Get to Know Richard Blais, Culinary Tastemaker and Trailblazer

What do kids do when their parents tell them not to play with their food? They play with it even more, right? Well if it wasn’t for kids like those, there wouldn’t be chefs like Richard Blais. Richard has parlayed his love for food — and experimenting with it — into a successful career, winning TV culinary competitions and opening restaurants from Atlanta to San Diego. Now as the host of the new series Hungry Games, he’s delving into the science-y side of food, discovering what makes us crave certain dishes — and dislike certain ingredients.

Watching the series, viewers will see that there’s more to food than eating it, and who better to lead us through various games and experiments than Richard himself? Find out what got him interested in food and how it led to a culinary career, and learn what keeps him immersed in the industry.

FN Dish: We’ve seen you dabble with experimental cuisine on TV. What got you interested in the science of cooking?

Richard Blais: The quest for knowledge. One thing about the food world is you will never know everything. You have to be an eternal student and that’s driven me in my career as a chef, and now even more as a curious cook on Hungry Games!

We’ve all heard “Don’t play with your food” from our parents at one point or another in childhood. What food did you most often play with as a kid? Is there a food that you’ve experimented with as an adult that had disastrous results?

RB: My first experiment was crushing potato chips inside a ham sandwich when I was 8 years old. A delicious experiment. Also around the same time, I accidentally used heavy cream in my cereal, delicious as well, but not recommended for a healthy lifestyle! I screw up all the time at home. My kids spit things out, like last night even. But experimentation is good. Home cooks should do it more often.

How important do you think memory is when it comes to a person’s experience with food? What’s your most-treasured food memory?

RB: Very important! Memory and history shapes so much about our taste. For me, I can remember eating stuffed clams as a kid with my parents at a dockside oyster bar on Long Island. It was weird for a kid to eat, but it was super tasty! I also vividly remember eating some ghost peppers and Carolina Reapers on Hungry Games, maybe not such a good memory, but you’ll have to watch.

What’s your guilty pleasure food and why?

RB: Now, it’s chocolate. I’ve never been a big chocolate fan, but lately I’ve had serious dreams of going face down on a Black Forest cake. But sugar makes me feel guilty.

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter or umami: Which is your favorite taste, and if you had to give one up, which one would it be?

RB: I’d give up sour, but be sad about it for days.

Stay tuned for fun food trivia, interactive quizzes, photos from Hungry Games and more, plus connect with fellow fans on Twitter with the hashtag #HungryGames.

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