Jason Biggs And Jenny Mollen Talk Losing Your Vegan Card With Babybel - Exclusive Interview
Jason Biggs is known for one of his most famous characters and his predilection for a certain baked good — we're talking, of course, about "American Pie," one of the cringiest comedies to come out of the '90s and to earn three sequels. Biggs met Jenny Mollen, a writer and actress, on a blind date, and the couple eloped in 2008 after knowing each other for only nine months, per Mollen's interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Two kids and 15 years later, the elaborate school lunches Mollen makes for their boys have gone viral, and she's released a cookbook about feeding her picky eaters: "Dictator Lunches: Inspired Meals That Will Compel Even the Toughest of (Tyrants) Children." Now, the talented pair are collaborating on a venture that's relatively new to both of them — exploring vegan products, specifically, Babybel's new vegan mozzarella.
Keeping in mind Biggs' late-night snacking habit and the couple's efforts to nourish their sons with healthy foods, the famous pair are here to help fans lose their V-card — aka their vegan card — with the chance to win Babybel's First Time Experience kit, which includes some plant-based and majorly romantic gifts for Valentine's Day.
The couple identifies as vegan curious
You're giving people a chance to win Babybel's Valentine's kit with must-haves for losing your vegan card, your V-card. There's a robe, wine glasses, a snacking board, a cozy blanket. If you could add anything else, what would you add, and what's your favorite part of the kit right now?
Jenny Mollen: I would add a baguette maybe to enjoy with my Babybel. I think that would be [it]. If you can pick up a baguette on your way home, that's a good one.
Jason Biggs: That's a good one. That's a really good one, actually.
Mollen: And then, we do the sparkling water thing, but maybe a wine or beverage of your choice.
Biggs: For those wonderful green wine glasses, for me, it'd be a sparkling non-alcoholic grape juice. [That] would pair very nicely with the Babybel Plant-Based. [My favorite part of the kit] are the robes.
Mollen: We were going to do this interview in the robes.
Biggs: We were really considering doing the interview in the robes. And [I said], "Maybe I should have them just off camera, just handy in case we feel inspired." The robes are so comfortable, and they're pretty awesome.
Mollen: We should be in the robes, with the cheeseboard, the board that they gave for the Plant-Based. It says "nipple." What is it? "Nipple Nip."
Biggs: I kept saying "nipple" ... "nipple bibble pop."
Mollen: "Nipple nip" something. But it's cute; it's really cute. You could use that for a lot of things.
I'm really curious to see what it actually said. "Nibble" something?
Biggs: You're vegan curious, or?
Mollen: It's suggestive.
Jason Biggs is living up to American Pie's legacy
Speaking of vegan curious, Jason, your character's storyline in "American Pie" revolved around losing a different kind of V-card. Do you feel like you have a special connection to this campaign?
Biggs: I certainly do. It feels pretty darn organic to me. That's why one of the many reasons why hopping on this campaign was exciting for me: One, because we are a Babybel household. We have been for years and years. Two, because I am vegan curious. I'm not vegan, but especially as I've grown up a little bit more and expanded my palate and also want to mind my health a little bit more, I've been experimenting and trying more plant-based items and dairy-free stuff. This [is a] perfect tie-in. My first time here trying Babybel Plant-Based is with someone I trust very much.
Mollen: Do you trust me?
Biggs: I love you. I love you very much. Maybe we don't need to throw trust into the equation. Maybe love is all you need. I believe someone sang that once, and I think that's correct.
But obviously, the similarities are hard to ignore. That was 25 years ago. Twenty-five years ago, I was having a first time of a different sort, and now it's with a much more enjoyable food product, if I may say so myself.
That's very important to know, I think.
Biggs: I think everyone at home would like to know that.
What other vegan products do you both enjoy? Jenny, are you vegan curious? I know you eat healthy, pretty much.
Mollen: Yeah. I grew up not eating red meat. My dad wrote books on diet and exercise and low-protein everything, so for me, it's an easier lifestyle adjustment. I love doing plant-based milks only. I am borderline vegan.
Biggs: You are borderline.
Mollen: Unless I'm eating ...
Biggs: It's very rare. This is a perfect, very organic fit for Jenny.
Mollen: I kept saying to Jason, "This campaign happened because of me." Then I saw all of the "American Pie" stuff, and I was like, "Maybe it's not about me."
Biggs: Interesting. Maybe you weren't the one to get this job. Interesting.
That's why you're a team though, right?
Biggs: Exactly right.
Jenny Mollen wants to create a positive culture around food
Jenny, you've talked about representing latchkey kids who came into the house and didn't have a lot of stuff prepared for them. Now you have a book about preparing food for your kids. What's it been like to help your kids have a good relationship with being cared for through food?
Mollen: It's so hard in this day and age, where everywhere you turn, somebody's plying your child with sweets and sugar and wanting to be the person [doling] out the rewards when, as a mom, I want to have those wins. But unfortunately, because [of] maybe the school I'm at, the world I live in, I have to make sure that when they're home, they're eating healthy and I'm getting all of those nutrients in them. I have to stay vigilant. It's not easy. The more industrialized a country, the harder it is to find real food. So I'm on it. I'm trying my hardest.
You've talked about Jason having some interesting snacking habits before.
Mollen: Oh, yeah. Part of my issue is his eating habits. I'm up against [a] very interesting relationship with food, and it sits next to me.
You have to have a diverse palate in the house, I think.
Biggs: I certainly think so. Any type of extreme is very dangerous. I feel like we have a good balance here. It's a bit of a push and pull sometimes, but if you walked into this house, it'd be very apparent that this is overwhelmingly a very healthy-food house, for sure.
Mollen: Unless you looked for Jason's hidden treats.
Biggs: Unless you came in after everyone else went to bed and it was just me awake.
Mollen: Then you found Jason's crumb cakes.
Biggs: Then you found me eating my hidden chocolates and crumb cakes, yes.
You shouted out Milk Bar milkshakes before. Is there a vegan option for that?
Biggs: Great question. I wonder if there is. I would certainly try that.
Jason Biggs had a great time with Bobby Flay
Jason, you appeared on Season 11 of "Beat Bobby Flay." What was that experience like, and would you go on other cooking reality shows?
Biggs: I'm a big — the term is so weird — foodie. It feels like that's overused; that term is a little weird. But I've always loved food and trying new things, and I love cooking, and I love being on TV, so it's a perfect fit. Bobby's incredible. He is so incredibly talented, and he's a wonderful TV personality. It's a perfect marriage. He's the ultimate cooking show host and performer and chef, so it was super fun to go on that show with him. I would absolutely do more of it.
It's funny. There's so much out there now in the food space because basically everyone's a foodie thanks to social media, but in a great way. People are exposed now to foods that they wouldn't have normally been exposed to simply because of the internet, so people are more curious. That's why this Babybel campaign is so perfect right now in this day and age of social media. It's perfect to get this out. I think people will be interested in trying something new.
The couple is here for animal rights
Speaking of social media and veganism/animal rights, you guys have collaborated before on a campaign with PETA. Have you seen the recent Kylie Jenner PETA-approved lion-head dress? And what do you think about those kinds of celebrity interactions with PETA?
Mollen: That lion dress was so weird; what was going on? I want to know, am I going to walk down the street and see somebody wearing that dress? Is it going to go that far? Was that just a publicity stunt? Did you see also [the] fashion show where the dress was literally on the lady's head sticking straight up, and she was just walking in the pose? So [there was] the dress, and then there was one where the dress was next to her. I'm not sure how I feel.
Biggs: But [Kylie has] been on the other side of that in the past with PETA, so good for her. Whether she intended to do it as a nod to say, "I'm going in this direction and I'm sorry about my past uses of fur," or it was just, "I really like this designer and this piece," who knows? But the message it sends is "I don't have to have a real lion head on the dresses."
Mollen: I disagree. I don't think it sends any message. I think if anybody has fur lying around, they're like, "I want to mimic that look, and I happen to have this real fur at my house." I don't think anybody's going out and buying that fake lion head. So I don't think it works. I still think it glamorizes using animals.
Biggs: Okay, well, don't check my credit card statement then, because there is a fake lion head coming to us.
The Valentine's Day gift.
Biggs: That would be the perfect addition to the Babybel First Time kit.
Babybel's vegan mozzarella is up to snuff
People have said that the texture and the flavor of the vegan mozzarella cheese is spot on. Do you think that this Babybel cheese should win the 2023 Veggie Awards?
Biggs: There are Veggie Awards?
Mollen: Oh, yeah. This will definitely be a contender, for sure.
Biggs: It's pretty awesome. It really tastes like mozzarella. It's fantastic. That's part of people's [holdup], and certainly [that] was my holdup when it comes to things that are vegan — [the idea that] it's not going to taste the same. Honestly, the flavor is fantastic.
Mollen: Also, oftentimes with schools, I can't send other vegan products that are in this same category because they are made with almonds or they have a cashew base. And this doesn't, so as far as allergies are concerned, it's definitely amazing.
I do really want to try the cheese now. Did you have anything else you wanted to say about the campaign?
Biggs: People can go to the Babybel social channels until February 8. [It's] February 2 through 8 to sign up and hopefully win the Babybel Plant-Based First Time kit. It's a pretty awesome kit.
Mollen: It's so fun. It's such a fun night. You can make a whole night of it.
Biggs: And you're going to love the product. It tastes awesome.
Visit babybelfirsttime2023.dja.com to enter to get your own Babybel First Time Experience kit, curated by Babybel Plant-Based, Jenny, and Jason.
This interview has been edited for clarity.