Michelle Obama shut down Sasha, Malia from late-night baking addiction during pandemic

Although the delicious treats may have tempted her willpower, President Obama never gave in to the pressure

Mar 11, 2021

This week, while promoting her new Netflix cooking show, former First Lady Michelle Obama revealed to PEOPLE that her daughters, Sasha and Malia, became addicted to making baked goods at night during the quarantine.

“They were baking way too much at the beginning of quarantine, too many delicious pies. They were good at it! Good pie crust, good fillings,” recalled the star of Waffles + Mochi, which premieres on Netflix on March 16.

According to Obama, having Sasha, 19, and Malia, 22, cooking late treats eventually became problematic for her and her husband, former President Barack Obama, who are both notoriously health-conscious.

“My kids were midnight bakers. So at 1 in the morning, you’d smell cinnamon buns baking,” she explained in this week’s PEOPLE cover story. “I had to tell them to stop because we can’t have all those sweets.”

She did concede though that while her willpower may have been tempted, her husband never gave in to the pressure, noting, “He’s just ridiculously disciplined. We hate him.”

Despite her need to playfully throw her daughters out of the kitchen during the baking escapades, ultimately Obama says she has “retired” from cooking and is overjoyed to pass the torch to her children.

“I have retired my cooking badge, I have relinquished that skill to people who are much better at it than I am. Now that [Malia and Sasha] are back, they are cooking more,” she says, adding, “My girls are very much into cooking, they love the freedom of being in the kitchen, they love creating, they love experimenting. So I’ve passed on that right to the next generation.”

“Waffles + Mochi, the entire concept is fun. It’s approachable, it’s an adventure, it’s exciting, it’s funny,” she says. “More importantly, it’s something that I would watch even if no kids were around.”

A new generation of healthy foodies

As we previously reported, last month Netflix announced six upcoming projects from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, yet somehow managed to keep their latest offering, titled Waffles + Mochi, a secret until a week later when it was announced separately.

“With the help of friendly new faces like the supermarket owner, Mrs. Obama, and a magical flying shopping cart as their guide, Waffles and Mochi blast off on global ingredient missions, traveling to kitchens, restaurants, farms, and homes all over the world, cooking up recipes with everyday ingredients alongside renowned chefs, home cooks, kids and celebrities,” Netflix said in a statement.

Michelle Obama Waffles + Mochi www.theGrio.com — ADAM ROSE/NETFLIX

According to CNN, the kid-centric cooking show will feature two puppets named Waffles and Mochi on their journey to become chefs, with Obama co-starring as a supermarket owner.

The new announcement comes just days after the streaming service and Higher Ground Productions unveiled a slate of four new movies and two television series, all set to come out in the next few years, including a film about the first man to summit Mt. Everest and a young adult thriller about a Native American teen who goes undercover.

Waffles + Mochi will be available for streaming starting March 16. The healthy food themes of the show are perfectly aligned with Obama’s previous initiatives such as her “Let’s Move!” public health campaign, which was aimed at combatting childhood obesity.

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