BREAKING BREAD with GAVIN ROSSDALE: A Conversation about Music, Food, and the Art of Hospitality

Photographer VIKTORIJA PASHUTA @viktorija_pashuta
Director/Cinematographer JOSHUA M. CHÉRIE CHERY @m.cherie._
Stylist JESSE J GUILLEN @jessejcollections AGENCY @sixkla
Grooming AYAE YAMAMOTO FOR EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS @ayaeyamamoto
Production Coordinator CASSIDY COCKE @cassidy.ac
Producer ANNA VOLKOVA @volkacreativespace
Photo Assistant JATHAN CAMPBELL @jathancphoto
Intern MADELEINE POEL @madeleine.m.p
Location W HOLLYWOOD HOTEL @whollywood

Words by Kiani Shabazz

Gavin Rossdale has spent the past three decades of his career performing on stages as the lead singer of the legendary U.K. grunge band Bush. With several hit records to his name, he may appear to have achieved success as an artist. However, Rossdale’s latest endeavor introduces him to a whole new realm within the walls of his own kitchen. In his new series, Dinner with Gavin Rossdale, the alternative rock icon puts down his guitar and picks up an apron, hosting A-list guests for meals and intimate conversations. This project comes as naturally to him as writing songs, as he combines the art of cooking with meaningful connections, ones that can only be fostered through great food. For Rossdale, cooking is more than just nourishment; it’s a way to tell stories, build community, and find balance in the scramble of everyday life.

Throughout the years, Rossdale has developed a strong love for food that has evolved into a passionate ritual. This ritual is important in balancing his busy schedule of recording, touring, staying active, and spending time with his children. While some may find tasks like peeling and chopping to be mundane, for Rossdale, it is a daily tradition that helps him reset. Cooking, like his music, has a rhythmic and meditative quality that enables him to stay present and maintain significant relationships along the way.

Although his dishes are quite memorable, Dinner with Gavin Rossdale shifts the focus away from the food and toward human connection. Rossdale stresses that each plate is a backdrop for the unfiltered discussions that flourish during a communal meal. Joining him at the table are guests like Serena Williams, Selma Blair, and Common, all bringing along their own stories, perspectives, and appetites. At its core, the show is about breaking bread and breaking barriers, one dish and one story at a time.

In the show’s opening credits, you mention how your love for cooking has helped you stay connected to yourself and strengthen your relationships with loved ones. What is it specifically about cooking and hospitality that keeps you grounded?

There is so much work, so much work. I was downstairs before this interview, peeling the husk off 10 ears of corn because they’re part of tonight’s dinner. And I was just laughing because that’s what it’s all about. You’re just standing there. I had gotten back from the studio this morning after working on the new record, and I had two hours before this interview, so I immediately started making the food. I’m preparing dishes so that after this interview, I will have bought myself some time. Keeping busy with menial tasks like chopping, peeling, and preparing ingredients is enjoyable for me. It’s very meditative for me to prepare food.

Anthony Bourdain once said, “If you’re too lazy to peel garlic, you don’t deserve to eat garlic.” The passion and work ethic required to create exceptional meals simply can’t be found in pre-packaged ingredients. Do you agree?

Yes, for sure. The other day, my girlfriend said, “Relationships are hard.” What she was saying though was that in order to make them great, you have to do the work. You have to be willing to communicate and form good habits. That’s how it is with cooking. It’s so great to do something that allows me to stay connected to other people. I just put this show together recently, but obviously, for years, I’ve been doing the same thing for my friends.

I understand that tennis is a big part of your life. How does it fit into your schedule and contribute to your creativity?

It really dominates every single morning. I’m equally obsessed with tennis as I am with cooking or music. I play four days a week, and I really treat it like a job. I sit in ice baths and infrared saunas religiously. I take it all very seriously. My kids go to school and I play tennis. I train hard for an hour and then come back and set myself up for the day. It’s beautiful in my life because I can work all the time. I’m also a bit of an art jock. I like my art, but I was a big soccer player. I just love it all. I’m also a lot of fun. I’m happy to drink a beer and hang out. I don’t have restrictions. I feel bad for people who are gluten-free and lactose intolerant, all those things. I don’t like sun-dried tomatoes very much, but outside of that, I’m good.

Music and food are both incredible sensory experiences. Do you see a parallel between writing songs and creating a new dish?

They are absolute carbon copies of each other. It’s like a key that you choose to write in. The counterpoint of music is no different from the counterpoint of tastes. Different notes are like different flavors—salty, sweet, savory, umami, bitter, and all these things. To me, different textures can mirror tempos and feelings in some ways. It was Miles Davis who said, “Every musician should be able to cook,” and he killed me for that. He slayed me with that because he just meant that everybody should know the alchemy of things, and it really inspired me. Singing, music, tennis, and cooking—it’s as if I’m in a feedback loop between all these activities. It’s fun.

I’ve had the opportunity to watch the first two episodes of the show, in which you had engaging conversations with individuals such as Serena Williams, Selma Blair, and others. What is it about sharing a meal with someone that truly encourages them to open up?

At its core, the show is not about food. The food is secondary. The food is like a subplot, and if people choose to reference the food, so be it. If they don’t choose to reference it, I don’t mind. I think that when you disarm people with taste, flavor, and the presentation of dishes, they will be more open than if you’re talking over a TV dinner. They can feel the intention and care, which somehow makes people feel safe enough to forget about the six cameras in the room. I mean, Common was a very different guest compared to Selma and Brooke. Do you know what I mean? Everyone had different things to offer, and it makes me, as the host, accommodate and work with them.

In the first episode, you prepare Serena Williams an extravagant meal, only to discover she dislikes tomatoes and avocados. How do you pivot when one of your guests doesn’t enjoy a dish you have prepared?

Fuck me. Oh my God, the first two courses were based on tomatoes and avocados. I made this salad inspired by a friend of mine, Dominique Crenn, a very famous chef. It’s made with raw tomatoes along with cooked ones in olive oil, and you confit them. Anyway, she ate the salad, and only off camera did she say between shots, “I gotta tell you, I really hate tomatoes.” She goes, “I really like that dish, but I hate tomatoes.” That’s what’s great about her though. She told me off camera. That, to me, shows she’s a real sweetheart. I’m still learning, and actually, watching the edits has really made me better. It was a learning curve with her. Now, I’ll make sure to find out about the dislikes.

How did you first meet Serena Williams?

Being a big tennis fan and tennis player, I met her a long time ago. It was at the beginning of my career in the late 90s or early 2000s. I had always wanted to be a professional tennis player growing up, but I got into skateboarding, smoking weed, and running around, just being a kid on the street. I wasn’t as focused on tennis. Then I started making records around 1999. I lived in LA and didn’t know anyone, so I thought, why not pick up tennis again? I met Serena, along with many other great tennis players while training with Nels Van Patten, son of the actor Dick Van Patten.

What has been your biggest takeaway from engaging with all these inspiring individuals?

I think it’s a really important point to make that while we are all different, there are so many connections and similarities in people that have come from nothing. Now, I’m not against nepo babies. I have my own really talented kids who are nepo babies in their own right. However, I think if you’re talented, you’re talented. It’s just really good to be in love with your craft and pursue it the best you can because it really does give meaning to everything.

You’re gearing up for a reunion tour with Bush and have a new record in the works. Can you share any details about that?

The new record is called I Beat Loneliness. I’m so proud of this record. There’s so much meaning that comes from your work. When you devote yourself to whatever your craft is, it feels so good. I’m really excited about this one. I give everything I have. I have no body fat because all I give is everything I have. I believe my music exists in its own orbit, in my atmosphere, and with my people. It was so much more fun when it was a little bit more open, and everybody heard about everything, as opposed to just the genre or your algorithm. I just want people to know that we’re trying to do something interesting, something cool.

BUY ISSUE 26