GASTRONORMOUS

You know George Duran from his two hit Food Network shows “Ham on the Street” and “The Secret Life of…,” but there is much more to his lengthy resume. After hosting a radio show in New York and a television program in Miami, Duran moved to France to attend cooking school and ended up starring in a hit show on the network Cuisine TV. While there, the French, proving they enjoy food other than snails and a comic sensibility other than Jerry Lewis’, had the good taste to nominate Duran’s show “Pop Cuisine” for the Sept D’Or (French Emmy). He will add “author” to his list of accomplishments when his cookbook Take this Dish and Twist It comes out in the Fall.

A Brooklynite, Duran also happens to be an all around interesting and funny guy (for proof of the latter I point you the “injecto-dog” episode of H.O.T.S., where he uses various hardware supplies to attempt core and then fill hotdogs: high jinks ensue), as I found out when I recently had an IM chat with him.
Photo credit: Tommy Agriodimas

[Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Erin E. Hayes]

GD: Hi Erin
EH: Hey George
So, I was just trolling youtube, and I found the sequence where you and AJ are trying to figure out the best way to core a hotdog. It is one of the finest bits of physical/prop comedy I think I’ve seen.
GD: It was a blast shooting that scene.
EH: It looked like it.
EH: I’d say your show (H.O.T.S.) is sort of unique among FN shows.
GD: Yeah…it pretty much stands out.
EH: How was it developed?
GD: The concept is originally mine: When I was in France, I had a cooking show on the French Food Network called Pop Cuisine. After some time I realized that I needed to do something edgier. So I shot a mini pilot of me going around the streets of Paris asking everyone to taste these special chocolate truffles I had developed.
EH: Parisians know there chocolate!
GD: Well…at the end of the tasting they said positive things…until I revealed to them that it was made with goat cheese! The reactions were fantastic! But I wasn’t able to sell it in France. It was too complicated.
GD: Well, I eventually came back to the US and pitched the street idea to the Food Network. They didn’t think much of it until we shot a pilot on our own… When they saw it…they knew it was big. And that’s where they decided to take it…
EH: What sort of food did you grow up with in Venezuela?
GD: I grew up with Venezuelan, Armenian, and American cuisine. My parents are Armenian…so there was plenty of Armenian and Lebanese food at home.
EH: What is your favorite type of food to cook at home?
GD: Seasonal…now, it’s grilling season! I’m part of a CSA…and I love exploring what is in season.
EH: Where do you buy the meat you grill? Do you have a fave Brooklyn butcher?
GD: If there are MANY people I am grilling meat for…I hit Costco.
EH: Costco??
GD: Great turnover rate for meat. Great price…great quality…but A LOT of meat.
EH: I didn’t even know there was a Costco in the area. [Note: there is one in Long Island City, as GD informed me.]
GD: As for a smaller party…I found a good Key Foods in my neighborhood that brings in decent cuts of meat.
EH: At Key Food? Really?
GD: Yeah, Key Foods in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The manager is good at what he does.
EH: Good to know.
GD: And we have a good relationship. So when I see something I like, I let him know, and he gets more of it.
EH: This is a brooklyn blog. What are your favorite places to eat in Brooklyn?
GD: I just went to “Bonitas” in Williamsburg a couple days ago….I LOOOOVE that place. Authentic Xuahacan cuisine!
I had a mole beef stew… It just cleaned out my system! I am still dreaming of it.
EH: Ha! we all need a good system cleaning every once in a while.
EH: What is the very next thing you are going to cook?
GD: In fact, I am about to cook up some breakfast pizza for my friends who stayed over last night.
EH: Care to share the recipe?
GD: Super easy…super good. Take a pizza dough and cook it (it can even be pre cooked). Once it’s properly cooked, remove from oven and let it rest aside.
Make scrambled eggs, add anything you wish to it (I use chopped spinach and breakfast sausage today). Make sure the eggs are under cooked as they are gonna go into the oven. Spread the egg mixture on the pizza crust evenly, sprinkle with some cheese, into the oven at 450 for about 5-7 min. And serve!
EH: Sounds great!
GD: It’s in my book.
EH: Tell me about your new book Take this Dish and Twist It.
GD: Its comfort food with a twist. Essentially taking classic American comfort foods and turning them into a gourmet dish.
EH: Any recipes from your show?
GD: Yeah! I took the Pepperoni Pizza Soup Recipe from the show, for example.
EH: Sounds like a Wylie Dufresne dish.
GD: Ha! I like the sound of that.
EH: Any injecto-dogs? Please say yes!!
GD: No injecto-dogs…too complicated for your average readers…but, I did put the Venezuelan Hotdogs in there.
EH: Which are…?
GD: Steamed hot dogs topped with finely chopped raw cabbage, onions, potato chips with a line of mustard, ketchup and mayo!
EH: Potato chips ON the hot dog?
GD: Yep…right on it.
EH: Now, I like the sound of that.
GD: It’s what I grew up with in Caracas.
EH: hm!
EH: You pull hidden-camera pranks on people in Ham on the Street? Has anything every gone terribly/hilariously wrong on the show?
GD: Yes. One time I popped out of an ice cream cooler. We rigged it so that there was a hole in the table and through the cooler. There was as sign that said FREE ICE CREAM. JUST RING BELL FOR SERVICE
EH: hee hee
GD: Well, I popped out on one guy and he let out a jump that Ive never seen before! He just started swearing and swearing! It was great!
EH: ha!
GD: He refused to sign off on the release…he was so angry!
EH: Really?? He must’ve really wanted that ice cream’
GD: Well, how can you not resist ice cream on the beach…especially when its FREE?
EH: I couldn’t.
EH: What else are you up to these days, besides the book?
GD: Concentrating on new projects.
EH: Such as?
GD: Its top secret…really…can’t tell you about it.
EH: Ah, shucks. We won’t tell! We promise!
GD: Let’s put it this way. The best is yet to come. You thought H.O.T.S. was cool… My next one will be off the charts!
EH: Excellent. We look forward to it!
GD:
EH: I’ll let you go, but need to ask one more question…
GD: yep
EH: Have you ever served guests crackers topped with cheese and meticulously sliced jelly beans, as you did once on H.O.T.S.?
GD: lol! Of course…You know I did.
EH: Really?
GD: I had to test everything out for my show.
EH: How did you come up with the idea? It is rather inspired.
GD: And I LOOOOVE playing around with peoples palates…and especially jelly beans. Well, because jelly beans have such precise “flavors”…I decided to just combine those flavors with real dishes. So it was really easy to use the granny smith apple jelly bean with cheese and crackers…it just made sense.
EH: How else have you incorporated jelly beans into your cuisine?
GD: I used the cinnamon jelly beans in my pancakes one time.
EH: Yum!
GD: What’s your favorite jelly bean flavor? Everyone should know that right off the bat. Its like asking what’s your favorite color!
EH: Hm. I like pear and I like the spicy ones.
GD: Like jalapeno?
EH: Yes, love jalapeno
GD: OK…that’s good.
EH: I am a spicy food freak.
GD: Mine: buttered popcorn. I don’t know why.
EH: It has that sweet salty thing going on, which is always good.
GD: Yeah…oddly enough I’m not the biggest fan of buttered popcorn itself.
EH: You are a mystery wrapped in an enigma
GD: Yeah, that’s what my mom says too!
EH: ha! Okay, now I’ll let you get to your breakfast pizza
GD: Yeah, they are getting antsy.
EH: Thanks for chattin’!
GD: I had a great time. It’s not always that I get to do my interviews in front of my desk with my underwear.
EH: Ha! I look forward to reading your book!
GD: Thank you! Its out in the Fall…and I should be doing signings in NYC too!

Check out georgeduran.com for more information on his upcoming projects.

Thanks to Josh Trevino for introducing me to GD.