7 Questions with Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen
7 Questions is a series of interviews with the culinary movers and shakers you want or ought to know better.
Have you ever gotten so drunk that you did something extremely ridiculous? Of course you have. Imagine if someone had gotten that crazy stunt on video. Now imagine if it then went viral on the YouTube. Well, that’s what happened to Hannah Hart and the worst part is she’s the one who video taped it and she even uploaded it to the world’s most popular video site, too.
The video in question was meant as a joke. A way of sharing a laugh with an old friend clear on the other side of the country. That was four months and 630,000 downloads ago. Today it is known throughout the Interwebs as Ep. 1: Butter Yo Shit.
So successful was that one drunken evening butchering a grilled cheese sandwich that eight more followed to create a web series called My Drunk Kitchen. The series as a whole has amassed a staggering 4.6 million downloads, again in just four months. There’s just something intoxicating about Hannah’s signature, “Hello!”
So what’s her secret? It’s no secret really, she’s damned funny. She also sports a nerdy sexuality that surely has fan boys throughout the country love-stricken. Well cool your jets, boys, Hannah supports the penis embargo. Or as she puts it “she’s a big ol’ homo.” It hasn’t stopped her from receiving nearly a thousand marriage proposals, and not just from undersexed geeks and Glee fans either but also from normal people.
When she’s not charming the masses in her quirky cooking (for lack of a better word) show or it’s companion series Advice from the Hart, Hannah is a proofreader specializing in Japanese/English texts for an international translation firm. According to her web site her free time is spent, “listening to music and doing Sudoku in cafes. She calls this writing. She enjoys long meandering walks, impromptu dance parties, and artisanal cheeses.”
Sure having a cooking show where the chef gets a little tipsy isn’t new (see Julia Child, Justin Wilson) but one where the host gets three sheets to the wind and the food is iffy? Yeah, that’s new. Hannah Hart is the coolest, hippest thing on “the online” right now and that’s why she’s appearing at VidCon 2011 this week in LA. But she’s neither too cool nor too busy to answer 7 Questions:
1. Have you ever cooked anything on your show that turned out surprisingly well?
Yes! The “America Day Pie Cakes” that I made for the 4th of July episode were edible! Not only that, they were actually tasty. I was shocked.
2. What would you say is the sexiest cheese?
Definitely Swiss. Such a tease.
3. The phrase “overnight sensation” is usually a misnomer but not in your case. How crazy have the past few months been?
The past four months since the first episode launched have been a bit crazy! I was just goofing off and sent my friend a “parody of a YouTube cooking show” and now…this! I’ve been really surprised and really flattered by the positive response.
4. What creates the best cooking drunk – wine, beer or hard liquor?
Champagne! Easily. The most giddy episodes are the ones where I’m bubblin’ on bubbly.
5. Any plans for a spin-off like My Stoned Auto Shop or My Tweeked Chiropractic Clinic?
Ha! All those and more are brilliant ideas. I definitely want to expand the kitchen concept into more comedy. But hopefully people will accept me as just “a girl who likes to make you laugh” instead of “the sloshed chick with the internet thing.” We shall see. Here’s hoping!
6. What can you tell me about My Drunk Iron Kitchen Chef?
It’s going to be FUNDERFUL. If you can get to SF in August, you should. Dates and info to come! The best way to find out about appearances/events is to sign up for the mailing list on the website. I promise no spam! Only monthly e-mails with info.
7. Do you think My Drunk Kitchen could translate well to the big screen a la Julie & Julia?
The real question is: Is America ready to handle such TRUTH? I’d like to think so.
[ad] Empty ad slot (#1)!
If you haven’t witnessed Hannah’s magic yet enjoy this playlist of her work:
7 Questions with Graham Kerr
7 Questions is a series of interviews with the culinary movers and shakers you want or ought to know better.
In the tabernacle of celebrity chefs three names stand head and shoulders above the rest: James Beard, Julia Child and Graham Kerr. Beard was the original cheflebrity having published his first cookbook (Hors D’oeuvre And Canapes available at amazon.com) in 1940 and he was pioneering food television as early as 1946. Child’s journey from house wife to household name has been well documented, most recently in the hit film Julie & Julia. Sadly Chef Beard left us in 1985 and Julia back in 2004 but Chef Kerr, he’s still going strong.
Graham Kerr’s star began to rise in the late 1950’s when he was named chief chef catering adviser for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. That coveted post led to a series of recipes for radio, magazines and, ultimately, a book, Entertaining with Kerr. Eventually Kerr caught the eye of NZBC producer Shirley Maddock who put the jovial Scot on New Zealand television in 1960.
Several years on TV down under soon brought the New World knocking. CJOH-TV wanted Kerr to star in a new show to be shot in Ontario. To make things better Kerr’s beloved wife Treena would produce the show inspired by a book Graham had co-written with Len Evans entitled The Galloping Gourmets. For making the move to Canadian TV Kerr would be paid the incredible salary of two million dollars. That’s unheard of today much less in 1967.
Things were going well for Graham and Treena Kerr. The Galloping Gourmet was a hit easily justifying the big pay day. Even though some (mainly doctors and nutritionists) were critical of Kerr’s unabashed use of butter, cream and rich, fatty cuts of meat the North American viewers were in love Kerr’s classic French food and gregarious personality. Graham was a star – bigger than Beard, bigger than Julia. Things were good. But like everyone that has ever lived the Kerrs were on that roller coaster called life.
In April of 1971 the good times came to a screeching halt. Graham and Treena were passengers in an RV that was rear-ended by a speeding produce truck. The world’s most famous chef was paralyzed for a short while. It would be three years before he returned to television and when he did it was with a different purpose.
Kerr was still cooking the rich foods that had made him famous but his close call had led him to Jesus. It was not long before his faith would collide with the often anti-freedom of religion folks that permeate the entertainment industry. He had decided to include a Bible passage in the closing credits of his new show, Take Kerr. The media was not happy and as a result the show only lasted one year but new shows and opportunities would make him the chef of the 1970’s.
When the 80’s began Kerr was again on top of the world and in high demand. However, in 1986 something happened that would forever alter his gallop. His wife and partner, Treena suffered a stroke which was soon followed by a severe heart attack. His high fat, high calorie food was killing her. Now in his fifties, Graham Kerr completely reinvented his cooking style.
This is where I enter the story, if only from the fringe. I was a struggling musician in Nashville who had yet to understand that this fascination with food could eventually pay my bills in ways that music never had. Working nights as a line cook at a Tex-Mex restaurant I often awoke to the cooking shows on day time cable TV. That included the Graham Kerr Show. The show revolved around his “Minimax” approach to cooking; it was revolutionary.
By this time there had been cooking shows about healthy cooking and there had been shows about food that tasted good. But this was the first show about healthy food that was genuinely tasty. “Minimax” meant that the recipes minimized fat and cholesterol while maximizing aroma, color, texture and taste. No show before or since has influenced my cooking more than the Graham Kerr Show. I learned tricks that have helped me my entire career.
Gone was the butter and in it’s stead an ingenious oil blend – 15 parts extra virgin olive oil and 1 part toasted sesame oil – the result was a liquid very similar in flavor to clarified butter. Also missing was all that heavy cream; it was replaced with evaporated fat free milk. Brilliant! The argument can be made that Kerr was responsible for salsa supplanting ketchup as America’s most popular condiment once he explained about its many healthy attributes while remaining exceptionally flavorful. He also extolled the important role fresh herbs and produce play in making food delicious without adding unnecessary calories.
After dozens of cookbooks and hundreds of hours of television Chef Graham Kerr still found the time to answer 7 Questions.
1. How many countries have you called home?
United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, USA (5)
2. From Entertaining with Kerr to Gathering Place you’ve done some 450 hours of food television; is there one series that you think best captures who you really are?
Gathering Place, an in depth search for lifestyle solutions in my life.
3. Which chefs have influenced you the most?
Andre Simon (Food & Wine Society Founder)
Maitre Chef des Cuisines Silvano Trompetto (Savoy, London)
Master Chef Karl Guggenmoss, Culinary Dean, Johnson & Wales University
4. Who was better in a street fight, Julia Child or James Beard?
Julia
5. What do you think of this new era of celebrity chefs with their Beatlesque followings?
A rather crowded wave of surfers without a clear line to the beach and diminishing waves.
6. The new Cooking Channel is showing The Galloping Gourmet; do you ever watch it?
I must admit that we no longer have TV. I’ve only ever seen 4 episodes. When you watch what you do you can become an edited person.
7. What’s next for Chef Graham Kerr?
A daily web blog on seven major changes we must make by 2020 on www.grahamkerr.com, starting November.
For those of you who have never scene Chef Graham in action enjoy this classic clip from the Galloping Gourmet.
The Gift of Julia
Today is Julia Child’s 100th birthday. Like many other chefs around the world I would like to share one of my favorite Julia memories. The following happened in 2009 while I was the executive chef at Mars Hill Cafe.
With the Oscar buzz for Julie & Julia, the nation is savoring the gem that was Julia Child. Julia was one of the original cheflebrities and her first book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking changed the way Americans eat forever. Her bigger than life persona inspired a generation of home cooks to attempt classic French dishes like Coq au Vin and Coquilles Saint-Jacques.
Recently a regular customer to the café presented me with the gift of a first edition copy of Julia Child’s The French Chef Cookbook. The book was published in 1968 as a companion to her long-running TV show, The French Chef. The book had belonged to the customer’s mother who passed away in 2007. I would like to share with you the note she signed inside the book. I am only including first names so as to protect my benefactor’s anonymity.
Dear Stuart,
This book belonged to my mother Mary. When I discovered it I thought of you. The tasty dishes you prepare for Mars Hill Café are wonderful and delightful to the taste buds. It is my hope that this book of treasured recipes enhances your career and aids your dream of becoming a top rated TV chef.
Bon appetite!
Glynis
The book now occupies a prominent place in my living room. It is a treasure I will keep the rest of my life. Or at least until my niece graduates from culinary school. That gives me about 15 years to enjoy it.