Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey Make ‘Wicked’ Good Pizzas

Welcome back to the Pizza Interview, a series from New York Times Cooking where the Q&A has a catch: Our guests have to make pizza.

“Wicked: For Good,” an adaptation of the second half of the Broadway musical, and the sequel to last year’s “Wicked,” brings the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) to a conclusion. Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is set to marry Glinda, though his heart might already belong to the now-exiled Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Watch the full video below (or on YouTube), and read ahead for excerpts from the interview and outtakes, which have been edited and condensed.

Have you ever made a pizza before?

ARIANA GRANDE I have made a pizza before because my family is Italian, and my mom has a big pizza oven. So I’ve made a few. Have you made pizza before?

JONATHAN BAILEY I have. Are you a bit of a master?

GRANDE Well, I didn’t say that. I said it’s happened. I don’t claim to be, I don’t think I’m very good.

BAILEY A dough tosser.

GRANDE Are you a dough tosser?

BAILEY Yeah, I am a dough tosser. I have been from a very young age.

Do you like to cook?

BAILEY Yeah, I love to cook. I just don’t do it often. It’s the first thing that goes when I’m busy. But when I am cooking, it’s usually a sign that there’s friends coming around, and you make a day of it.

GRANDE It’s a very nice thing to do with people that you love.

BAILEY Totally.

GRANDE I love cooking. I love to just roast a whole bunch of vegetables and play it by ear. I don’t have any sort of technique, and I don’t know if I’m doing it well, but I know what tastes good.

What’s your favorite pizza place?

BAILEY When I first moved to London from Oxford, where I’m from, I lived on Munster Road in Fulham, which is West London. And there was a pizza place called Pappa Ciccia. And there was a pizza called “The Completer,” which had every ingredient.

GRANDE Well, my family’s favorite Italian restaurant in New York is La Masseria. And they have beautiful food. In L.A., I enjoy Crossroads because it’s a plant-based, vegan place. They make beautiful pizzas.

What’s one of your best, earliest or fondest memories of food?

GRANDE My nonna’s cooking.

BAILEY Yeah, family cooking.

GRANDE Pasta.

BAILEY My nana used to make amazing roasts, and she lived about a seven-minute walk. We’d always go around on a Sunday. Family roast dinner. The cornerstone of the day was dinner. We’d always have breakfast and dinner together as a family. I didn’t realize that was kind of rare.

GRANDE Yeah, we would do Sunday dinners and play cards. My family would play a game called “May I?” We still play it. My notebook is filled with tons of score-keeping pages.

BAILEY From back in the day?

GRANDE From literally this year, when we would all play with Nonna.

If you were to show each other around your hometown, where would you go eat?

BAILEY Well, my hometown, I remember we got Beijing Diner that opened in, like, the ’90s, and that was supreme. They serve wine, so I’d probably take you there. We’d have crispy shredded chili beef and a bottle of white wine.

GRANDE Where would I take you in Boca Raton? I don’t know, my house was always the place to be because everyone was always cooking and eating there. But the Town Center mall had some zingers. They have a place called Stir Crazy that was a big hit. We probably would have gone there. You could pick your toppings and then the chef would do the whole fire and, like, whip it up. It’s like a wok.

Have you ever cooked for each other?

BAILEY Ari cooks for me.

GRANDE Yes, I did.

BAILEY Do you remember, you played some music? It was really good.

GRANDE Oh my God, that’s right. That was so sweet.

BAILEY It was the first time I heard …

GRANDE “We Can’t Be Friends.” Because I had just written it, and I was so nervous about it. I was like, “I think I need to put out music.” And I was like, “Will you tell me what you think? I’m scared.”

BAILEY I freaked out. I was like, “Ari, it’s a bop.”

GRANDE You were so cute. No, it was really sweet.

BAILEY But what else did I — I listened to three tracks. Yeah, you played three.

GRANDE Really? What the hell did I play?

Ari, what did you cook for him that night?

GRANDE I remember I roasted trumpet mushrooms. Right? And we made, like, chips, they were, like, seasoned with paprika and stuff.

BAILEY Yeah, it was delicious.

GRANDE I think there was a vegan pesto involved as well.

BAILEY And we had a sushi spread on top of that.

GRANDE That’s right, we ordered also from Planta Queen.

If you were a food dish, what would you be? Can you answer for each other?

BAILEY I think you’d be, like, a whipped terrine.

GRANDE What did you call me?

BAILEY Because it’s light and delicious.

GRANDE I know what you are.

BAILEY Spotted dick.

GRANDE What? Is that a fish?

BAILEY No, it’s a pudding.

GRANDE What is happening?

BAILEY Is that … that’s a British thing, isn’t it?

GRANDE I don’t know what that is, you’ll have to show me.

BAILEY I’ll show you.

GRANDE If you were a dish, you would be this, like, beautiful little potato fluffy thing. It’s like a little, cute cloud. It’s beautiful and full of light and airy. That’s what you would be.

BAILEY I think they would go quite well together.

GRANDE She also asked what you think you are as a food.

BAILEY I reckon I’m probably bubble and squeak. Is that another British thing? Bubble and squeak is, like, yesterday’s leftovers all thrown into a pan.

GRANDE I think I’d be … strawberry?

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