From the Magazine

In the Fridge with Craig Melvin

By: Hannah Lee Leidy

Each morning, before Craig Melvin greets America as news anchor and cohost of the third hour of TODAY on MSNBC, he takes his coffee black. 

Although a South Carolinian through and through—born and raised in Columbia, he later attended Wofford College—Melvin’s work took him to New York. From his Connecticut kitchen, Melvin remembers home like any Southerner would: through food. 

The quick grits in nearby groceries don’t interest Melvin or his two young kids, who’ve been raised with an affinity for Adluh’s stone-ground variety—their father has them shipped from Columbia for a taste of Carolina. Otherwise, Melvin and his wife Lindsay keep the fridge stocked with bites to keep the kids pleased—but save room for some grown-up goods, too.

Craig Melvin Opens the Fridge

1 | JUICE BOXES to quell and quench his two youngsters, Delano and Sybil. 

2 | BERRIES of the season: Melvin’s wife is big on the fruits and veggies front—especially when they can be picked up from the local farmers market. 

3 | FRESH PRODUCE from the garden that Lindsay keeps in the backyard—it’s usually kale that’s ready for salads or squashes to cook and blend into soup. 

4 | NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNONS are stored in a different kind of fridge: the walk-in wine cellar in the basement that fuels the connoisseur couple’s love for bold reds. 

5 | CUCUMBERS are a cool comfort for Melvin, whose grandma used to set them out, soaked in vinegar and seasoned with salt and pepper, on Sunday afternoons.

“Family mealtime is usually a bit of a disaster.” 

“When I was growing up, you just kind of ate whatever your parents prepared for dinner. At some point we empowered our children to a point where they offer unsolicited input every night and so it’s like, ‘Oh, I want this, I want it this way, and I don’t want it this way.’

My wife and I will prepare a nice meal and then we find ourselves, before we can sit down to eat, playing the role of short order cook because they want chicken fingers or tater tots. It’s like herding cats. [But] Taco Tuesdays are big in the house because the kids love tacos. My wife is big on the salads. She also has an amazing garden in the backyard, where she grows a lot of the things that we eat.”

As told to Jacob Hollifield

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