My wife and I are Food Network-aholics. Not that we cook anything we see on the shows hardly but we do watch the Food Network a lot for some reason. The shows are wholesome shows (no blood, guts, killing, and crime investigations) and they are educational. If you watch the food network at all you probably have heard of Chef Bobby Flay. He’s been an Iron Chef since 2003 and has numerous show’s on the Food Network including Throwdown where he shows up to various renowned local places to challenge the chef to a cook off.
Ellen’s Mom (Sue) had a birthday yesterday and to surprise her Mom we took her to a Bobby Flay cooking show in Mobile, AL. We picked her up around 10:30 AM at and drove to Mobile, AL arriving around lunch time. Our first stop was to get some lunch so we stopped in at Felix’s Fish Camp off of Battleship Parkway. If you are ever in the Mobile area this is one of those places you have to go. As a matter of fact when we walked in the ladies that greeted us were talking about Bobby Flay because he had eaten supper there the night before. We sat next to the window over looking the bay. I had the BBQ Shrimp (again) so I could wear the bib. After we finished eating we locked in the Mobile Civic Center address into the GPS and headed 3.3 miles to downtown Mobile. The Civic Center had a bunch of food related vendors there so we walked around. We bought Ellen’s Mom a new chopping board and she bought us the Bobby Flay Mesa Grill cookbook so we could get it signed.
The show started at 3:00 and I suspect there were probably 500 – 750 people there. It was hard to judge but a lot of people just for a cooking show! He cooked two main dishes and some margaritas. One of the dishes he cooked was a salmon dish. Having recently returned from a salmon fishing trip I have to try this recipe. We were right up front for the show and it was interesting because he wanted people to ask questions as he was cooking. It was a really open format and I liked it.
The Mobile Gas company sponsored Bobby coming down so he cooked with a gas grill and a gas stove. At the end when he was taking a lot of rapid fire questions I had to do it, I just had to ask, “Bobby, when you are grilling, charcoal or gas?”. Immediately people started laughing because there was this huge sign behind him with “Mobile Gas” on it. He laughed and said “Both, charcoal has more flavor but gas is quicker and evenly disperses the heat.” He said he owned both grills and recommends to have both around depending on what you are cooking and how long you have.
All in all it was a fun little side trip and just reminded me why Hattiesburg, MS is such a great town to live in. We call it the Hub City because it really is the hub of a lot of places to visit. Literally within 1, 2 or 3 hours you can be anywhere from:
- Jackson, MS our state capital
- Fishing in the bayou of Louisiana for red fish
- On the beach in Florida
- At a casino in Biloxi or the beach there or fishing
- A Taledega race outside of Birmingham
- Cruising up and down Bourburn Street in New Orleans or at a Saints game
You can view pictures from the trip to Mobile here on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithelder/sets/72157602907666047/
To whom this may concern,
I would like to introduce myself, my name is,
Chuck Aflitto, also known as, Chef Chuck the family
chef. I have a genuine lifetime passion for cooking and love to
showcase this on T.V. in a creative and enthusiastic
way. I have been on PBS cooking and I am a regular on
NBC Arizona Midday Live in Phoenix, Arizona with live
cooking segments. We have many viewers and our broadcast covers the southwest region of the United States.
I have always been a great fan of cooking shows, and it
would be an honor to share one of my family recipes
with you and your viewers. I do not have a culinary
degree but was taught by the best, mom. We always sat
around the dinner table for great food and family
time. Time to discuss the days events and to be
together as a family. This is what we instilled in
our children and want to keep this tradition alive. We
could spread this message to all your viewers. I can
show how anyone can cook wonderful healthy and good
tasting meals. This would be a great opportunity to
prominently feature some of the best old time recipes
from the old country, Italy. I have just visited Sicily Italy
in September and I had a opportunity to cook side by
side with the best chefs of the mediterranean. This is
a yearly contest,and I would love to share with you
and your viewers the winning dish !!
Thank You for your consideration if you have any
further questions please don’t hesitate to e-mail or
call. I am looking forward to having fun with your
establishment.
Chef Chuck Aflitto
chefchuck1@yahoo.com
928 636-9017 home
928 710-7784 cell
We’re thinking of moving back to the Hub City one of these days. If a good band director position opens up around there, I just may apply! Texas is great, but it’s hard being away from so many friends and family.