Post by Kaiti on Nov 30, 2012 17:58:26 GMT
If I’m out for quiet meal crowds gather round and owners get upset when I don’t eat massive portions
TV scoffing king Adam Richman on his love of British grub
Top dog ... Adam Richman describes Man V Food as his dream job
By STUART PINK Friday 30/11/2012
A QUIET evening out in a restaurant with your mum wouldn’t normally attract much attention.
But if you’re Adam Richman, the star of cult TV show Man V Food, eating out with ANYONE has become virtually impossible.
Within seconds a crowd gathers, expecting the New York foodie to be taking on one of his legendary gut-busting food “challenges” — in which he eats either a massive quantity or a plate of something pretty extreme, often against the clock.
His presence in restaurants also brings an added excitement to the management, who assume he will want huge portions.
Adam, 38, says: “It gets a little dicey when people say it’s a failure of my manhood that I don’t want to take on a challenge when I’m out with my mum, but when people actually make it a personal attack, I have more of an issue.
“I politely say, ‘I appreciate your offer but I’m off the crock and I’d like to just try whatever’. Sometimes they’re a little crestfallen.”
Feeling stuffed ... during 10lbs Pizza Challenge at Connecticut restaurant
Adam has taken on some of the most epic dishes America has to offer during Man V Food’s four series, which are shown regularly on Dave in Britain.
He admits finding some of the meals tricky, particularly the spicier concoctions, though there are rare instances when he enjoys himself. He pinpoints the Cardiac Arrest Challenge in Alaska as his favourite.
The meal contained three pounds of king crab legs, 12oz of reindeer sausage, seven 2oz wild Alaskan salmon cakes, 6oz of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, 6oz of assorted sauteed vegetables and, for dessert, mixed berry ice cream.
He says: “It was delicious. Part of the reason I liked it was that it wasn’t a lot of one thing, there was a variety of small things.
“You don’t get flavour fatigue or get overwhelmed by one particular type of food, you actually really get a chance to sample everything.
“It was such a good-quality restaurant and everything was local so I did really enjoy eating it. It was big but it was like a big meal.”
Adam wasn’t told what he would be required to do before he auditioned to host Man V Food — and he had never previously attempted an eating challenge.
Supersized ... Adam then and, right, now - 2st lighter
But he describes it as his “dream job” and says it was well worth applying for.
He continues: “I went to Yale for my Masters in acting and was fortunate to sign with agents straight after school.
“From there, one of my agencies used to send out emails, saying, ‘X network is looking for a bilingual Spanish scuba diver’.
“A travel company wanted somebody who knew regional food, had on-camera experience, liked to eat and could eat a decent amount, but did not mention challenges.
“I knew I wanted to marry my passions of entertaining and food and launched myself at the audition, and got the audition, which led to six more screen tests.
“I eventually got the job and shot the five-minute teaser trail all over Brooklyn, which was pitched to the networks. We shot a pilot in Memphis and did very well with test audiences.
“We went there to make a series. We shot ten episodes and three in, people thought this could be very special and commissioned 11 more.”
The show then became an unexpected hit on the Good Food channel in the UK.
The challenges have sparked a boom in competitive eating but Adam warns about the dangers of turning them into a pastime.
Hot stuff ... in New York's Brick Lane Curry House taking on the world's spiciest curry
He says: “It’s really dangerous if you make it a lifestyle choice and you don’t really take any steps to stave off the food.
“It’s a lot of calories, a lot of saturated fat, a lot of starch and sugars. You can’t be cavalier and do it regularly. It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence and has to be respected as such.”
Adam himself no longer does challenges, preferring to concentrate on the origins of regional dishes and eating establishments across America in newer series Man V Food Nation.
He has since lost more than 2st and admits the over-indulgence of mammoth portions finally caught up with him. He says: “We would do two or three episodes back-to-back and the production and travel schedule was hard enough.
“There was an element of a grind in there that if I wasn’t in, or close to, top digestive shape, the wheels could fall off everything because I did that much eating.”
However, he does offer advice for those who take up a sensible approach to a challenge.
He says: “You have to keep it light on either side of a challenge, content wise and heaviness wise, and maintain a daily exercise regimen. Hydration is really important for fat mobilisation.
Man wins ... Adam finishes eating challenge
“But you’ve really got to be balanced. If you’re doing something heavy on Wednesday, on Tuesday and Thursday you’ve got to be much lighter on your system.”
Adam has family links with the UK — his grandad is from Leeds — and he says: “What I love about the UK are regional dishes, things like Cornish pasties, scouse, oatcakes, pie and mash, jellied eels.
“I think because there are so many regional differences and deeply beloved dishes, even things like curries and kebabs, there is so much to offer on a global scale to any audience. Because I have British roots, there’s a personal element of retracing my own culinary path, which is extremely important as well.”
One dish which Adam will always be up for testing out is the full English breakfast — a meal he says Americans just can’t replicate.
He adds: “I love breakfasts and brunch and a full English is very much both at the same time.
“It’s definitely one of the heaviest things imaginable, but you get a little bit of everything.
“I love eggs, toast, bacon, black pudding, sausage. When I’m in the UK I have a full English. I feel like I have a child in my stomach but it’s delicious.”
Adam is a huge football fan and one of his ideas is comparing food at stadiums across the UK. He also hints that he is willing to bring back the challenges — but on a very minor level, suggesting an attempt to drink “British Rail tea”.
But the over-eating days are well and truly behind him, no matter how much he loved doing them.
He says: “They were absolutely hilarious. It’s like a party meets the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in a restaurant — it was crazy.
“But for me, finding the hard-to-come-by regional gems and to provide a greater knowledge base for the intrepid food traveller, that sort of stuff was really enjoyable. That really is my sweet spot.”
His biggest challenges
World's hottest curry
AT New York’s Brick Lane Curry House Adam faced a dish which the restaurant’s website says is “more pain and sweat than flavour”.
Despite the agony Adam finished it – earning him a place in the curry house’s “P’hall of Fame”.
World's hottest chilli
IN Series Two Adam ate a Four Horsemen Burger which contains Naga Jolokia chillis – the world’s hottest. They are so hot that diners wear latex gloves to avoid burning their hands.
50 chicken wings
FOR the third series, Adam tackled the chicken wing challenge in Boulder, Colorado, where he had half an hour to scoff 50 of the “buffalo wings”, weighing a total of 5lb. He managed 36.
Seven-meat sandwich
IN Kansas, Missouri, he had 45 minutes to scoff the 5lb sandwich of pulled and sliced pork, ham, turkey, hamburger, beef brisket and sausage.
He ran out of time, managing just half of it.
Watch Adam Richman in Man V Food Nation during December weekdays at 9.30pm on Food Network UK.
The Sun
TV scoffing king Adam Richman on his love of British grub
Top dog ... Adam Richman describes Man V Food as his dream job
By STUART PINK Friday 30/11/2012
A QUIET evening out in a restaurant with your mum wouldn’t normally attract much attention.
But if you’re Adam Richman, the star of cult TV show Man V Food, eating out with ANYONE has become virtually impossible.
Within seconds a crowd gathers, expecting the New York foodie to be taking on one of his legendary gut-busting food “challenges” — in which he eats either a massive quantity or a plate of something pretty extreme, often against the clock.
His presence in restaurants also brings an added excitement to the management, who assume he will want huge portions.
Adam, 38, says: “It gets a little dicey when people say it’s a failure of my manhood that I don’t want to take on a challenge when I’m out with my mum, but when people actually make it a personal attack, I have more of an issue.
“I politely say, ‘I appreciate your offer but I’m off the crock and I’d like to just try whatever’. Sometimes they’re a little crestfallen.”
Feeling stuffed ... during 10lbs Pizza Challenge at Connecticut restaurant
Adam has taken on some of the most epic dishes America has to offer during Man V Food’s four series, which are shown regularly on Dave in Britain.
He admits finding some of the meals tricky, particularly the spicier concoctions, though there are rare instances when he enjoys himself. He pinpoints the Cardiac Arrest Challenge in Alaska as his favourite.
The meal contained three pounds of king crab legs, 12oz of reindeer sausage, seven 2oz wild Alaskan salmon cakes, 6oz of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, 6oz of assorted sauteed vegetables and, for dessert, mixed berry ice cream.
He says: “It was delicious. Part of the reason I liked it was that it wasn’t a lot of one thing, there was a variety of small things.
“You don’t get flavour fatigue or get overwhelmed by one particular type of food, you actually really get a chance to sample everything.
“It was such a good-quality restaurant and everything was local so I did really enjoy eating it. It was big but it was like a big meal.”
Adam wasn’t told what he would be required to do before he auditioned to host Man V Food — and he had never previously attempted an eating challenge.
Supersized ... Adam then and, right, now - 2st lighter
But he describes it as his “dream job” and says it was well worth applying for.
He continues: “I went to Yale for my Masters in acting and was fortunate to sign with agents straight after school.
“From there, one of my agencies used to send out emails, saying, ‘X network is looking for a bilingual Spanish scuba diver’.
“A travel company wanted somebody who knew regional food, had on-camera experience, liked to eat and could eat a decent amount, but did not mention challenges.
“I knew I wanted to marry my passions of entertaining and food and launched myself at the audition, and got the audition, which led to six more screen tests.
“I eventually got the job and shot the five-minute teaser trail all over Brooklyn, which was pitched to the networks. We shot a pilot in Memphis and did very well with test audiences.
“We went there to make a series. We shot ten episodes and three in, people thought this could be very special and commissioned 11 more.”
The show then became an unexpected hit on the Good Food channel in the UK.
The challenges have sparked a boom in competitive eating but Adam warns about the dangers of turning them into a pastime.
Hot stuff ... in New York's Brick Lane Curry House taking on the world's spiciest curry
He says: “It’s really dangerous if you make it a lifestyle choice and you don’t really take any steps to stave off the food.
“It’s a lot of calories, a lot of saturated fat, a lot of starch and sugars. You can’t be cavalier and do it regularly. It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence and has to be respected as such.”
Adam himself no longer does challenges, preferring to concentrate on the origins of regional dishes and eating establishments across America in newer series Man V Food Nation.
He has since lost more than 2st and admits the over-indulgence of mammoth portions finally caught up with him. He says: “We would do two or three episodes back-to-back and the production and travel schedule was hard enough.
“There was an element of a grind in there that if I wasn’t in, or close to, top digestive shape, the wheels could fall off everything because I did that much eating.”
However, he does offer advice for those who take up a sensible approach to a challenge.
He says: “You have to keep it light on either side of a challenge, content wise and heaviness wise, and maintain a daily exercise regimen. Hydration is really important for fat mobilisation.
Man wins ... Adam finishes eating challenge
“But you’ve really got to be balanced. If you’re doing something heavy on Wednesday, on Tuesday and Thursday you’ve got to be much lighter on your system.”
Adam has family links with the UK — his grandad is from Leeds — and he says: “What I love about the UK are regional dishes, things like Cornish pasties, scouse, oatcakes, pie and mash, jellied eels.
“I think because there are so many regional differences and deeply beloved dishes, even things like curries and kebabs, there is so much to offer on a global scale to any audience. Because I have British roots, there’s a personal element of retracing my own culinary path, which is extremely important as well.”
One dish which Adam will always be up for testing out is the full English breakfast — a meal he says Americans just can’t replicate.
He adds: “I love breakfasts and brunch and a full English is very much both at the same time.
“It’s definitely one of the heaviest things imaginable, but you get a little bit of everything.
“I love eggs, toast, bacon, black pudding, sausage. When I’m in the UK I have a full English. I feel like I have a child in my stomach but it’s delicious.”
Adam is a huge football fan and one of his ideas is comparing food at stadiums across the UK. He also hints that he is willing to bring back the challenges — but on a very minor level, suggesting an attempt to drink “British Rail tea”.
But the over-eating days are well and truly behind him, no matter how much he loved doing them.
He says: “They were absolutely hilarious. It’s like a party meets the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in a restaurant — it was crazy.
“But for me, finding the hard-to-come-by regional gems and to provide a greater knowledge base for the intrepid food traveller, that sort of stuff was really enjoyable. That really is my sweet spot.”
His biggest challenges
World's hottest curry
AT New York’s Brick Lane Curry House Adam faced a dish which the restaurant’s website says is “more pain and sweat than flavour”.
Despite the agony Adam finished it – earning him a place in the curry house’s “P’hall of Fame”.
World's hottest chilli
IN Series Two Adam ate a Four Horsemen Burger which contains Naga Jolokia chillis – the world’s hottest. They are so hot that diners wear latex gloves to avoid burning their hands.
50 chicken wings
FOR the third series, Adam tackled the chicken wing challenge in Boulder, Colorado, where he had half an hour to scoff 50 of the “buffalo wings”, weighing a total of 5lb. He managed 36.
Seven-meat sandwich
IN Kansas, Missouri, he had 45 minutes to scoff the 5lb sandwich of pulled and sliced pork, ham, turkey, hamburger, beef brisket and sausage.
He ran out of time, managing just half of it.
Watch Adam Richman in Man V Food Nation during December weekdays at 9.30pm on Food Network UK.
The Sun
