411mania Interviews: Man v. Food's Adam Richman
Posted by Al Norton on 02.03.2010
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Adam Richman to discuss tonight's Man v. Food Live special
Adam Richman is the host of Man v. Food, the top rated show on the Travel Channel. Tonight the network is doing the series first live special, appropriately titled Man v. Food Live.
Al Norton: Congratulations on getting picked up for a third season.
Adam Richman: Thank you very, very much. I'm very excited.
Al Norton: If I had told you at the start of all of this that you'd be starting 2010 looking at a third season and a live special, you would have said…
Adam Richman: I'll have what he's having, bartender, and make mine a double (laughing).
Al Norton: Speaking of career perks, you did an ESPN.com chat recently.
Adam Richman: It was incredible. I was trying to explain to someone that it's every bit as cool as you think it is and then some.
Al Norton: Relating food to sports a little bit, are there food groupies?
Adam Richman: I think that there are a lot of fans of the show and that foodie culture is prevalent. What I think I've helped to do is let dudes who love to chow become foodies. The label of "foodie" sometimes comes with the notion that the person is a really effete, dainty person but I think more and more people are investigating and enjoying food.
Al Norton: I am not sure how they choose the order the episodes run in but it seemed like the start of the season had a few food victories. Was that a conscious choice, to show that you could lose?
Adam Richman: Obviously it helps to start the season with a win, especially for new viewers. People watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire because they want to see the person win a million dollars. I also think it's good that I lose sometimes because it would be lame otherwise. I don't want it to be like I am shooting fish in a barrel. The order depends on a lot of different things.
Al Norton: As an example of the impact your show has, you did a segment on your Boston episode about Hell Night at the East Coast Grill and this year's event is already sold out.
Adam Richman: That is amazing to me and one of the things that I hold as such a point of pride. We're not doing the big chains, we're not doing the restaurants that have their own publicity machine; these are independent, privately owned restaurants that in this economy are flourishing in part because of Man v. Food and that's one of the best feelings I could possible imagine.
Al Norton: How did the live special come to be?
Adam Richman: Travel Channel has had live specials on their series before- Ghost Adventures has done live episodes – and this seemed like a good fit since the challenges have a really infectious party energy and everyone is constantly asking me how they can show up and be a part of things. This is a way to bring the challenges to everyone. Because of the competitive nature of the challenges it seemed natural to tie it in to Super Bowl week in Miami. We'll be at Shula's Restaurant, the guy's the winningest coach in football, so it's like all the stars are aligning in the perfect hybrid of circumstance and content.
Al Norton: What is the challenge?
Adam Richman: Shula's has a 48 ounce porterhouse and they have a club so that if you finish it, you're in. Thousands of people have done it; it's not an easy thing to accomplish but everyone from Jerry Jones to Lawrence Taylor are in. Normally when trying to finish it you can use the restroom, relax and have a drink, talk to friends, but because we are doing it live we are imposing a strict 20 minute time limit for the entire 48 ounce porterhouse.
Al Norton: Good Lord.
Adam Richman: Yes, that's exactly the reaction we are going for. It bears noting, and I really do mean this, it's not just going to be tune in, challenge, done. It's a two hour event and we're going to be in the Alexander Hotel in Miami Beach with the ultimate tailgate party. We're bringing back chefs and restaurants from the first two seasons, we've got some correspondents, NFL athletes, fan v. fan challenges, fan v. food challenges, university of Miami cheerleaders…I've been trying to explain to people that it will be a cross between the Roman Coliseum and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Al Norton: Are you doing any special training because it's live?
Adam Richman: I definitely trained hard for this one. I'm not a competitive eater but I find that it's the 36-48 hours before a challenge that is the most impactful. The challenge to doing it live is the added pressure of making sure to watch my language. Doing it in a roomful of people is pressure, doing it with millions of people of watching is pressure, knowing it's going out in real time is even more so. There is an even deeper sense of obligation to bring home a "W".
Al Norton: If people haven't checked out the show before will this be a good way for them to get on board?
Adam Richman: I think it's going to be a great start for new fans. It's not fully indicative of the show as we do a lot of fun stuff in post-production with music and graphics that is unique to the show but I think it will very much capture the energy of the show, that controlled chaos that has become our signature. I think it will show the extreme nature of what I do.
The special will have all the regular things we do in an episode of Man v. Food; we'll have three different locations that spotlight great local eats along with the challenge, which is its own beast.
Don't miss Man v. Food Live, tonight at 8 pm on Travel.
