While you might already know about Heather Mulgrew’s travels throughout Italy, Spain, and Portugal in The Map That Leads To You, Madelyn Cline spent most of her time while filming the movie in Europe eating pasta and sipping limoncello. Don’t worry if you’ve never been to Italy because by helping to introduce Sanpellegrino’s new CIAO! Limoncello, Madelyn is bringing the Italian coastline straight to your refrigerator. We sat down with the actor to chat about her obsession with soups and salads, her love of Trader Joe’s Bamba Peanut Puffs, and her partnership with Sanpellegrino.
Spoon University: You’re helping Sanpellegrino to introduce their latest flavor CIAO! Limoncello. How does this flavor remind you of Italy and bring the Euro-Summer vibes?
Madelyn Cline: Yeah, of course, it’s delicious. It’s obviously limoncello. I have been wanting to try and get my friends together because I have been wanting to go and do a little Italian girl Summer. I’m just dying to.
It reminds me of a couple years ago when I was lucky enough, after we shot The Map That Leads To You, to go and visit the Amalfi Coast and like Taormina in Sicily. Anyways, the drink reminds me so much of just that summer and it was so fun. We had the best time. And also, in this flavor they added a pinch of Sicilian salt, so that balances the flavor really really nicely. It’s like the Amalfi Coast in a little can, it’s really delicious.
SU: On the topic of The Map That Leads To You, do you have any restaurants or specific eats from filming in Europe that you found particularly memorable?
MC: I remember we were in Spain for most of it, and then for the last few weeks we were in Rome and then we went back to the (Italian) coast. But I mean, the pasta is my favorite. And this might be a hot take, but I’m not a huge pizza girl. I do like it when I’m craving it. Also hot take, I like pineapple on pizza and I think it does belong there.
But yeah, I loved pasta and I loved some squash blossoms stuffed with cheese. And what else…I mean, limoncello. Yeah, I just love like there’s something about it when you go to Italy, the celebration of food and gathering around the table and eating. It really is unmatched. I’m from the south so it kind of reminds me of the way we treat dinner like mealtimes.
SU: You’ve said in a previous interview that Trader Joe’s Bamba Peanut Puffs are one of your favorite snacks and-
MC: I got flamed for that! We like passed them around and people tried them and no one liked them. But I love peanut butter and I love puffs so…
SU: I think I saw that the specific wording online was that you got “roasted” by your Outer Banks costars.
MC: Absolutely flamed! Here’s the thing too, we all had to have different snacks and I also listed Hot Cheetos and Takis because often when we’re on set, our snack choices sometimes overlap. So they were like, “well Madelyn already has Cheetos” and whatever, so I was trying to think outside of the box and I just got flamed for it.
SU: With Bon Appetit, you did a series of culinary tests where you said that you’re not necessarily the best cook and you would rather not eat your own food. Since then, have there been any improvements in your cooking abilities?
MC: I’ve been learning. Especially going away and working, I sometimes get restaurant fatigue or like Postmate fatigue which, don’t get me wrong, I love to Postmate, so I have been trying to focus on learning how to cook well.
This is a fun story. Recently we were grilling and I was in charge of the salad. I am a salad queen. I’m a soup and salad queen because I love putting a bunch of ingredients into a bowl. I’m an ingredient girl. And so I decided to make pumpernickel croutons. I put them in the oven and I forgot about them, and I set them on fire. I didn’t know what to do because I’ve never had that happen before, and they were fully on fire – it was a whole panic. I was alone in the house. There was smoke everywhere. Everyone is fine, I am fine, but that is a good example of why I did say what I said about why I wouldn’t eat my own food.