Jesse Palmer’s Post-football Life Could Not Be Busier, Or Tastier

When he was a backmost astatine Florida, Jesse Palmer had a scheme successful lawsuit his dream of playing pro shot didn’t travel to fruition. The Toronto autochthonal had a double awesome successful trading and governmental subject (with a certificate successful world relations). “If nan NFL point didn’t activity out, I was readying connected being an ambassador,” says Palmer. “I was hoping I’d get stationed successful a state that had awesome food.”

Palmer credits his mom’s cooking for instilling his foodie ethos, which only sewage stronger during his five-year NFL profession pinch nan Giants and 49ers.

“I sewage to play and unrecorded successful astir apt nan 2 champion nutrient cities successful America,” Palmer says. He’s besides a instrumentality of travel, hitting France astatine slightest erstwhile a year. It’s wherever he learned to emotion his favourite dessert, nan classical tarte tatin (a benignant of upside-down pome pie).

All of which is why Palmer’s 2nd enactment didn’t impact diplomacy, but crème diplomate. As 1 of his galore gigs these days—he’s besides nan big of The Bachelor franchise and a colour commentator for ESPN’s assemblage shot coverage—Palmer, 47, hosts a assortment of baking shows connected nan Food Network. (His ninth play of Holiday Baking Championship starts connected Nov. 3.)

His knowledge allows Palmer to speak intelligently pinch nan judges astir nan desserts they taste. For instance, he and judge Duff Goldman person commiserated complete nan truth that nary contestant—not moreover 1 pinch classical French training—has ever made a genuinely awesome tarte tatin connected immoderate show he’s hosted. “It’s nan execution of crust mostly that is not done very well,” Palmer says. “Also, Duff calls it nan goo factor—the goo facet is not right. The apples are sometimes excessively dry.”

So yes, Palmer tin talk each time astir a tarte tatin, a sablé aliases a mille-feuille (and pronounce them each flawlessly, thing he attributes to being successful a French immersion programme increasing up successful Canada). But he perfectly cannot make immoderate of them. 

“I’ve picked up rather a bit,” he says. “I’ve conscionable ne'er really put it into execution. I person zero clip and I’m connected nan roadworthy truthful often. I unrecorded successful hotels. So unfortunately, I don’t get a chance to slumber successful places that person kitchens very often. But conscionable done osmosis complete nan last, I don’t know, 10 years almost, hopefully I’ve picked up a point aliases two.”

He’s not exaggerating astir his schedule. Speaking connected a Monday successful October (it was Canadian Thanksgiving, but he didn’t person clip for a large celebration), Palmer had been up since 4 a.m. watching movie of Vanderbilt against Alabama and South Carolina for nan Commodores’ crippled against LSU that he was calling pinch Joe Tessitore nan pursuing Saturday. Then it was connected to studying nan Tigers’ defense. (He did person clip to matter Tessitore, a chap foodie, astir wherever they would eat successful Nashville nan nighttime earlier nan game. “That’s for illustration our number 1 priority,” Palmer says. “We’re worried astir nan crippled secondly.”) Then it was disconnected to Los Angeles nan adjacent time to big The Golden Bachelor: Women Tell All reunion show. Then backmost location for a time earlier going to Nashville for nan game.

By that time, Holiday Baking Championship had already been filmed. “I deliberation nan concealed condiment of nan show is not moreover nan baking,” Palmer says. “It’s nan people’s stories. And I deliberation that’s what draws truthful galore viewers successful astatine location is that you commencement relating to immoderate of nan people. You commencement rooting for immoderate of nan group based connected their backgrounds, nan much you study astir them.” And getting contestants to unfastened up is simply a large portion of Palmer’s job. “I’m benignant of acting arsenic a conduit down nan scenes,” he says.

Among Palmer’s different duties connected nan show: deterioration ridiculous outfits (sweaters that ray up, for instance) and dole retired a hearty serving of dada jokes—something he’s gotten beautiful bully astatine now that he’s an existent dad. Palmer joined exemplary Emely Fardo successful 2020, and they person a daughter, Ella, who is astir 2.

“As she gets older and older, I dream nan room is wherever we extremity up spending astir of our time,” he says. “Honestly, I cognize nan surviving room is benignant of nan societal gathering place, but I’d emotion to walk a batch of clip successful nan room pinch her.”

Ella has already gotten a start, making muffins pinch her mom and helping retired pinch breakfast. And dissimilar her dad, she’s showing a existent aptitude for baking. “Ella was cracking eggs—one-handed, mightiness I say,” he says. “Cracking nan ovum and past really splitting it into nan bowl. I cognize I was impressed.”