Tom Colicchio Made His Son the Most Unique Cake While "Cooking in a Crisis"

As grocery stores are struggling to stay stocked amid coronavirus (COVID-19), Tom Colicchio still found a way to put together a memorable cake for his son Mateo's birthday using the food he had on hand. 

"Today was my sons 9th birthday, I had to improvise, rice Krispie treats mini black and whites, sour cream," the Bravo's Top Chef head judge captioned a photo of the dessert, adding the hashtag: "Cooking in a crisis." 

Of course, the cake turned out beautifully-done, with mini black-and-white cookies surrounding the exterior and colorful sprinkles atop the dessert.

When a follower asked what his youngest child thought of the special treat, he replied: "He hates cake but likes Rice Krispie treats."

Tom isn't the only Bravo personality creating memorable meals while homebound amid the pandemic. Vanderpump Rules' Stassi Schroeder recently shared the cake she made for Beau Clark's 40th birthday. "Quarantine cake," she captioned a photo of the dessert, made from Duncan Hines Classic Yellow cake mix, Pillsbury Funfetti Vanilla icing, and Duncan Hines chocolate icing. "The best I can do right now." 

As the global health crisis continues, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi has been encouraging her followers to shop thoughtfully as they stock their pantries and fridges. "What I would say is buy frozen vegetables if you can," she said in a recent Instagram clip. "They sometimes have as much nutrition as fresh vegetables because if you buy a good brand, they're usually flash-frozen right when they're picked." 

She also suggested dry goods such as beans, lentils, quinoa, orzo, canned tomatoes, and canned tuna. "It doesn't cost as much as buying, like, steak or something," she said. "But it still gives you protein and it can last for a long time on the shelf." 

However, Padma noted, "You don’t need to [be] hoarding 30 boxes of macaroni."

Tom recently revealed that he made the heartbreaking decision to temporarily close his restaurants, calling the choice "the hardest decision I’ve ever faced in my 40 years in this industry."

"Our mission has always been ‘Make People Happy’ but we can no longer do that without jeopardizing the wellbeing of our family of staff, our purveyors, and our guests," he wrote in an Instagram post. "We will do everything we can to support our employees through this transition and help each other stay safe. For now, we plan to work with local authorities to help our communities get through this crisis." 

Want more of Top Chef? New episodes air every Thursday at 10/9c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.

For the latest, most accurate information on coronavirus, go to the World Health Organization (WHO) website.