Ciara sat down with FOOD & WINE for The Holiday Entertaining Issue to share her Thanksgiving menu, what her last meal would be, and which fellow music icon inspired her mac & cheese recipe. She also dives into the meaning behind her latest album, “Cici,” and her journey being co-owner of Ten To One Rum.
On her go-to Thanksgiving menu and which music icon she gets her mac and cheese recipe from:
“I like to experiment,” she says. The buffet is the center of the action: “I like to have everything you can think of.” From her own “mean, lean, juicy” turkey recipe to honey-baked ham and fried chicken from her favorite New York soul-food spot, Flamingobaby Kitchen, it’s always anchored by mac and cheese, featuring Muenster and a touch of Velveeta. While she’s made the recipe her own over the decades, she admits it came from another soul diva: “Honestly,” she says, “I got a little inspired by Patti LaBelle.”
On her mission to reimagine people’s perception of rum:
“That is a great challenge, because rum is a category that’s often overlooked…When people come out of that understanding, it’s like, no: Rum can level up.”
On connecting with Ten To One founder and CEO Marc Farrell and becoming co-owner of the rum company:
“Once I met Marc, it was like all the boxes were checked off: I love the product first and foremost. I also like how he had beautifully crafted Ten To One, from the rum itself to the actual bottle. And so I joined him very quickly after as an investor, director, and co-owner, and we’ve been rolling ever since.”
On where the name ‘Ten to One’ came from:
“The idea of the first federation of 10 countries of the Caribbean coming together to become one…We’re stronger together than we are apart.”
On the meaning behind her 2025 album, “CiCi”:
“My album CiCi is titled after my nickname, and you know, I think when someone calls you by your nickname it’s really personal, and this album is somewhat personal for me because it’s really me reflecting on the journey, you know, to be doing this thing 21 years later since my first album ‘Goodies’ and to still feel the warm welcome that my fans give me and to feel all the love and support that my fans have shown me over the years, fills my heart up with so much gratitude and, you know, it’s just really personal for me.”
On her favorite track from “Cici”:
“My favorite song would probably be my song Low, featuring Diamond Platinums. This was a collaboration that I was so excited to make happen. Diamond is from Tanzania. And he is an incredible artist who can not only sing and make great music, but he can also dance and you guys know dancing is my jam, so I love the idea of us coming together from two different parts of the world but are connected in a great way because I do have African in my roots, but I just love being able to join forces on this song, to make it what it is and so I’m really, really happy and excited about this song.”
On what her last meal would be:
“My last meal is a little hard for me to pick because, you know, I’m definitely Blexican and Blasian, do the math. It would be a crispy rice tuna with jalapenos, extra jalapenos, yellow tail sashimi with extra jalapenos, edamame, and miso cod, honey with the honey sauce and some steamed rice. I think we in there like swimwear. And then the other combination that I love is my Red Lobster cheesy biscuits with my shrimp linguini, my coconut shrimp with the pineapple sauce, and I would have to do me a nice little seafood broil. Those vibes are perfect.”
On which essential goodies she keeps stocked in her kitchen:
“I’m really big on having the basics, because I think that you need the basics to survive…I also love things like my Oreo cookies, my Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies I’m obsessed with. You have to have Coca-Cola in my fridge. My fridge is not my fridge without Coca-Cola in it…Yeah, I love me some matcha green tea ice cream. It is a vibe. It’s so good. It’s like probably my favorite ice cream. And I also love cookies and cream ice cream. So those are, those are just a few of the items I love having. I also love having a Snickers bar ice cream in my freezer as well. It is so fire, but all of those things are just like CiCi’s necessities as it relates to my kitchen.”
[Photo Credit: Brad Ogbonna/Food & Wine]
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