One classic scene in Martin Scorsese‘s Goodfellas saw the late Ray Liotta‘s locked-up Henry Hill happily cooking for his fellow wiseguys while they were behind bars — something Real Housewives vet Teresa Giudice [JOO-dice] can relate to.
Giudice served 11 months for various charges, including bank, mail and tax fraud, but per her interview with Dax Holt and Adam Glyn‘s Hollywood Raw podcast, she didn’t seem to mind.
“I have to say the food was really good,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey veteran said of the eats at Federal Correctional Institution Danbury in Connecticut, where she served her time. “What was my favorite was when I first got there, they had banana nut muffins. I would have a banana nut muffin every morning. It was so good!”
Hard time indeed.
The former inmate reminded the audience she’s a bestselling cookbook author and noted she “actually cooked … for everyone.” She said she made a “chicken stir fry” for “maybe like 200” guests of this particular pokey.
Since she and her fellow inmates mostly committed “white-collar crimes,” Giudice said her stint was like a “camp setting.”
“I was able to go outside and get fresh air. And I have to say the grounds were so beautiful. The scenery was beautiful,” she expressed. “I tell my daughter it’s like being at college, but the only thing is I just couldn’t leave.”
She also said she “met a lot of cool people” in prison, including her politician roommate.
Her husband, Joe Giudice, also took a plea deal in 2014. He spent 41 months at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix in New Jersey and another seven months in an ICE detention center before he was deported in 2019 to his native Italy.
Chances are his stays weren’t as pleasant.