Outrageous Food: Interview with Tom Pizzica

Outrageous Food, Food Network’s “outrageous” new food discovery show, searches for the most exciting and inventive that food makers have to offer. Welcoming back an old fan favorite from The Next Food Network Star, host Tom Pizzica (also known as “Big Chef”) goes on a journey to discover the most over-the-top food in this county. In an interview in preparation of the show’s premiere, chef/host Pizzica talks with Poptimal about Next Food Network Star and Outrageous Food.

Keshaunta Moton: So, you were in the finale of The Next Food Network Star, but you didn’t win. What was your immediate thought when it was announced that Aarti was the winner?
Tom Pizzica: I was really just relieved that the show was over, and I was really psyched for Aarti. Even if Herb had won, I would have really been psyched for Herb. They would have been happy for me as well. It was just such a pressure packed run of a show that when the winner was finally announced, it was like a breath of fresh air. I deflated after being pumped up for so long. I really wasn’t necessarily crushed, or severely disappointed; I really thought I proved myself way beyond what I expected I would ever be able to do. I was really very satisfied and excited about how far I got.

KM: You said that you were elated for the other contestants and they would have been the same for you, do you think that being in the pressure together caused you to draw closer to each other?
TP: Absolutely, I’m probably going to know Herb and Aarti for the rest of my life, we keep in contact and we all support each other and we all want to catch up on what each other’s doing so being in the final three definitely got us pretty close.

KM: In what ways do you think The Next Food Network Star prepared you to have your own show?
TP: I wouldn’t be able to do Outrageous Food if it wasn’t for The Next Food Network Star. It basically is an education on how to develop tv in 10 episodes. It was an unbelievable experience and if you took what Bob, Susie, and Bobby [said and] embrace the evaluation you can go very far.

KM: Are there any specific critiques that you got from the judges that helped you in developing your own show?
TP: They really helped me think about my personality as a cook. They really helped me to develop the whole picture of big, bold, going for it persona that I have on the show… they really helped me nurture that and I wouldn’t have it without them.

KM: How is Outrageous Food different from the show you would have created had you won Next Food Network Star?
TP: Outrageous Food is a perfect match for my personality [and] my culinary point of view. The people that I come across are people that are very similar to me, they have this idea, for say a 105 lb hamburger, and they go for it. It is a cooking show just in a different context. I’m in the kitchen every segment of every show… it’s about hands on. That’s what’s different for me and the show.

Outrageous Food airs on Fridays at 10pm on Food Network. In the show, host Pizzica travels across America in search of the most over-the-top dishes this country has to offer. Each episode Pizzica will learn at the hands of the creative minds who dare to dream in food. From the $175 burger to the 72-inch burrito, fans can watch “Big Chef” learn what it takes to be outrageous.

As the title suggests, viewers of this culinary quest will indeed see the most extraordinary in culinary delights. From the 105 lb hamburger challenge that offers up a tasty reward to any strong enough to survive digestion, to the outrageously bizarre corn on the cob-flavored ice cream, Outrageous Food searches for the most “jaw-dropping” foods in the country. But for Pizzica, the true hidden gem of the show is not the savory treats but the creative and brilliant minds behind them. “I’m really with these people,” Pizzica says. “I just want to know what makes them tick. Want America to know they have really interesting stories about this food… [with] a glimpse into their world.”

For more on The Next Food Network Star, click here.

Images courtesy of Food Network.