Adam Richman & Lorena Garcia – Food Fighters

By starrymag | June 29, 2015

Q) Adam, what would you say has surprised you the most about the home cooks at this point?

Adam: I guess for me especially considering the season, we had a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old competing against adults, is just that the variety of skill sets, the advanced culinary techniques they’re using, their understanding of ingredients, and also I have to say like their resilience in the face of defeat, consistently blew me away, legitimately, both as just a guy standing on stage with them and as the host.

Q) And obviously you’re got a lot of great chefs competing like Lorena. What can you tell me about them and how they were selected?

Adam: We’re blessed to sort of have folks like Lorena and have Duff Goldman and Rocco DiSpirito come in, and that’s just to name a few, and Lorena was with us in season one, and she’s – I mean, it’s tough because I adore her as a human being, so I’m totally biased, but the thing is, she’s someone that’s been, like, gracious in defeat, gracious in victory. And the thing is you also have to bear in mind you’re making a television show. You want someone that’s entertaining, and you want someone that’s not just a culinary warrior but actually can make a great show. And there are those chefs that are blessed with that personality, and I think we got a great bunch.

Q) An Orlando cook, Jacky Herrera, is in the premiere, and I wonder why is she a good contestant for the premiere? What is she like?

Adam: Well, first of all she’s completely endearing. She is so close with her family, they’re so supportive. I mean, she wears her heart on her sleeve and I think that kind of passion and that kind of passion translated into food is something you get this – you so seldom see from a non-food professional, and the flavors that she works with are from her family and dishes attributes to her mother, to her grandmother. And I just think that’s really a great thing and her recipes are great. It’s a great show. It’s fun, and I think it captures the essence of what Food Fighters is about, to me at least.

Q) What would you say about her food? I mean, you tried it?

Adam: Yes, of course. I mean, I’m not – on the show, I no longer taste. There was a moment for a while in season one where I would taste both competitors dishes. But I got a chance to taste a few things. I think that I don’t want to give too much away, so you must forgive me if I hold my cards a little close to my vest. But she did certain things like she’ll – I don’t want to use words like macerate, but like she knows how to prepare ingredients before using them, that is to say she didn’t use a fruit she makes – like macerated in some kind of liquor, she may toast a spice or she – it’s really kind of a wonderfully complex like way to build complex flavors with a simple recipe I guess is what I’m trying to say.

Q) My question is for the kids. Were there just two of them, and can you tell us about their backgrounds?

Adam: Well, there’s actually one child professional chef, and one young lady who’s 12, a young man who is 14. She’s into science. She got into cooking when her mother got cancer, and she had to step up and cook for the family starting as young as four, and when her mother went into remission, her mother’s ethos was that food was only medicine, it was just meant for nutrients, and she was determined to find a way to make food delicious to her mother again. But she’s into science. She’s fantastic. She’s from Maryland. And then a young man from California who’s grown up around restaurants, and he was making things with liquid nitrogen on the Food Fighters stage. He’s a genius and he is – his ambition is to go to the CIA in New Hyde Park, New York.

Q) For the food tasters, I don’t know if you would know this, but what qualifies the five people that are tasting the food? What does the show look for?

Adam: I mean in all candor, for it – for it to be a fair competition, I literally – and I don’t want to lie and give you some cockamamie answer, quite honestly. I don’t have any contact with the dinner party. No, no, but that’s kind of the idea is that these are not culinary professionals per se. These are just workaday, hard-working American folks that just – there’s no common thread other than they love food and know food a little bit and I don’t vet them, so I don’t want to speak out of turn.

Q) Adam, the caliber of the home chefs is pretty amazing on this program. Does it surprise you that they’re able to raise to the challenge under such tense conditions?

Adam: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, again, and I’m not just saying it because she’s on the call, but now that she’s in the second season and seeing Lorena and I do admire her and I’d seen her on television before, but when you – you’ll – if you ever have a chance to watch her do like super fast knife skills, and she knows she’s flash with that, because it’s awesome, and it’s like – it’s intimidating. I mean, no matter how good you are, you think you are, you see someone who’s like that good, like that stuff like that is that easy for them, plus you think there’s a studio audience, I’ve had to be in makeup, I’ve got a microphone on, this isn’t my kitchen, I usually do this with no time limit for my kids, and it’s not just that their food gets their kind of reaction, but the way they’re able to just cope with the pressure. I mean, 25, 30 minutes goes by so fast, and it’s very impressive.

Q) Bouncing off that, Lorena, I’d love your take on that. What is the most challenging aspect for you of cooking during these showdowns?

Lorena: Well, I think that one of the most – the biggest challenge for me is to know that there is – I’m just hoping that either I tried it or I know what I’m sitting here talking about, because I walked in and you walk in and you have no idea what you’re making and I didn’t know like Adam said, 20 to 35 minutes, and the first 5 minutes you can gather in your ingredients so you only have 18 to 20 minutes to really make a dish. So that’s I think is the most challenging is to – being able to work under pressure and figuring out what is the piece that you’re being presented with.

Q) For kids, I’m wondering why they should choose this show?

Adam: I think right away I’m going to say because this season they’ll be able to see actually some reflection of themselves, you know, on television, and I think that obviously now there’ve been quite a few food shows that have tried to incorporate kids, but I think to see kids competing against adults, more than holding their own, but I think to know like that there is that family support behind it, I think is a really amazing thing. That these kids are also really articulate and they’re cool and they’re not – I think they’re obviously, they’re incredibly mature for their age, the way they carry themselves and handle themselves, and I think that that right there is definitely something kind of awesome for a kid to see, that kind of self-possession, and get a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. But also we always made sure we put in little takeaways for the home cooks, something – a great way for someone watching to incorporate either something that the chef is doing or something the home cook is doing into their everyday kitchen routine to maybe spice something up or look at an ingredient in a new way.

Q) What was the connection behind different choices in the contestants, and was there a balance in various skills and food backgrounds you were trying to achieve? What various cuisines?

Adam: Well, again, I can only speak as the host. I don’t want to speak for the producers, but obviously we want to give as broad a cross-section of both backgrounds and skill levels within the home cooks as possible, just because you get the most unlikely moments of culinary genius from the most unlikely of places and I think you know, Lorena’s a chef. I’m at best a decent home cook and I know this. And I’m fine with this. And I think it is really quite beautiful that there’s a show like Food Fighters that champions that. In terms of the chef, I mean, that’s also something great. I mean, now it’s how many culinary schools are out there and it’s something people want to do and food is something people are becoming ferociously passionate about and blogging about, that because now so much young culinary talent on the show, you know, who like me that can look up to people like Lorena, like Rocco, like Duff. I mean, Eric Greenspan and so on, Marcel Vigneron and then – it’s really kind of great. You get this whole spectrum of both skill and skill level, experience. It’s – I guess essentially I’m trying to say there’s something for everyone.

Q) I would think this would be more for Lorena, but between competing with child chefs as opposed to competing with adults?

Lorena: Well I don’t want to give again so much of what the show – of what is happening, but let me tell you, I think that we really want to bring the very best. I think that one of the most important things is that’s being really showcased is the importance of the home cooks and the knowledge and the attention that they pay to detail when it comes to this competition. It’s not an easy task to go into competition with professional chefs and I think that we can see – the entire family can see a show that is not only entertainment, but really see the importance of the culinary arts in all ages, from the little ones all the way to the grownups. And you will be amazed at what you can see, the plates that these children come up with, all the way to the adults. I get surprised that these people are doing these amazing dishes and I guess every time I get blown away and I always say that home cooks are the basis of our careers and, you know, props for them.

Q) Lorena, while the contestants are in a unique cooking environment, what ingredient do you think would be the most challenging for you yourself to actually have to work under such time restraints and pressure?

Lorena: For me it’s not so much an ingredient but I think a dish.  If it is a dish that I have never heard before, I think I could be in trouble because I’m mastering Latin cuisine. That’s what I do is fresh, modern Latin. So if somebody throws me a dish from I don’t know where that I have never heard about before, I might get in trouble. So I think it’s about having a pretty good understanding of different dishes from different cultures and doing really your very best.

Q) As just somebody who’s gotten a chance to see what kids are capable of, what do you hope that the younger culinary hopefuls out there watching the show will walk away with after this particular season airs?

Adam: Well one I think that I hope their families understand the level of both supporting that dream, that that’s actually like something that not only is a valid career choice, dream to pursue, etcetera, but also that these kids are not alone, that this is a real passion that should be fostered and nurtured, and also Rocco said something really beautiful on set. He was talking about the notion of when you’re able to cook, even as a young person, you take ownership of that which you are putting in your body, ownership of like the culinary world around you. You know what you eat. You understand it in a very different way. Plus it’s also something that’s really kind of amazing to share. I mean, some of the best memories I have are cooking with my mom and cooking with my grandma. And I think that you know, it’s one of the most beautiful ways to pass down traditions. I mean, there are some things that just you know, don’t like fit in a scrapbook; right?

Q) Lorena, when you think about your childhood and growing up, does this show kind of invigorate that youthful approach to cooking for you again?

Lorena: I think so, 100%. I’m all about that. I mean, my best recipes are the ones that I learned with my mother and grandmother, and I try to take it to another level or to the next level through my studies and my experiences. I love the show. I mean, I’m a fan, and I think that it’s a perfect opportunity not only for the children but for the entire family to see what really happens with these two people that you know, one that has dedicated their life, and the other one that has their recipes from years and generations and generations, how they come together and the importance of that. And I think that I think that one of the disadvantages we might have is that you know, the quality that they serve – are not culinarians by any means or food critics, so that should be a little real disadvantage because we tend to cook for the palates of people that are vicious. And then when you go to a party for example, you serve a perfectly medium rare pork loin, they might think that it’s completely raw and they don’t want to eat it. So, we always include a frame of mind where we’re cooking is who we’re cooking for and I think that this also shows people in America that culinary arts and like Adam said we’re all in love with food and what we eat, and being able to showcase that a lot of people will also be approachable. And I think what I would like to see is people to try to go back to basics and start cooking and having enjoyment with that.

Q) Lorena, when we talked to participants on some of NBC’s other reality shows, a lot of times they sort of shy away from the competition aspect, but chefs seem to be the opposite. Chefs seem to really embrace competition, and I’m wondering what is it that you and your colleagues like about competing in a format like this?

Lorena: It’s funny because I always thought that I wasn’t competitive and then I realized that I am very competitive. I think it’s the nature of just being in the industry. I think that some people are more competitive than others and they just go with the nature of the beast. I think that once you get into competing and then you just do it for the fun and you really do it for the experience and being with my peers and just having fun, and I think that this work is so much about being in the restaurants and the day-to-day is just to be a little intense, so I love to get out of it and go into a competition and just have fun and enjoy my friends like – I like it through and through.

Q) With the kids, how did they handle the pressure of all of the cameras and being on set and also trying to make their recipe within the allotted time, and were there any situations where there wasn’t enough time?

Adam: From my experience, I think they conducted themselves as well if not better than the adults. I mean, it was remarkable the self-possession. I mean neither one is – I mean the kids obviously were up against massive, massive odds, whether they were having a bit of a setback either in the recipe or in the competition or in the victory there’s something so pure and unadorned about the way a kid competes. A 12 or a 14-year-old competes. And I’m not saying that your drive diminishes, but it’s just no filter, like you know what I mean? Remember what it was like to win something in sixth and seventh grade; right? But the other part of this is I had to sort of pinch myself and go oh right, this isn’t a grown adult. Like this – these two kids they’re 12 going on 40. I’ve just – it’s the most remarkable thing and not one person who competed against them was anything other than really blown away by the way they pulled their knives. I’ll give you an example. The young lady is making a scallop dish and she put her scallops in the pan, and  like a clock, which is what you would do because that way you’d know which ones you put down first so you can check them. I mean, Lorena, back me on this one, right?

Lorena: I’m backing you up. I’m backing you up.

Adam: Thank you, okay, thank you, I got the backing. So the thing is you don’t see – thank you. I feel validated at 41, but to see a 12-year-old doing this is crazy, and to see this young man making handmade pasta and making liquid nitrogen ice cream and referring to tuna in a can as tuna conserva and not trying to be pretentious about it. This is his zeitgeist, that’s his love, the same as I might have been about GI Joe or football or whatever or acting. I meant, hat’s what I was – and he’s just so singular in focus. And in terms of any negatives, can I be honest? Whenever the kids had a harder patch, I guarantee everyone else would find us behind the scenes was like, we were feeling the pain these kids felt. Like, it was just they loved it. They embraced it. They unfazed by the cameras to me. In fact one kid I said will you please smile.  I would make him talk about SpongeBob and Xbox and stuff. Please, you’re freaking me out. It’s like you’re going to go get a mortgage right after you leave junior high.

Q) Looking at the list of chefs, I mean, there’s some really kind chefs on here. Like some really genuinely nice people, Rocco’s so nice and Marcel and Fabio, like these are like nice people. I just can’t see them wanting to beat a child, or how did the chefs handle going against a kid who is so inspiring? It must have been hard for them to try to win or try to beat them. What was that like?

Adam: You know something? I think there’s sort of – my friend – I had some practice in kung fu for a while and I remember he told me one day his sensei said, “Today I’m going to do you the honor of truly fighting you.” And I think that there’s a little bit of I respect you enough to not baby you, but most of them had this really – like some would kind of like play taunting the kids, but you knew that there was nothing malicious in it. The other end of that one is you know, the – you just see these chefs and they’d come out and they’d see a little girl or a little boy to them and then all of a sudden they would open their mouths and this wise 80-year-old person would be deep within this child and sit there and be evaluated. And I’m telling you like certain chefs, a particular very brilliant kosher chef from LA, he said you know something? You’re the same age as my daughter. And you seem like you have experience, so I’m going to really cook against you, but I want you to beat me, I want to see how good you are. And he was so blown away, he ran up to her kitchen and said let me see your knife skills. He said I can’t believe this. You make me want to like cook with my daughter tonight. It’s incredible.

Q) Lorena, do you have any memorable moments from the contestants that you went up against?

Lorena: Let me tell you, it’s incredible the amount of knowledge in what they bring to the kitchen and to the table, it is just incredible. I love the different cooks that are putting themselves to the test. It’s not an easy thing to cook any kind of dish, even if they know what they’re making and they have practiced it, especially in front of again, the cameras, and the pressure. It changes completely so for them because they are really doing an incredible job and Adam, just tell me, I mean, these dishes that are coming out, I’m like wow. What they’re making is just incredible.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*