7 Questions with Vic “Vegas” Moea
7 Questions is a series of interviews with the culinary movers and shakers you want or ought to know better.
A little over a year ago few people outside of Sin City had ever heard of Vic Moea. The big, bald, inked chef went from being the scary dude to a genuine momma’s boy in just a few weeks. Though he narrowly missed being the newest Food Network Star, that title went to good friend Jeff Mauro, that doesn’t mean Vic’s moment in the spotlight is over.
Vic, along with fellow FNS 7 alums Penny Borsuk Davidi, Chris Nirschel and Justin Balmes will be going head-to-head once again only this time it’s for charity. All four will be competing on the star-studded Chopped All Stars which starts this Sunday in a round that pits four Iron Chefs against each other. The Starsters will be competing in round three where Vic will be representing St. Jude Children’s Ranch.
These days Vic has been splitting his time between Las Vegas and in Hollywood shooting a handful of pilots. All this he does while raising three kids and satisfying the public’s requests for his time. As you can see Vic is a busy man but he was not too busy to answer 7 Questions
1. When did you decide that you could make food your career?
I decided that I could make food my career when I was 19 years old and I found out I was going to have a son and I had to get a job as a dish washer so that’s what I pretty much started out as. As time went on and I got into it more and I started learning my way around it my memory came back of me cooking with the family and growing up into it. I knew there was something special about all of this.
2. Which chefs have influenced you the most?
Back then we really only had, like, Emeril. That’s really the one that stood out the most. The chefs that really influenced me the most really weren’t chefs. It was my mother and grandmother. If you notice my style ain’t a reflection of anybody else’s but my mother and my grandmother. It evolved into the Vic-thing from the Betty and Antoinette-thing.
3. How was your experience on Food Network Star?
You know, I got called for Hell’s Kitchen and Food Network Star at the same time but I had wanted Food Network Star. It took me five years to get on that show, bro, five years. Every time I didn’t make it I thought it was the end of the world. But it wasn’t supposed to happen then because it wouldn’t happen the way it’s happened now.
Dude, being on that show was the scariest thing ever and it was crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy, bro. You think you’re ready to go. You think you’re great so you go on and it brings you to your knees. It really brings the best out in you because now it’s so comfortable, so cozy and the confidence is there. But you do it, you experience it and you get your head handed to you. You get twelve weeks of schooling and training with the best.
Just a true blessing that whole experience. It changes your whole life. I didn’t realize how many people watch that show. Oh boy. And now I’ve got Chopped All Stars coming up. You have to be a Wannabe TV Chef to do what we do.
4. How did the Food Network celebrities you met on the show stand up to your preconceived notions?
I got to meet my idols. Susie (Fogelson) is a lovely woman. She’s an amazing, amazing woman and such a darling. Dude, Alton is the mad scientist. He’s hilarious, bro, he’s twisted. He’s twisted in a good way. That’s the real deal right there. Alton is phenomenal and I hear Alton is going to be playing a major role in this upcoming season of Food Network Star.
And I got to know Guy. He invited me to his Road Show when he was in Arizona. He called me and said “Come on down.” So I drove down with a buddy. That’s another great guy, another cool dude. Ted Allen – good man! And Scott Conant, I love that guy. He’s such a perfect judge.
Flay. Flay was great. People ask me, “Is Bobby a jerk? He seems like a jerk.” How could he be a jerk? How many people want to know that guy? So he’s got to be a little choosy so I guess you gotta earn his respect. He’s not a jerk, he’s tough, dude. If you can win him over by being yourself that’s when you and Flay are gonna be tight forever. Me and Mr. Flay are very close.
Emeril, you gotta understand, a lot of TV people don’t really cook but that guy, man. I’m going to have to say, not taking anything away from anyone else, but by far one of the most talented cooks I’ve ever met in my life. I’m a chili pro now because of him.
5. Which of your fellow cast members do you still keep up with?
Ah, Jyll, the most underrated person on Food Network Star. She’s awesome, dude. She needs to keep going. I got to know her so well, teaming up with her so much. That by far was my best female friend on the show. Jyll is awesome, dude. Orchid, she’s such a doll, dude. Oh my God I love her. And Whitney is amazing. Whitney Chen is fabulous. I love Whitney Chen.
Howie, by far, one of the most amazing dudes I ever met. He’s become like a brother to me. Me and Howie, we talk all the time. I’ve flown down to Denver and hung out with him. We went to the first Monday Night Football game together. I freakin’ love Howie. He was the first one off the show and he’s going to be one of the biggest stars out there. Isn’t that killer, dude?
Yeah, and Crazy Chris is going balistic right now. He’s on VH1 Celebrity Couples Rehab with Angelina from the Jersey Shore. That’s perfect you know what I mean? I was making jokes like the second week we were in the house. I looked at Chris and said, “So, when this is over who are you going to be dating from the Jersey Shore?” I said that two weeks into filming Food Network Star. I gotta stop wishing for things, man, a little Vic-tradamus going on here. He can be my little brother for life.
And Susie (Jimenez). She’s completely sweet. She’s a little firecracker. I’ve got nothing bad to say about nobody. I liked everyone and everybody was awesome to me. People have said to me, “Vic, you look so distressed every time someone got eliminated” and I’m like, “Dude, I made friends with everybody.” We bonded so well, half the time we forgot it was a competition show.
6. How was competing on FNS different from competing on Chopped: All Stars?
For one the time frame (twelve weeks versus one day). On FNS we were isolated from the whole outside world. Everything was stripped of us, couldn’t talk to our family often. I’d say we were in jail but in jail you get to use the phone. But Food Network Star prepared us to go on Chopped and have a blast. When you see us on Chopped no one is trippin’ we’re just like, “Yeah!” And (Chopped) is the crazy show that scares the crap out of everyone.
Food Network Star is a combination of personality and skills. Chopped is about skills. Chopped is not a personality show. Did we bring any personalities to the show? Hmm, I don’t know. [laughs] But Justin Balmes may have gotten ixnay’d from Food Network Star early but now this is about cooking ability and that guy is Iron Chef status. And I’m like, “Oh my God I’m facing Justin B? Holy crap!”
When I found out the line-up I was like alright, Chris. Anything is possible because Chris has been a chef now in Little Italy for quite a few months and Penny didn’t go home because she didn’t cook good. She didn’t have one bad meal. And you have Justin Balmes who’s pretty much like an encyclopedia and very talented. He could be trapped on an island with wild life and he’s going to survive cuz he knows how to utilize the whole animal. Let’s show everybody out there who knows how to cook.
It was awesome hanging out with Penny and Justin and Chris again. Cuz Penny she’s good people, man. She really is a good person. She just played the heel. That’s OK because at the end of the day when she goes home with her family she’s a loving mother, she’s a caring friend.
7. What’s next for Vic Moea?
I am making it happen. Some much stuff. More than you even know is going to be jumping off in the next year. I go non-stop, man. I used Food Network Star as a lesson. I used it as the tune-up for where I really want to be. I got it all out of my system and it was like ba-bing. Now, let’s do this. I teamed up with US Foods; I’m now their corporate executive chef for Las Vegas. They’re totally cool with me going down to Los Angeles to shoot the pilots and the presentations for the three or four show ideas that have been brewed up for me.
For a couple of months after the show (Food Network Star) we weren’t allowed to talk to anybody. But almost every production company wanted to meet me. So I was talking to Mark Burnett Productions to Big Dog Productions to 123 Productions, everybody. And a lot of people were scripting up shows about me just in case my future didn’t continue with Food Network as well as the Momma’s Boy show being scripted. There’s other people – Travel, A&E, Spike TV, Bravo. Just wait. It’s amazing, dude, what’s going to be taking place. But no more competing, now it’s host time.
As a kid I literally wanted to be a WWE wrestler. At heart I am a WWE wrestler. I don’t want to be a full time wrestler; I just want to be in Wrestlemania one day. And actually, Stu, it’s being worked on. You never know. I could be wrestling Guy Fieri on Wrestlemania.
Food Network Wraps 2011 With Most-Watched Year Ever
4th Quarter Most-Watched Quarter in Network History
Ranked Top 10 Cable Network 3rd Year in a Row
NEW YORK – December 15, 2011–Food Network delivers its most-watched year ever posting a .5 among adults 25-54 and was watched nightly by an average of 1.1 million total viewers (574k adults 25-54), making it a top 10 cable network for the 3rd year in a row. The network’s 4th quarter was its most-watched in its history, averaging a .6 Adults 25-54 rating and up 20% from 2010 and was a top five cable network* among upscale adults 25-54 in $100k+ households.
Food Network’s Sunday night tentpole programming was the ratings tour de force, beginning with Chopped All-Stars posting a 1.7 adults 25-54 and triple-digit increases in both ratings and impressions for time period delivery in 2010. Food Network Star was watched by a cumulative of 35.4 million total viewers and the show’s finale was the #1 show of the night among cable programs posting a 1.9 adults 25-54 rating. Season four of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs had a record-setting debut for the franchise ranking 2nd for the night among ad-supported cable networks. To date, the season has posted an average 1.5 rating and 1.52 million impressions among adults 25-54. The network also successfully launched new Robert Irvine series Restaurant: Impossible, with season two averaging a .8 rating and 841k impressions among adults 25-54, an increase of 33% and 24% respectively from season one which launched earlier in the year.
“Food Network finishing the year strong proves it continues to be a powerful centerpiece in the food media category engaging audiences across all of our platforms,” said Brooke Johnson, President, Food Network & Cooking Channel. “As long as there is a hunger for our content, our team is committed to satisfy it, not just on Food Network, but on Cooking Channel, across our digital platforms, in our magazine and through our brand extensions.”
The Scripps food category websites including: CookingChannelTV.com, Food.com and FoodNetwork.com saw more traffic than any other online food entity in 2011 with a monthly average of 262 million page views** and also averaged 19.6 million monthly unique visitors. FoodNetwork.com also broke the site’s record for single-day traffic with over 30 million page views the day before Thanksgiving. Additionally in November, CookingChannelTV.com, Food.com and FoodNetwork.com had their highest page-view traffic to date. Food Network’s recipe “In The Kitchen” app has also been the #1 paid app in the culinary category for over a year and the Food Network brand Facebook page has more than doubled its fan base reaching 2.2 million fans.
Food Network has also had continued success with its brand extension businesses, seeing the Food Network Magazine sustained its run as #1 in newsstand sales within the epicurean category and #6 in overall newsstand sales. Additionally, the Food Network publishing partnerships included the successful launch of 8 cookbooks, including, Food Network Magazine Great Easy Meals, Guy Fieri Food, Cook Like a Rock Star, and Good Eats 3: The Later Years, residing on the NYT bestseller list for a combined 20 weeks.
*at time of release according to Nielsen Media Research
Review: Sandwich King with Jeff Mauro
Last week the world (OK the food geek world) watched as Jeff Mauro was anointed the newest Food Network Star after a topsy-turvey 10 weeks of some of the craziest (see Penny Davidi) TV on record. But now the reality show is over and reality begins. It’s time to take a look at the Sandwich King.
Star premieres have been a mixed bag. Party Time with the Hearty Boys and The Gourmet Next Door didn’t excite viewers therefore neither is still around except in occasional reruns. Guys Big Bite, $10 Dinners and Aarti Party were all well received and all three are still going strong. Then there is Big Daddy’s House.
Let’s be honest, the first episode of Big Daddy’s House was not very good. It featured a gaggle of recycled recipes from Food Network’s early years as opposed to the inventive recipes that were host Aaron McCargo Jr.’s signature during the contest. Speaking of Aaron, throughout the competition he was repeatedly reminded to stop mumbling and to stop turning his back to the camera. For the pilot he still had not mastered his lessons. Though the show has improved a little over the years it still isn’t on many people’s list of favorites.
That isn’t a problem for Mauro as he’s a natural born entertainer. Though he may not have the culinary skills of other season seven contestants like Whitney Chen or Justin Balmes at the same time he’s no Chris Nirschel. Jeff’s cooking prowess is more than adequate for this show as he has ample technical proficiency to go with his creative flair.
Here’s how Food Network described the Sandwich King in a press release from Monday:
On his new daytime show, Mauro broadens his inspired sandwich resume as he takes Food Network viewers on a delicious odyssey, preparing dishes inspired from some of his favorite local restaurants around his hometown of Chicago, such as the Peoria Packing Butcher Shop and the Isaacson & Stein Fish Market. Whether he is satisfying his cravings for a Chicken Steakhouse Sandwich served on a crusty buttered French bread, a Chicken Vesuvio Sandwich on a French roll with peas, mushrooms and more, or a pressed panini taken to the next level – a Mortadella and Fig Focaccianini; Jeff adds his own twist to each dish – delicious proof that a sandwich is so much more than the sum of its parts.
So there’s the set-up now let’s take a look at the execution.
The first thing that jumps out is that parts of the show were shot on location at a beef stand in Chicago, Johnnie’s Beef. That’s a nice touch; it was very Triple D-ish. These Star premieres are usually done on the cheap. Not so here. In fact, there’s a great polish on the episode. The camera work is very interesting with an unconventional angle here or there.
Jeff for his part is just what we came to expect during Star – warm and energetic. He threw in the requisite stories that Bob and Susie love so much. He also demonstrated a little food knowledge during his presentation. He commanded the camera. Though there were no full on belly laughs, Jeff did manage a handful of one-liners worthy of a chortle.
For a first episode it was extremely good. I especially like how Jeff showed the viewer how to make both a classic recipe and one that was new and cutting edge. If Food Network isn’t careful they may just have a hit on their hands.
Among the recipes in episode one is a homemade giardinara to go with the Chicago style Italian beef sandwich that Jeff did in the Comedy Roast episode. But the shining star was the Mortadella and Fig Focaccianini. I mean come on, figs and a fatty pork press meat? How do you not love that? The recipe for that bad boy is below or you can get all of the recipes from the premiere of Sandwich King HERE. Be sure to check out my interview with Jeff HERE.
| Mortadella and Fig Focaccianini |
- FIG SPREAD:
- 2 cups dried figs, stems removed and halved
- 3/4 cups balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- SANDWICH BUILD:
- 4 squares focaccia bread
- 8 ounces Italian sharp cheese, such as Fontinella, or asiago, sliced
- 1 pound mortadella, thinly sliced
- Olive oil, for brushing
- FOR THE FIG SPREAD:
- Bring the figs, 1 cup water, balsamic and sugar to a simmer in a small pot.
- Simmer until the figs rehydrate and the liquid reduces and thickens, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Once cool, place in a food processor and puree until smooth, 20 to 30 seconds.
- FOR THE SANDWICH BUILD:
- Preheat a griddle over medium-low heat or heat a panini press.
- Slice 1 focaccia square in half. Place a thin layer of the fig spread on the inside of both halves.
- Place a couple slices of cheese on the bottom, and then place 4 ounces mortadella on top.
- Close and lightly brush the bread with olive oil. Griddle the sandwich until golden and warm, about 4 minutes a side.
- Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Grab daintily with one hand and bite like a maniac.
