Interview With Aaron McCargo, Jr. – Winner The Next Food Network Star 4

This was kind of an odd interview. It was a conference call, but you couldn’t ask questions of Aaron directly. You had to send them in and then some PR guy asked Aaron the questions on the call. Below is a sort of transcript, as the questions listed were all asked, if not exactly as presented. But, the answers aren’t necessarily what he said. They are what someone heard and interpreted him to say, along with some added info and a few quotes from him directly. Not sure why they did this, maybe cause Aaron is new to doing interviews and such, but it would have been cool to actually be able to talk to him. At any rate, below is the result of the call that was sent to me. Also, the second and third questions are the ones I sent in.

Aaron McCargo, Jr.’s new show, Big Daddy’s House starts today, Sunday, August 3rd at 1:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific and 12:30 p.m. Central and runs for the next six weeks.

Aaron McCargo, Jr. Interview – The Next Food Network Star 4 Winner

How has your family’s food habits influenced what you want to present in your new show?

His family’s food habits have really influenced how he will cook on the show. He will be cooking a lot with his mother and his father and his whole family on the show.

“We’re all about big portions. My mother always was into flavoring food a lot and that is what I plan to present to the audience in Big Daddy’s House.”

What was your original impetus to send in an audition tape for Next Food Network Star?

He didn’t originally audition for the show. His wife forced his hand to send in the audition tape. She filled out the form and he shot the tape and the rest is history.

“I actually never sent anything in. My wife had my hands tied. She sent in my audition tape.”

When during the competition did you start to think that you could actually win?

“I walked in thinking I had a chance to win. Week to week they took me on a rollercoaster ride but I never gave up believing in my chance of winning.”

Will your show be based on one theme or style of cooking? Or will you open the door to other options say, different regions?

His new show Big Daddy’s House, will be wide open and will incorporate all different styles of food. He will also really incorporate a lot of his family into the show and will have some of his friends from the Food Network Star on his show.

“My food presented on the show is going to be wide open in style and presentation. My main goal is teaching people to use what they have at home in preparing their meals.”

Can you tell us about your favourite family food tradition?

“My favourite family food tradition had to be fish on Fridays. And because of my Italian background with a Roman Catholic upbringing, I would always prepare pasta on Wednesdays. So on Fridays I started to combine the two into a unique dish to serve to my family.”

How would you describe the style of your food?

Aaron loves cooking soul food but its not “Black food.” It’s about food that’s flavorful and food that comes from the soul.

My aunt was really rooting for you, but after the last episode I was really concerned about your abilities on camera. There is a lot of pressure when you are at the scrutiny of thousands upon millions of watchers. What can you do to calm your nerves and just be yourself on your show? Also, how do you make your dishes interesting enough for people to want to try making them at home?

Aaron is going to keep the dishes simple and will incorporate 5 ingredients or less for each dish that he cooks.

“The history is very important. I call my food Soul Food but I keep it with an ethnic twist. It’s about food that is flavourful and fun.”

Now that you have won, how do you plan to prepare for your new show?

So now that he has won he is going to spend a lot of time cooking the food that he likes and sharing his original recipes.

“My plan is to just get people to tune into my show. With my show Big Daddy’s House there will be no competition. I can be myself, having fun and cooking.”

What was the best part of your experience on the show?

The best part of the show was meeting all of the other contestants and of course winning.

“Meeting the nine other finalists, building relationships and getting good ideas from all of them.”

Were you star struck by anyone like Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray?

Aaron doesn’t get star struck easily by anyone.

“I look at everyone as an equal. I feel like a star everyday I wake-up.”

Guilty pleasures? Describe Your Perfect Meal…

Aaron LOVES buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing and loves having fun with his wife.

“I love Coors Light cold but if I could eat anything, my perfect meal would be a 16 to 18 ounce New York steak, cooked medium with asparagus and fried mushrooms. To start off I would have one of my salad’s with a special dressing and one of my homemade soups.”

What food won’t you eat?

“There’s not any foods I would not eat. I’m pretty open to eating anything. I love food.”

Favorite food person?

Bobby Flay and Paula Dean are his favorite host on the Food Network. He feels that they are his second set of parents on the network and will help him out the most.

When did you first realize you were a serious eater? What do your family and friends think of your food obsessions?

“I became a serious eater at the age of 4. I was served one piece of fried chicken and thought to myself, ‘When I get older, I’ll cook my own whole chicken so I can eat it.’ My friends and family think I’m a food junkie. I go to work and cook, I come home and cook, I spend weekends cooking with my family. I just am obsessed with cooking and I want to show the world what I can do and I think Big Daddy’s House will be the place to do it.”