Just as Sunny Anderson glows on TV, in person she is very warm and “just one of the girls.” The Boulevard sat down with Sunny to discuss her life, her career, her aspirations and her hit show, Cooking For Real.

Sunny grew up as an army brat, the child of a military doctor. As such, the family moved constantly, all over the globe. Rather than focusing on the hardships of such change, the Andersons embraced the excitement of new places and new cuisines. Sunny joined the military right out of high school and was trained in broadcasting. With radio experience under her belt, she moved from military radio in Korea to New Orleans, Montgomery, Detroit and finally to the Big Apple, landing at the hip-hop station HOT 97. In 2005, a door opened into the culinary industry when by sheer luck a staffer at Emeril Live shared with her boss Sunny’s on-air talents as well as her catering talents (at Sunny’s Delicious Dishes). Sunny appeared as a guest on Emeril Live and that was the spark she needed. Sunny believes it was her determination to “just keep working and doing everything that’s necessary to actually land the dream” that has given her the success she has earned with the Food Network’s Gotta Get It to How’d That Get On My Plate? to Cooking For Real.

Cooking For Real brings the audience a littler closer to Sunny’s worldly experiences. She combines global cuisine with America’s kitchen. “The real part is offering accessible food; there might be foreign names but I’ll Americanize them so you can understand how they correlate to American food. I want to show people that they can do it and it doesn’t have to be just chicken and rice.” Sunny relates to her audience with an understanding of people’s everyday lives and the need for down-to-earth meals.

Sunny can’t pick one particular food or culture as a favorite but works with her favorites from each culture. “I hate to say it’s Germany and the Jagerschnitzel or Korea and the Yaki Matsu. There are so many things that I can find in different countries [and] regions that I love … the unique flavors you can’t get anywhere else. It’s really hard to choose:  Texas for the TexMex and Louisiana where I fell in love with seafood. The Midwest has great chili and in Detroit, [where there’s a] huge Polish community, there’s great Polish food.“

Looking back at Sunny’s three years with Cooking For Real, we discussed the insight she has gained working in TV. Perhaps most importantly, Sunny says she has learned to welcome the viewpoints of the director, the camera person, the makeup artist and the hair stylist. “I’ve learned TV is a collaborative effort and that credit goes to more than just the host. I’ve learned how cool America is, and the viewers, and how neat it is to make a bond with people that I’ve never met before. Taking a little snippet of your life reminds them of something in their own life.” She has also cemented the concept that to be a successful dreamer, you have to be a doer.

This is the eighth season of Cooking For Real and new episodes will air all winter long. Cooking For Real airs Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. with new episodes on Saturdays at noon.

For more of Sunny Anderson’s recipes, visit www.foodnetwork.com and be sure to read her blog at www.sunnyanderson.com.

Click here for Sunny Anderson's Mini Pecan Pumpkin Pies