Posted on August 1st, 2008
Busy time on the Food Network this weekend with the premiere episodes of not one but two new cooking shows; plus new episodes from both newer shows and old favorites.
First on Saturday is the premiere episode of Ask Aida with “cooking expert Aida Mollenkamp prepares delicious dishes while solving Food Network viewers’ culinary conundrums in her new interactive cooking show” according to the Network release. The great thing about Aida is she’s been doing web videos at Chow.com for three years now. So we know she’s good in front of the camera and knowledgable.
What impresses me most at this pre-show juncture is her resume. Again quoting from FN info: “Growing up with an Italian-American mother and a French stepmother, Aida was always surrounded by good food. Eventually, she made her way into the kitchen and discovered her true passion for cooking. In the years since, Aida has worked everywhere from a gourmet deli and the test kitchen at California Pizza Kitchen to the Hotel Bel Air and, most recently, at Chow.com. Having studied Hospitality Management at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Aida worked at Ernst & Young in Hotel and Restaurant Consulting before traveling to Europe to attend culinary school at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She lived between Florence, Italy and Paris, France for two years, and graduated with a Grand Diplôme in 2004.”
Only question as this point is what does this tech guru Noah Starr actually do on the show? Guess we’ll find out Saturday at 12:30pm Eastern when Aida is slated to make a “juicy and flavorful Grilled Flank Steak with Ginger Marinade. Next up, Aida’s Grilled Peppers and Onions with Limed Sour Cream are a mouth-watering veggie delight. To bring this meal together, she prepares a sweet and nutty Cherry, Almond and Herb Salad.”
Sunday at 10am Eastern, Ingrid Hoffman dishes up Brazillian on another new episode of Simply Delicioso. She highlights one of the country’s favorite appetizers, Brazilian Codfish Balls, but with her own healthy spin. As her main course, Ingrid serves up a flavor packed Tri-Tip with Cherry Tomatoes and Onions. And when it comes to drinks, nothing says Brazil like a Capirinha made with a sugar cane brandy.
Aaron McCargo Jr on the other hand needs no introduction as this point, assuming you’ve just spent the past two months finding everything about him as the winner of the Next Food Network Star. Now he gets to show you the less-stressed (no more competing) more comfortable “him” out there and show you his cooking with the premiere of Big Daddy’s House Sunday at 1:30pm Eastern. “Big Daddy cooks up dishes inspired by his sons Josh and Justin. First, Aaron makes the Everything but the Kitchen Sink Chicken Tenders Salad. Then, he assembles Josh’s Roast Pork Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe and Provolone Cheese, and finally he bakes up some delicious, Oven Baked Seasoned Fries. When everything comes together perfectly, Aaron’s youngest son, Justin, joins him and together they sit down for a Boys Night In.”
Finally, later that night, it’s a new episode of Iron Chef America at 9pm Eastern where Chef Masaharu Morimoto is challenged by Chef Tyson Wong Ophaso from Red Pearl Kitchen in Los Angeles. “With such similar styles of cuisine will Chef Wong Ophaso’s take on the secret ingredient earn him a win, or see him leave Kitchen Stadium in defeat.”
Posted on July 29th, 2008
Aaron McCargo Jr. with Chef Bobby Flay — Courtesy the Food Network
In case you’ve been living in a ditch, had your your cable dug up by a back hoe or never been to this site before, Aaron McCargo, Jr. won the nine-week Next Food Network Star competition on Sunday night. He did so beating out talented finalists Adam Gerler and Lisa Garza and winning his own Food Network cooking series, Big Daddy’s House which premieres next Sunday at 1:30pm.
Btw, this is a great improvement from the three previous seasons when the winner’s show would popup six months later, long after the hype had died and causing viewers to scratch their collective heads and try to remember “who?” It’s about time FN finally figured out how to harness “media inertia”; imagine that, a network about food figuring out how to serve their shows “fresh”. FN did some other good things this year with their show. They jazzed up the music and the pacing and the editing. They did a way better job selecting the initial ten contestants who collectively had more culinary chops — and many this time out had some media experience — than any other group from the previous three years. People seemed to notice this too as NFNS’s ratings numbers beat out Bravo’s Project Runway to the delight of FN brass.
But enough of the show, let’s move on to the new “star”. First a quick bio and then we’ll hit the Q&A session held yesterday.
From the network bio: Aaron, 37, is a family man from Camden, New Jersey “who adores all things flavorful. Aaron’s big personality, warm smile, and passion for down-to-earth cooking stand out in his new show. … Aaron has been passionate about food and cooking since childhood even serving as a Junior Volunteer in the Cooper Hospital University kitchen at age 13. He has worked as a chef in nine New Jersey restaurants including his own (McCargo’s Restaurant), which he opened in 2003. Most recently, Aaron served as the executive chef at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He also attended Atlantic Community College’s Culinary Arts Academy.”
Yesterday, TV Chefs Blog was proud to be among a small number, roughly a dozen, of press and internet sites granted special access to the question and answer session with Aaron. What follows is our highlights of that interview.
How has your family’s food habits influenced what you want to present in your new show? “My family’s food habits influence what I want to present in the show. We’re all about big portions. My father was this massive cook and my mother was the one into flavoring food, making sure things were well seasoned and things like that. And I want to bring those two things together on Big Daddy’s House to hopefully teach people you can flavor your food and you can have big portions and you can enjoy it with your family.”
Asked why he sent in a tape, McCargo replied he didn’t — exactly. “My wife had my hands tied behind my back,” he said with characteristic laughter. “She said I had the skills and talent. I said you send in the application and I’ll send in the audition tape. And the rest is history.”
To the question of “when did he think he had a chance to win?” Aaron replied he knew from the start he had a chance to win. That the judges kept him “humble week after week” with their constructive criticism. “I never gave up thinking I had what it took; it was a matter of giving the selection committee what they wanted.”
Would the new show be on specific food or open to different regions? “I’m wide open. I have the blessings of having worked with different chefs who do different cuisines whether it was Latin cuisine or Italian cuisine but I have the ability to put my own spin to them.” He added he’s looking forward to having a bunch of different cohosts on with him and “definitely the finalists from the Food Network Star”.
Adding more about his culinary point of view and his show he said: “I call it soul food but I try to keep things seperated. I don’t want people to think ethnic-wise that it’s black food, because every body has their own type of soul food, be it if your Italian or Irish or Asian or whatever. It’s about food that is really flavorful and something you can be proud of and it comes from your soul. And that’s how I like to cook.” He went on to say “I want to keep the dishes simple. And I want to wow them (the television viewers) by making them think their eating food from a restaurant but that they’re preparing it for themselves. I want to use very few ingredients.”
In terms of his own food loves, McCargo answered the question about what his favorite comfort food is as “buffalo wings, extra crispy, hot and spicy with blue cheese dressing”. And as to his most perfect meal: “A nice 16-18 ounce strip steak cooked medium with asparagus and either a twice-baked potato or some very good au gratin potatoes, of course with a great salad and a dressing I’ve made and a bowl of soup I’ve made.”
Regarding people who have influenced his food or “who is your favorite food person?”, Aaron answered: “It’s a tie-up betwen Bobby Flay and Paula Deen. … He brings that spice and the flavor that are really bold out. …. Deen’s food is so flavorful. … I’ve had the privledge of having eaten both their foods, and they’re both so different and both so great.”
When asked about his previous nervousness in front of the camera as well as how was he approaching the stress of making a new cooking show, McCargo said: “I don’t have to worry about being in competition with no one now, so that takes a lot of the stress and strain away …. Now the hardest part is allowing myself to be me, cooking the food that I love to cook, and just having fun with this.”
