Niall Horan Makes "Dad's Pasta" and Talks About His Album Dinner Party

Starting With a Gin and Tonic

Horan opens with drinks, calling a gin and tonic in summer something "you can't beat." They brought Monkey 47, one of their favorite gins, and plan to make two versions. Horan usually garnishes with lemon and sometimes with cucumber. They reach straight for a double shot and laugh about skipping the single. The ratio matters to Horan: a double shot of gin, then tonic filling about three-quarters of the glass, with large ice cubes. "Just very simple. Nothing crazy."

The first drink gets lemon rounds slotted into the glass, which Horan says give it "a little bit of a summery feel." The second gets cucumber. Because this is Vogue, the cucumber has been cut into long ribbons, which Horan stretches out and curls into the glass, joking about "arts and crafts." Horan says the two taste completely different. Lemon brings a citrusy, summery note, while cucumber feels "kind of year-round." Making a second drink this early prompts the running joke: "How drunk am I going to be when I leave here?" Later, while cooking, Horan points out that it is 10 a.m.

0:58

What a Dinner Party Needs

The drinks lead into Horan's idea of hosting. A dinner party, they say, needs beers, wine, rosé, and "the cocktails flying," and Horan thinks they handle that part well at home. The weak spot is timing. Horan always plans to serve dinner at a set time and never does, "because everyone has a few drinks and forgets about the meal they came for." For Horan, a gin and tonic is the essential opening drink of the evening.

Later, while the bacon cooks, Horan names the most important ingredient: people. "We need to have the right people around," along with the right drinks at the start of the night "to get things flowing."

1:32

The Album: Dinner Party

Horan says the new album, Dinner Party, was started around February of last year. The title is literal. A dinner party is where Horan met their girlfriend, and the album is about "that kind of once-in-a-lifetime moment that actually like changes the course of your life and things will never be the same again."

2:36

The Story Behind Dad's Pasta

The main dish is called "Dad's pasta." Horan explains that their girlfriend's father made it for his now-wife, her mother, on the first day they met. That echoes the album's theme of a meeting over a meal. Horan thinks the dad showed them the dish about a year into the relationship.

The ingredients are bacon, Parmesan, onion, garlic, plum tomatoes (Horan calls them "Marzano's"), tomato paste, chilies, and spaghetti, with olive oil to finish. Horan sums up the dish as "built around the smoky taste of the bacon, the spice of the chili, and the most important part, Parmesan."

Mise en Place, With Disclaimers

Horan calls mise en place "the most important part for all you culinary people out there" and warns viewers they will see "chopping and knife work that you've never seen before. Take from that what you will." Horan chops garlic the way they would chop an onion, which they think few people do, and later admits, "My knife work is just kind of crap." Horan washes their hands right after the garlic because they hate the smell. For the onion, they halve it, slice through without cutting all the way, then dice. They also try a chef's technique they have seen but aren't sure about ("So, chefs do this, I think. I don't know.").

For the chilies, Horan puts on gloves without hesitation ("You do not want to know my chili stories") and takes off a ring, asking the crew not to let them leave without it. They split the chilies down the middle to deseed them, choosing the smaller ones. Then Horan crushes the plum tomatoes by hand, sleeves up, and remarks, "It's messy."

Horan also says this is their first time cooking and talking at once. Normally they find cooking serene: music on, drink in hand, on a chilled afternoon. Horan compares it to songwriting, saying writing a song and making a meal feel like the same thing in their head.

Redemption for the Unseasoned Chicken

About ten years ago, Horan says, "the social media crew" called them out online for not seasoning a chicken. Horan declares this "redemption day" and hopes to look much better "with the help of Vogue." Later, after tasting the sauce, Horan says, "I'm a better chef than I was 7 years ago."

Tour Collaborations, Past and Future

While chopping, Horan looks back on the last tour, which had many on-stage collaborations: Ash, Shawn Mendes, Dermot Kennedy, and "my good pal" Ed Sheeran, who joined in Dublin. Horan's approach is that in any city where an artist lives, they want that artist to come out and play a song.

For the next tour, Horan would love to bring out Role Model. They also mention that Noah Kahan joined them on the last tour, which Horan calls amazing. The invitation is open: anyone who wants to watch the show and come up for a song or two should "just give me a shout."

Following the Girlfriend's Instructions

Horan says their girlfriend would be proud and that she sent full instructions before the shoot. Horan makes the dish about once a month and forgets the steps every time, "even though it's very straightforward." Horan isn't sure the dad knows about the video but thinks he'll "buzz off" the fact that they're making it.

The method goes like this. Horan starts the spaghetti water, then fries the bacon to render its fat, remarking that American bacon is fatty. They cook the onions in that fat, then add the garlic ("chopped in a very different way than what you've seen before") and the chili. Next comes tomato paste, which Horan calls "puree," a couple of teaspoons to thicken the sauce. Then the crushed tomatoes go in, with Horan trying to get in as many tomato pieces as possible without all the liquid. Along the way, Horan nearly says "potatoes" and jokes about saying "tomatoes" the American way.

Horan salts the water and estimates half a packet of spaghetti for two people. Mid-cook, the girlfriend texts advice to spoon the pasta into the tomatoes so the cheese can be properly stirred in. Horan responds, "Don't worry, I've got you." The sauce reduces faster than the pasta cooks, so Horan turns off the heat to wait.

Horan says that if they could magically bring anyone to share the meal, it would be their girlfriend, who makes "a very good version of this." Horan thinks their own version is good now too.

Crew Catering on Tour

During the bacon stage, Horan describes crew catering on tour. You can tell it's Sunday "by the looks on all of our crew's faces because they know what's coming," which Horan says makes the touring team feel at home. They don't name the Sunday meal.

Wine Pairing and the Pasta-on-the-Tiles Test

While waiting, Horan opens a South African Pinot, chosen because they find its acidity pairs well with tomato pasta. They note "great legs," "that's what all the wine geeks say." To check the spaghetti, Horan uses "the age-old trick" of throwing a strand at the tiles.

The Parmesan Is the Point

Horan moves the pasta into the sauce, adds the bacon back, and tosses. Then comes what they repeatedly call the most important part: Parmesan. Horan adds most of the bowl, explaining that the dad "has to get as much as possible in there" and that the dish is "basically all about the cheese." Horan keeps the heat on underneath so the cheese melts in, then adds more, chanting "more cheese" and admitting "that's a lot of cheese," which is "the way we like it."

Horan plates the pasta, finishes it with olive oil (also "the most important part"), and adds more Parmesan. While plating, Horan says the real worry is not viewers but the dad: "I'm more worried about his judgment than I am about anyone else's."

11:19

The Verdict

Horan takes a photo of the plate and tastes it, first rating it nine out of ten. After adding more cheese, they raise it to ten, calling it "perfect for a dinner party." Horan recommends the full menu (gin and tonic, Dad's pasta, a glass of red) for viewers' next dinner party, and jokes that this could lead to a cooking show, "the only thing I can cook."

The episode ends with Horan inviting the crew to eat, including tour manager Paul. When someone notes he isn't eating out of a dog bowl, Paul replies, "That's what I usually eat."