Joel Gamoran Shares His Experience Cooking With Elmo And The Cookie Monster - Exclusive

If you've got kids, you're likely no stranger to "Sesame Street" characters Cookie Monster and Elmo. While the carb-scarfing blue monster is infamous for his impulsivity (not to mention his excellent taste in baked goods), furry red Elmo is playful, child-like and has an infectious giggle that no toddler can resist (via Slate). Can you imagine what it might be like to try to cook a meal with these two characters in tow? It's tough enough trying to cook with actual toddlers and furry creatures begging for your attention and a bite of what you're cooking, after all.

"Today Show" chef Joel Gamoran is one of the few chefs to have actual firsthand experience cooking with Muppets –- and has lived to tell the tale. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Gamoran spilled the details on what it was like to create a series of kid-friendly recipes for the Yummly app with these two PBS A-listers. "Just to be in the presence of that much talent" was an amazing experience for Gamoran. "That's the same Cookie Monster–-he's been doing it for 35 years!" he said. "And the Elmo, he's a young kid who sent in YouTube video, after YouTube video, after YouTube video of him doing Elmo since he was three, and now he's Elmo. So these guys are just incredible talents and it was really special to be alongside them."

Gamoran, who chronicles his adventures as a chef and a dad of little kids on Instagram, said that the best thing about his collaboration with Yummly and "Sesame Street" — as well as LACTAID®, which was also a sponsor –- was seeing how excited his sons were about these new "colleagues" of his. "Oh, my God — when Yummly reached out about this opportunity, it was a dream come true!" he said. "I'm a new dad. So I have a 2-and-a-half-year-old son and I have a 9-month-old son, and ... I mean, Elmo is God to them. They sleep with Elmo. Elmo goes to the bath with them. Elmo goes to the park. So when I told them that I was cooking with Elmo and Cookie Monster, it was basically like I'm meeting the Pope."

Thanks to this partnership, Gamoran added, he's now one of those "cool" dads. "It was a transcending thing! My 'dad stock' went up huge," he said.

Download the Yummly app to watch Chef Joel Gamoran demonstrate recipes with Cookie Monster and Elmo.