30 November 2023 , 18:42
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Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle became a chef and barmaid while the band were on hiatus in the early 2010s before their 2012 reunion.
Nadine took some time out to talk food after tickets for their reunion tour went on sale and has been discussing what else she got up before deciding to return to the stage. The 38-year-old had a brief spell as a chef while the group were away but is still unhappy with what's on the menu back home.
The Irish star is seething that she can't always get the yummy KFC specials when she goes back to Northern Ireland and says she has to fill up before she jumps on a plane. It's not the only food issue she's had to get to grips with after a staff walkout at her restaurant left her with no alternative but to grab the apron.
Nadine Coyle doesn't just sing - she's a handy chef too (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Smi)
She was chatting ahead of the Girls Aloud reunion next year (mirrorpix)Speaking on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie Ware and her mum Lennie, Nadine explained: “I had a restaurant (Nadine's Irish Mist) for 12 years, I would go through all the things with the chefs and we would organise what type of things we were doing for the menu, we were right by the beach.
“But chefs are notoriously temperamental and we had this really nice chef, an Irish guy, and he just decided to leave during one of our busiest nights, which was a Thursday. He storms out and leaves and it was like we can't not open - so that was the night I cooked. I was the chef.”
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She went on: “I had to do a full service, it was wild and I was obviously frazzled. The tickets were just coming in and coming in. One of our waitresses was Russian so she was like 'rush rush' and I thought she was on about Rach, my sister! You could see all the customers were walking by and were like: ‘Nadine what are you doing in there’ and I was like: ‘I have no idea, I don't know’.” Her bandmates couldn't believe what they were hearing, with Cheryl Tweedy saying she would have "paid" to see Nadine making steak sandwiches in the kitchen. Nicola was stunned admitting that this was the first time the band had heard the hilarious story.
Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh are touring in 2024 (SplashNews.com)While the band were on hiatus, Nadine opened up Nadine's Irish Mist in California with her mum Niall and Lillian Coyle after the family relocated to America. She also needed to get something about chicken off her chest during the chat. “KFC do this all the time and this is how they suck me into it, they’ll advertise their new things, like they’ll advertise their gravy dipping burger and it will say it is not available in Northern Ireland. So then I’m like: ‘Oh if I go home for Christmas then I’m not going to get it. So I need to get it now or else I’m never going to be able to get it!"
A tour should hold no fears after the kitchen trauma. The group made up of Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh are set for a nationwide reunion after ten years out of the spotlight. The girls are set to take to the stage without bandmate Sarah Harding after she tragically passed away two years ago after losing her battle to breast cancer.
Sources close to Cheryl have revealed that she is determined to be a mediator while on tour in a bid to not repeat past tensions among the girls - in honour of Sarah. A source told Closer magazine: "They all regret anything that might have been perceived as 'mean girls' behaviour. They've been through so much together - the toughest being losing Sarah. They already know they owe it to her to not mess this up and to be completely professional and give fans everything they've got. But understandably emotions are going to be running high and the truth is that all four girls don't know how it will feel getting back on stage, until it happens."