Food and cooking are critical parts of Joanna Gaines‘ life. The former HGTV star shared a rule she adopted in the first year of her marriage that centers around food — and she still adheres to it!
Joanna Gaines Has a Simple Food-Related Rule at Home
In an August 2025 interview with Delish, Gaines shared the ways that food has been an important aspect of her life since childhood.
She also recalled her first date with husband Chip, involving a dinner out, where her love of food was evident.
“Our first date, we went to this little place that served homestyle meals on the front porch,” she said. “It was like fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy.”
Gaines continued, “And Chip was so shocked that I ate more than he did. I was like, If I’m gonna scare the guy away, I might as well scare him away on the first date. Chip was like, ‘Wow, this girl really loves food.'”
Of course, they went on to get married — and she instituted a simple rule from those very early days.
She recalled their “tiny little kitchen” and a mobile island she bought at an antique store. She set a cake stand they received as a wedding gift on the island.
“I started this rule with myself the first month of marriage: My cake stand will never be empty. Ever. I just felt like it elevated everything I did,” Gaines explained.
Her Magnolia Table line of frozen baked goods coming to Target, including chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and banana bread, will allow others to follow her philosophy.
“I want to help other people fill their cake stands, if they’re in a rush, if they’re busy,” she explained.
Food Connects Her Family & Brings Her Kids Home
Gaines makes time to regularly cook for her family, despite her busy life. She shared that it’s one way to keep her kids coming home.
“Right now they’re really into bowls: We’ll do bulgogi bowls, taco bowls … tonight I’m doing Greek with the tzatziki sauce and basmati,” she shared.
“My boy Duke is like, ‘Mom, are you cooking for us tonight?’ And I’m like, Yes. Food is how I get my kids to come home,'” Gaines noted.
She and Chip also enjoy date nights/days that involve food. “It’s that thing that brings us together just for the two of us. We love date night, we go to lunch a ton,” she shared.
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Joanna Gaines Shares Rule She Started Following Her First Year of Marriage