We’ve got a bucket list to fulfill in life. Whether its hiking the Appalachian Trail, stopping by in Graceland to honor the King of Rock n Roll, or heading off to a romantic New Orleans ghost tour, we’ve got a few places in the world we just have to see before we die. However, Chef Todd Fisher yearns not only the travel experience, he aims to please his palate along the way too. From the best steaks to the burger joints across America, Chef Todd Fisher will take you on an exciting gastronomical journey through America’s finest on the sensory-overloading original series, United States of Food.
We talk to the accomplished chef to share his food experience, from the most unique, and we even squeeze out a couple his tricks to preparing the perfect serving of crispy bacon!
Q: Could you just tell us a little bit about the most unique food experience you’ve ever had in your life, and on the show.
Chef Todd : Let’s start with the show just so I make sure I don’t miss that opportunity. There’s a place in Oakland, California that served me a combination that I will never forget because it was the first time I had seen these two items meet, and it was a battle royale of flavour. And it was in a place called Phat Matt’s Barbeque. And what they did is they took the – you know, we have here a lot of barbeque, not in California per se, but in the United States, barbeque. And they took what they call burnt ends and these are the ends of brisket, when it’s been smoked, and smoked and smoked, and so it’s very rich and smoky and flavourful. And then the chef, Matt, would actually take those burnt ends, and wrap them in bacon and smoke them yet again. So the intensity, the caramelisation of the beef combined with the succulent saltiness of the bacon was a life-changing experience for me, life-changing.As far as my personal life and dining, still the most amazing dining experience that I’ve had was at the French Laundry in Yountville, California, Thomas Keller’s restaurant. And it still goes down as the longest, most decadent and mind-blowing meal of my – of my life.
Q: As a chef, what is the one particular ingredient that you cannot cook without?
Chef Todd: Well, the easiest answer would be bacon. That’s the easy answer. But for me, I think as my life would be – would not be the same if I didn’t have is garlic. I can’t live without garlic.
Q. Watch you on YouTube, you proudly boast that no-one can describe you as a chef in one word. So, how would you describe yourself as a chef, especially on the show?
Chef Todd : If I had to pick a word, I think I would say that I’m a fun, excited, passionate about the places and the experiences that we’re having. When I talk about my food style or my own personal style of doing things, I talk about experiential dining, meaning that I want to create an experience through food, through fun and through fellowship, through a relationship.
Q. We’ve heard there are many ways to cook bacon, but as a chef, what is the best way to get the perfect crispy bacon? We need help!
Chef Todd: That’s an interesting question because there is something so sexy about bacon frying in a cast iron skillet, the sizzling, the popping, the cracking, just the rhythmic sexiness to it. That being said, it also –you know, it pops and splatters and makes a mess, so – and you definitely don’t want to do that naked because that would be a bad mistake.
But when I cook bacon, normally, I lay it out on a pan and bake it at 375 degrees for anywhere from 12 to 18 minutes depending on the thickness about doing that is not do I only get crispy, delicious bacon but I can also save all the fat that renders and collect that and use it for other ingredient – other recipes.
United States of Food premiers every Monday at 10:00 p.m. starting April 22, with “United States of Steak” and subsequent episodes of “United States of Burgers” on April 29.
