Before we could begin our Zoom interview about their Peacock Halloween special, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart had some important business to take care of.
“Let me let Martha see my birthday gift,” Snoop said as he reached off camera. A small, furry ball of wrinkles came into view.
Stewart, even-tempered as ever, did not exclaim her remark—delivered, instead, with the gently surprised pleasure one might feel at the sight of unexpected bread with dinner. But she did repeat it a couple times with feeling: “Cream Frenchie.”
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This new baby, named Tae Tae, will join Snoop’s older pooches, Juelz Broadus and Chalk—also French bulldogs. (Stewart has a couple Frenchies as well.) “My grand-babies all love dogs,” the rapper turned businessman said as he cuddled the puppy. “Like, they love dogs more than people—they’re going crazy for this dog.” On brand.
Snoop & Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween, which premieres Thursday on Peacock, reunites the unlikely, ineffable duo for a spooky baking competition. Three teams compete to create the most delicious “fully immersive Halloween dessert experience,” and the winners walk away with a $20,000 prize.
“I want dozens and dozens of treats,” Snoop says in the trailer before cackling maniacally. “I want a fortress of fondant!”
Snoop and Martha, both decked out in excellent outerwear (the former, a long smoking jacket; the latter, a white blazer with ostrich feature cuffs) judge from plush velvet thrones alongside Alvin Zhou, of BuzzFeed’s Tasty. Very Tasty Halloween builds on the preternatural chemistry these two have shared from the beginning—and finds them bantering in elaborate costumes while sampling creepy cuisine.
The Daily Beast spoke with Snoop and Martha about the special, their favorite Halloween traditions and treats, and most importantly, where they stand in the candy corn debate. (Spoiler: They have the correct opinion.)
Snoop & Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween expands on your popular TV potlucks, which aired for three seasons and included Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes. What made you want to branch into Halloween with a baking competition?
Stewart: Snoop?
Snoop: Well, we had so much fun doing the potluck show, and Halloween was right around the corner—Martha wasn’t doing nothing, I wasn’t doing nothing. You know what I’m saying? The networks reached out; it was a great idea. And it’s something we both love. We both love Halloween, we love waking and baking, so it was just a perfect situation to make it happen.
Martha, you said in the special that Halloween was one of your favorite holidays. I wondered if either of you have any traditions that you're particularly fond of around this holiday.
Snoop: When I was a kid we had a thing called “bag snatching,” where we would all let the kids get all the candy, then we’d wait until they get their bags filled up and just take it from them. That was a great way to get all the candy without going from door to door.
Stewart: Nice, Snoop. Real nice! The little kids, right?
Snoop: That’s why I didn’t get nothing for Christmas—because Santa knew I was naughty all year.
Stewart: Well, I gave my bags of candy away to all the poor little children who were robbed!
Snoop: I would’ve came to your door three times as three different people.
So, what is your favorite Halloween treat—either a candy you’d get from your neighbors or one you make yourself?
Stewart: I like the candy apples—I like the crunchy kind, the red candied glass that you have to break with your teeth. I love that.
Snoop: I like candy apples, too, but I like Chick-O-Sticks. I don’t know if you know about a Chick-O-Stick.
I was about to say, I don’t think I’m familiar with the Chick-O-Stick. What is a Chick-O-Stick?
Snoop: It’s like peanut butter—I don’t even know what the ingredients is, but it’s crack in the hood. It’s amazing.
Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart in Snoop and Martha's Very Tasty Halloween
PeacockAre there any candy apple tricks you’d like to share, Martha?`
Stewart: Make sure you get it to the hard crack stage. You know what that is, Snoop?
Snoop: You gotta freeze ’em to get ’em there?
Stewart: No, hard crack! Has to be really hot. You have to get it way up to... I think it’s 360 degrees on the candy thermometer.
Snoop: And then what’s the temperature that you can actually eat it?
Stewart: Oh, and then you let it cool first and it gets hard.
Snoop: Well, my teeth ain’t what they used to be so I gotta use my side teeth. When I was a kid, I could go up straight from the front. Now I’ve gotta go to the side.
Stewart: Uh-oh.
I feel like this is beginning to happen to me, but that’s for another conversation with my dentist.
Snoop: When you start going to the side, that’s how you know you’re getting old. Right now you’re still working from the front; when you work that apple from the side, it’s catching up.
You both named some favorite horror movies in the special. I wonder how each of you would describe your tolerance for scary movies. Is either of you a scaredy-cat, are you both pretty hardcore?
Stewart: Well, I like fake-scary movies. If they’re too realistic I have to turn it off. Like Hannibal Lecter’s a little bit too scary for me. But Psycho was fun. And The Sixth Sense was fun. They had Phantom of the Opera on here—I don’t think that’s so scary. Any of the Frankenstein or Dracula movies, all that’s so fake and so period that it’s not so scary. But when it gets a little too real and there’s any real torture involved that’s when I have to turn it off.
Snoop: Me personally, when it comes to scary movies, I can watch ’em with a lot of people, but by myself I can’t watch a movie that involves somebody being at home being killed by themselves. Like she said, the reality of it just throws me off. But if it’s a bunch of kids and they go on a camping trip and there’s one Black guy and he gets killed first, then you know, that ain’t so bad because I’m used to seeing that kind of horror movie.
Stewart: You had Men in Black II on your list. I’m in that movie somewhere! I had a little cameo. I don’t even know what it was but I’m in there, I have to watch it.
And Snoop, you made Hood of Horror!
Snoop: Yeah, Hood of Horror, you know we did that kind of like a Twilight Zone-Tales from the Hood feel. I love doing things of that nature–like, acting in a horror movie is great for me. But as far as watching one by myself, it’s a problem.
You’ve now done specials for a lot of holidays—Christmas, Thanksgiving. I wonder if you had a favorite and if there are any others you’re considering for future potlucks and competitions.
Snoop: I think we should do one for Valentine’s Day, Martha. Make the man cook for the wife instead of the wife always cooking for the man.
Stewart: That would be fun. And we have to do a real Christmas special.
Snoop: In snow! In snow! You know what I’m saying? Like, cook the food and we’ll eat outside in the snow.
Stewart: OK, we’ll do that.
Snoop: It don’t snow in California, so when we see that, it’s like we’ve seen Godzilla or something. So to have a Christmas dinner in the snow, that would be amazing for me.
Stewart: I have just the place.
My last question is perhaps the most crucial: What is your position on candy corn? Tasty treat or garbage?
Snoop: Garbage.
Stewart: Yeah, I don’t like candy corn.
Snoop: My grandmama used to keep them after Halloween, too. I’m like, come on, granny, throw ’em away! It’s two months after Christmas and you’ve still got ’em! ... Nasty garbage.
Stewart: Can I have one little last word of advice? Please don’t give loose candy to the kids that come to your neighborhood, to your front door. Give them packaged candy. You don’t want to have any surprises. You want to make sure everything is A-okay.
Snoop: And don’t forget to brush and floss every night.
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
