“I can’t stand it when I’m eating with people and they lick their fingers, like eating chicken wings. It grosses me out.”
— Jenn Johnston, CMO, FAT Brands
In her monthly "Grab Bag" column, Editor in Chief Laura Michaels asks the tough questions—What superhero power would you most like to have? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?—to show a side of franchising execs you don’t normally see.
Who would play you in the biopic about your life?
The first person that comes to my mind would be Drew Barrymore. I think that would be such an honor. I think she’s very multi-faceted. I think also she comes to mind because I was actually looking at her Instagram feed this morning, and she was talking about what you should say to yourself today. She’s very inspirational, especially around women and trying to help people gain confidence and speak up for themselves.
If you could be a member of any TV show family, which would it be?
The Rose family on ‘Schitt’s Creek.’ They’re hilarious, so I would be laughing all the time, but I think I lend myself to a lot of skill sets that would help them. Johnny runs the motel and he eventually gets into franchising. Moira’s an actress, Alexis is in PR, David has his shop. I feel like I could add a lot of things to their empire to help them build while at the same time having a good time and laughing.
Who do you find most interesting to follow on social media?
I’m a huge Mel Robbins fan. Not only just on social media, but also in podcasts. Her podcast is amazing, and I find her so inspirational. And then her little clips that she has on social media that tell you like, these are the things that you should say to yourself today, and they’re just short tidbits to help you find more balance and happiness.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
I can’t stand it when I’m eating with people and they lick their fingers, like eating chicken wings. It grosses me out. I use like a million napkins.
What’s something you would seriously stockpile if you found out it wasn’t going to be sold anymore?
My perfume; it’s Angel by Thierry Mugler. It’s been my perfume for, we’ll say for a decade. I can’t get myself to try any other perfume, I just absolutely love the scent of it. It’s not floral, it’s more musky.
What’s one restaurant or food trend you wish would disappear?
For me, it’s truffle oil on everything I do like truffle oil, and I absolutely love truffles, but in a lot of places, they overdo the amount of truffle oil on it, and it completely saturates the food and loses the special touch of it. I’m kind of over that in restaurants. But you can put fresh truffles on anything.
Which time period in history would you want to visit?
I have a daughter, she’s in seventh grade, and they are studying ancient Egypt right now, and she’s full of facts. And what I’ve learned is, in ancient Egypt, women can actually own property, they could rule, they could represent themselves in court. They could have their own business. I think that would be an interesting time period to go visit.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Folding laundry, because it seems never-ending at our house. It’s the infinite chore. It’s like every day you are folding laundry—how is it possible that there’s this much laundry?
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I literally watch anything reality TV. I am super excited for the new ‘Traitors’ season to come out soon. I love ‘Below Deck,’ I love ‘Love Island,’ I love all the ‘Real Housewives.’ And then I love listening to this podcast called ‘The Viall Files.’ They talk about everything pop culture and reality TV, so that’s my way to keep up with it all.