For Kelly Quinn, cooking comes with a price.
After Kelly and her two best friends, Darbie and Hannah, stumble upon a mysterious cookbook in her attic, they discover that the recipes in the book are far from ordinary. In fact, they’re magical. And now, in order to save Kelly’s grandmother from a powerful curse, the girls will use the magical recipes even if every recipe comes with a hefty price. As they work together to uncover more clues around Grandma’s mystery, they learn that they can’t always cook their way out of every problem.
Based on Cindy Callaghan‘s book of the same name, Just Add Magic will follow the trio as they try to unravel the mystery in how to save Kelly’s grandmother by serving up some magical dishes.
CelebSecrets4U chatted with Olivia Sanabia, who plays Kelly Quinn, and Abby Donnelly, who plays Darbie O’Brien, to find out more about the new Amazon Prime series. They also talk about their love of cooking and how they get along with each other and their other co-star Aubrey K. Miller. Plus, Olivia shares an exciting secret, so make sure to check out our Q&A with Olivia and Abby below.
The first season of Just Add Magic is available NOW on Amazon Prime.
CS4U: Just Add Magic premieres next week on Amazon! Can you tell us a little bit about the series and your character?
Olivia Sanabia: “Just Add Magic is about my character Kelly Quinn and her two best friends, Hannah and Darbie, who discover Kelly’s grandmothers cook book in her attic. Pretty strange things start to happen and they discover that it’s magic. They begin to deal with these magical recipes and the show deals with a lot of mystery magic and morals and it’s something wholesome and very family friendly and you will always be on the edge of your seat.”
Abby Donnelly: “Just Add Magic is about three best friends who stumble on a magical cookbook and then weird things start to happen to them and to the people around them. My character is Darbie O’Brien, and she is a fun lovable, goofball who is carefree and loves having fun with her friends.”
CS4U: Are you anything like your character?
Olivia Sanabia: “I think I am like Kelly because we both have a little brother who is very mischievous but adorable and we both love them very much.”
Abby Donnelly: “Oh yeah definitely we are both total klutzes, I love having fun with my friends. I love going on adventures and I love having fun with my life just like her.”
CS4U: The series is about a group of girls that find a magical cookbook. Do you cook?
Olivia Sanabia: “Yes I love to cook, especially baking. I love to make cakes and cupcakes and pastries. That’s another thing Kelly and I have in common.”
Abby Donnelly: “I do cook. I like baking with my mom. We make chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes. It’s always really fun.”
CS4U: What is your favorite dish that you have prepared?
Olivia Sanabia: “My favorite dish when it comes to baking is I love to make cake, especially yellow cake because I’m able to decorate it however I want and it tastes really yummy.”
Abby Donnelly: “My chocolate chip cookies that my mom and I make. She taught me the recipe and we make them for parties and just for home as well.”
CS4U: If you could make your dream dish, what would be in it?
Olivia Sanabia: “I would love to be able to make more extreme cakes, like the super tall ones or the ones that are of people.”
Abby Donnelly: “Because we have so much going on right now it would probably be ‘study time Sriracha sauce’ just to help me study and focus on my work.”
CS4U: What is your favorite recipe from the magic cookbook?
Olivia Sanabia: “‘The Healing Hazelnut Tart.’ I think it’s an amazing idea that it can just heal anyone.”
Abby Donnelly: “I can’t spoil anything, but the one that I personably love involves peppermint.”
CS4U: What is it like on set with the other girls? Can you share a memory from filming with them?
Olivia Sanabia: “We are always laughing in between takes and instantly clicked when we met each other at the auditions. We have to eat a bunch of sweets during certain scenes because of the cookbook and one time we wound up eating a lot of brownies and got sick.”
Abby Donnelly: “It’s so much fun working with them. They are my two best friends. My favorite memory with them are the times we made little hiding spots around set. Our first one was in Mama P’s and our second one was in the Quinn house and the other one wasn’t on set but more off stage. We go there to talk and hangout.”
CS4U: Why do you think our readers should check out Just Add Magic?
Olivia Sanabia: “It’s a very fun show and it’s very family friendly and it shows a great relationship between Kelly and her grandmother and I think that’s not something that you are always able to see on TV. Also, her friends are so true and wonderful, and although they are going through a lot of craziness with the cookbook, they keep their relationship strong and I think that’s great to watch. There is also a lot of mystery so you will always be left on a cliffhanger.”
CS4U: Since our website is called CelebSecrets4U, can you share a secret or hidden talent about yourself that fans wouldn’t know about you?
Olivia Sanabia: “I can actually talk with my mouth closed. I had a friend who was able to do it and I decided I wanted to do it as well and since then I have been able to do it for the past four years.”
