story by KALEA MARTIN
A smart toaster with a touchscreen. A single-serve gelato machine that looks like it belongs on the set of iCarly. A countertop kitchen robot, where all you have to do is load in the ingredients, punch in the recipe, and click a button.
Welcome to tm:rw Cafe, located inside Times Square concept store tm:rw, where “innovation meets indulgence,” and where we also met Canadian actress Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, who was visiting NYC for the very first time.
In the middle of fashion week, having made her runway debut with Christian Cowan just days before, you may wonder what Ksenia would be doing in a place like tm:rw, taking the time to pose for pictures with every single fan who stopped by to meet her, and eating gelato with a tiny plastic spoon. But despite her being a breakout star on one of the biggest shows of the year, Ksenia is also just a down to earth girl from Toronto, a lowkey foodie who loves cinnamon bun flavored ice cream, considers Anthony Bourdain her dream dinner party guest, and speaks highly of the craft food truck that fueled long days on the Heated Rivalry set.
Here’s everything she has to say on what she likes to eat (including ice cream) and what’s coming in Season 2 of Heated Rivalry. Plus, shop her favorite cookware set from tm:rw.
On her favorite ice cream flavor:
“I love ice cream. Oh my god. If I could be any—See, I love all types of ice cream. I’m not picky at all. I love like pistachio. I love rocky road. I love all the flavors that people don’t like. But if I really had to pick one, I would pick either cookie dough or like the cinnamon bun flavor ice cream. I’ve had that one before. It’s so good. So yeah, probably one of those.”
Outlet: Permanent Rain Press
On what she thinks of the Dubai chocolate trend:
“I love pistachio. It’s one of the—I think it’s one of the best flavors. So good,” she raves.“It’s because of the Dubai chocolate! They’re now doing everything pistachio, and I’m like the biggest fan of that flavor.”
Outlet: Empty Netters Podcast
On the food on the set of Heated Rivalry:
“I just love craft truck. Having a craft truck on set is like the best thing ever. We would go and raid that thing all the time together. I remember Connor [Storrie], me, and Hudson [Williams] actually went and raided it one time. Hudson—I never have any scenes with Hudson, but he he came when we were filming the gala stuff—he was there. He’s so funny. He’s like really funny in person. Like like those interviews that he has, like he’s actually just like that in real life, which I love.”
Outlet: Reality Receipts Podcast
On who she’d invite to her dream dinner party:
“Oh! Anthony Bourdain,” Ksenia says without hesitation. “He was a chef but he traveled around the world. In the 2000s he went around the world and tasted different food, and he made episodes about places that he’d go to, but from a culinary standpoint.”
Ksenia says she’d also invite 14th century explorer Ibn Batutta. “I’d make him a nice chai or something,” she says, adding,“He would just have so many stories because he traveled and wandered his whole life.”
Outlet: The Pretenders Podcast
On where she likes to grocery shop:
“There’s a very good Russian grocery store in North York [Toronto] called Yummy Market. There’s a bunch of different Slavic food, Eastern European food there,” she shares, explaining, “My mom’s from Russia, and I went to school there for a little while too, but then when I came back, I guess the way I just stay in touch [with the culture] is through film, movies, the food.”
Outlet: Permanent Rain Press
On what she thinks of borscht:
“Oh my God, it’s delicious! I think—you know what—I think beets get like a really bad rap in the west because people here don’t really eat them that much. First of all, they’re just really good for you, but they actually do taste really good. Like we make salads out of them, and we make soups out of them. The soup is really rich and good, and you put sour cream into it. It’s delicious. Once you get past the vibrant color—it is natural though, so there’s no dye in there—I think once you get past the color, it’s like, oh, okay, this is just like a good soup.”
Outlet: Empty Netters Podcast
Pass, Shoot, Score on her favorite Russian dishes:
As much as she loves borscht, Ksenia says pelmeni ultimately ranks higher in her book. “Oh, this is so hard. Blini are like like crepes. I’m gonna go with pass on blini just because I don’t have them often. Shoot borscht, and score pelmeni. I mean they’re so good.”
Outlet: Empty Netters Podcast
On what she hopes to see in Season 2 of Heated Rivalry:
“I want to see them [Ilya and Shane] cooking together. I want to see them watching TV together, playing video games more. Like that was fun [to see]. I really liked when they were playing video games in episode five. But yeah, just like more cute stuff with the two of them. Maybe a few of the female characters meet—that would be fun.”
Outlet: Rebecca M. / @kirikiopdnk
On when she’ll be back on the Heated Rivalry set:
“I’m actually not sure, but I think later this year. I know Jacob [Tierney] is writing. I know he’s typing away. Listen, it’s basically just him writing it, so he needs his time to make freakin’ good TV!”
Outlet: Variety
Ksenia x tm:rw
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova keeps it real in the kitchen. Her favorite pick from tm:rw’s kitchen appliance collection is the Hell’s Kitchen Hybrid Tri-Clad 5pc Set. This stainless-steel-aluminum cookware features a PFA-free, diamond-reinforced nonstick surface that can even go in the oven. Perfect for whipping up Ilya’s tuna melts and everything in between.
Hell’s Kitchen Hybrid 5 Pc Cookware Set (from $400)
Browse the rest of her faves below.
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