The world knows them as Tim and Daphne Reid, show business veterans—he as an Emmy-nominated actor, producer and director, she (most famously) as Vivian Banks on the NBC sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and both of them together as producers (proprietors of Virginia-based production company, New Millennium Studios), philanthropists (providing college scholarships) and concerned citizens (active in the social and political scenes in Richmond, Va.).

What the world may not know is that the Reids are also foodies.

Asked to reminisce about the role food has played in their lives, Daphne Reid recalls childhood holiday dinners spent in Brooklyn or Manhattan, with a smorgasbord of her mother's delights—stuffing, greens, green beans, sweet potato soufflé. "We all had our duties. My brother used to section the fruits. My father cut up apples and made the Waldorf salad. And I cut up the onions and celery for the stuffing; it's something I still really like to do."

For Tim Reid, holiday memories centered on creating a sense of family for people who didn't have any. "I was a poor kid who lived with my grandmother in a board house. Grandma rented out five rooms to people coming to town. Many of them didn't have families or were away from families."

As in life and show biz, the Reids take a team approach to cooking—she handles the major items on holidays (roasting the turkey, making the sweet potato soufflé) and he takes care of the "country stuff," like collard greens. "I don't use recipes very much," Daphne said. "I watch Food Network to see how they put things together. I like to cook pasta because it's fast. Whatever is left in the refrigerator and in the freezer often goes good with it." Tim has drawn raves for his bread pudding and pasta and clams.

The Reids also share similar tastes in food, with both having an affinity for Italian. "It's a really clean cuisine," Daphne said. Tim traces his love of Italian food to the summers he spent in Florence, Italy, as an apprentice sculptor. Their tastes diverge a bit when it comes to their favorite food cities. Daphne is fond of New York's variety, "You can eat everything from hot dogs to sushi." Tim prefers New Orleans, with London coming in a close second.

"[I like] New Orleans because of the variety of food, the ambience, music, emotion and atmosphere—everything that goes into making it such a great place," he said. "I also like London. I've been traveling to London since the late '70's. When I first started going there, the food was not very good at all. In the last 10 to 15 years, it has become known as one of the finest food cities in the world. East Indians, Jamacians, Caribbeans have brought their eating habits and changed the face of London."

As the interview winds up, Daphne talked about the couple's first date which, incidentally, involved a meal.

"I was living in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles. I fixed him an orange-coated cornish hen stuffed with wild rice and nuts," she said. "And I still stayed," Tim deadpanned.

Though the food memories have improved, there is a certain dessert that ignites a friendly family feud. She likes dark chocolate, dry flourless cake; he said a flourless chocolate cake isn't a cake at all. "It's a bone of contention; she's a northerner from NYC and they don't understand what a chocolate cake is. In the south, chocolate cake is chocolate icing over a yellow layer cake. They have it backwards." She disagreed, "Ours is richer and better."

All month long, we'll catch up to some of Cuisine Noir's favorite celebrities, chefs and foodies to see what memories come to mind when we ask the question, "What are your favorite holiday food memories?"

ROBBIE MONTGOMERY, OWNER OF SWEETIE PIE'S IN ST. LOUIS, MO

"I've always loved the holidays. I can remember my mom staying up preparing food on Thanksgiving and Christmas. People would come from out of town and we would eat. My mom made special things like tea cakes and a punch bowl cake. We would be excited because we could stay up all night. The night before we would eat the turkey neck right as it came out of the oven because nobody wanted it. (These days) I go all out for the holidays. I really like to make the punch bowl cake, which I'm going to serve in my restaurant in the future. I also make gumbo on New Year's Eve. Everybody waits for my gumbo; I give bowls to my sisters. The holidays are just really a joyous time, a time to see people you haven't seen in awhile."

PAT AND GINA NEELY FROM "DOWN HOME WITH THE NEELYS" ON THE FOOD NETWORK

"Oh my Gosh! We have so many favorite Holiday memories. One of my favorites is early on in our marriage, when our kids were very young, Christmas was our very special holiday!!!! On Christmas Eve, Gina and I would be up all night. She and I would start preparing our Christmas feast, with the anticipation of family and friends stopping by the next day. Before the kids went to bed, we would start preparing the dinner; collard greens, seasoning the Cornish Hens, making the Mac and Cheese, along with homemade Cranberry Sauce. Of course, we always allowed our girls to prepare a slice of Coconut Cake with Milk for Santa's arrival. J Once the girls were asleep, Gina and I would pour a glass of wine, relax in front of the fireplace and wait on Santa's appearance and make sure that everything would be in place when our girls woke up on Christmas morning. Now that our girls are young adults, we so miss getting prepared for Santa's arrival."

~Pat Neely

"The holidays have always been a special time for me. Growing up my great grandmother always had everyone over and if you didn't come over you had better be sick and I mean in the hospital sick (lol). She prepared everything and we assisted whenever she asked us to jump in! So subsequently, I have established the same routine with my family. I have been hosting Christmas every year since our 2nd anniversary and it is such a joy!! Pat and I stay so busy that our families sometimes miss us so we try to maintain some sense of normalcy and the holidays is a perfect opportunity for the combination of family, friends and fun! Usually I'll make the collard greens, my mom makes the potato salad, my sister makes the Mac & cheese and Pat will smoke and fry the turkeys (we have both) and we have every dessert in the world. So for me I totally dismiss any diets and, eat, laugh, relax and enjoy the spirit of the holidays."

~ Gina Neely

CHEF JOE RANDALL, OWNER OF CHEF JOE RANDALL COOKING SCHOOL, SAVANNAH, GA

"Years ago my wife and I would travel from Sacramento to my hometown of Harrisburg, PA for Christmas and New Years. One year my mother said to me you are suppose to some kind of chef, this year Christmas dinner is on you. I was up for it but I had forgotten in her house her rules. It turned out to the best time in the kitchen with momma doing it her way. I learned so much. I encourage everyone to get in the kitchen with the person who has the recipes you would like to keep before they are gone."