Friends and Foodies: Linda Yu, Sylvia Perez talk food and more

Linda Yu and Sylvia Perez, Chicago’s first-ever all-female news anchor team, have been reunited in the Chicago Sun-Times kitchen to talk about one of their favorite things: food.

“We like to gather friends together to go out to eat, and we bring our families together with close friends to eat, ” said Yu. “Our first thought, when getting together outside of work is, ‘Where shall we meet to eat and talk?’”

“Whenever we get together, we are always going out to a new restaurant and ordering a little of everything. We share everything so we can order multiple items off the menu and get a tour of the menu, ” added Perez.

Perez, an anchor/reporter at Fox32 Chicago, is the first guest on Yu’s new video series for the Chicago Sun-Times called “Food We Love with Linda Yu.” Her segment will be available on Friday, April 13th on the Chicago Sun-Times website. That’s the same day the pair will talk about the cooking segment and their long friendship on Fox32 Chicago at 9am and 12 noon.

The “Food We Love” segment features Perez talking about her Puerto Rican family’s favorite food tradition: making Arroz Con Habichuelas or rice and beans using her grandmother’s pilon. (A pilon is a wood and mortar pestle used in traditional Puerto Rican cooking).

After taping their “Food We Love” segment, the Sun-Times asked the pair a few more questions.

Must have comfort food?

Perez: It’s Puerto Rican foods. “They make me feel warm inside.”

Yu: Chinese fare. “When I’m sick, I have to have Chinese soup …. chicken and rice soup, or chicken broth with bean thread noodles (with an egg in it).”

Favorite meal to cook?

Perez: “Just about anything that makes people happy. I love the cooking process, but it’s how it makes everyone feel when they are eating, laughing and being together that really matters.

Yu: “My children love my coq au vin. To cook it and watch them enjoy it, is all a mom could ask. I’ve always said I’m not a great cook, I just love feeding people. So maybe that’s why my meals are cooked with a lot of love.

Weird food habit?

Perez: Linda loves “Fish eyeballs. YES! I said fish eyeballs. No explanation needed I’m sure.”

Yu:“Sylvia will say “fish eyes” …. and my answer to her is: The fish eyes come in the fish heads, so why wouldn’t I eat them?”

Favorite cooking tools? The answer to that one is in this video:

One word that describes the other’s cooking?

Perez: Linda’s cooking is “LOVE.”

Yu:“Sylvia’s cooking: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (did I spell that right?). I’ve never said it to her, but when I think about the singing and dancing and good feeling that comes with that word, that’s the word!”

For more on with Linda Yu and Sylvia Perez, please visit the Chicago Sun-Times starting April 13th. There you’ll find a video of their cooking segment plus a Perez Family recipe that you can print and share. You can follow Linda Yu for updated information on her cooking series:

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