfectly. Plus, having a little tassel on the bottom just felt like: This is it. This is going to cut through the book tour and make a statement. 

Pelosi with Heather Taylor, the designer behind the tablecloths he used in his book and the shirts.

Have people you’ve met made the connection between your shirt and the book?

Some people have. They’re like, “Whoa, wait, actually, is that this?” And I’m like, “It’s literally this. I took the sample cloth and cut it up and made this.” It’s really cool — no apologies. The point of this book tour is to center it on me and the book. I want it to command attention.

Do you have a favorite shirt? 

I love the mix-and-match shirt made from several tablecloths. I’m never not mixing patterns and colors. I think when nothing matches, everything matches. The solid ones are really powerful too. I wore the white and black one to the formal dinner that I did at Crate & Barrel. They’re just great. You just feel good in ’em.

Pelosi in his mix-and-match shirt made from several tablecloths.

What is it that makes you feel good?

It felt like every detail was sorted, which makes me happy. The cookbook is a bestseller and it’s because I pay attention to the details, because I go all in. I’m not chill — I’m the most extra person ever. This is exactly what I need to be doing. 

Congratulations! Incredibly well done.

It’s really cool. Thank you. I’m so proud. 

All my best to Dan! You can find his New York Times best-selling cookbook, Let’s Eat, at your local indie bookstore, Bookshop.org, Amazon, or wherever you get your books. His book tour is in progress — for a list of dates and locations to see him (and his shirts) click here. And make sure to follow him on Instagram at @GrossyPelosi.

(All photos courtesy of Dan Pelosi.)