With all of the controversy surrounding the agricultural industrial complex and the methodology of factory farm raised meat, you would think a show dedicated to meat might run into the ill advised KFC "double down" arena, but chef Rahm Fama takes his show Meat and Potatoes into the realm of the unexpected. Raised on a ranch, Rahm's passion for meat begins long before it reaches his plate. In my interview with him we discuss the rise of the local butcher, how he relates to his vegetarian friends, and what sets his new show apart from the rest. Tune in tonight, September 24th at 10pm to watch Meat and Potatoes on the Food Network.
Rahm: Well, you know I wanted to do it on cats, but Bugs Bunny would have been my biggest fan. Just kidding. I was just trying to make some sense of humor here. I think that meat is just at a culinary stand point it’s so culinary and it’s culinary fun. It’s still fun, it’s knowledgeable, it’s serious and I just think there’s just so much to it; and its complex but yet so easy. There’s just so much to it. It’s kind of like the jewel of cooking I think. And it’s a lot of different cuisines from Spanish to Italian to French to, even you know, to the American hamburger. It is widely used and we have to be culinary, constantly changing or we will get bored. And there are always changes. BBQ has evolved from one thing to another but it’s still around. It’s very competitive. Steak houses are still to this day one of America’s favorite restaurants. They are still thriving and you know there are different variations of steak houses and I just think there is just so much to it that I like and I would like to learn more and more about it everyday.
In L.A there has been this movement towards the boutique butcher shop and charcuterie, with shops like McCalls and house made salami at restaurants popping up, do you see something emerging in our food culture, returning to buying meat from by your local butcher?
Rahm: Absolutely. You know I think you just answered that question yourself. I’m telling you that I remember but I don’t remember the days. And I would love to remember the days, but I hate to say it but I remember the days when there were butchers. Do you remember the day maybe of the grey haired butcher that stood over the counter and everything was wrapped in the butcher paper? And he’d ask you what you were cooking that day, and you’d say I’m going to be making this. And he picked out the best cut and then he would kind of look at his fingers to make sure his fingers were all there, because it is very dangerous, and kind of a creepy job. But it was that fun butcher that I wish we had in every grocery store, rather then just cellophane wrapped packaging and you’re going ‘Ugh, what do I do with this? When do I do this?’ You have the butcher to kind of guide you. This is stew meat, your going to want to take this home for stew. You don’t know how many times I bet there is somebody going to buy tenderloin because it’s the most expensive and not cooking it properly because you just don’t know. I would love to see more butcher shops, I would love to see more charcuterie. Charcuterie is so fascinating and what I'm reading about now is the art of charcuterie. And the fact that the restaurants are doing it now themselves is absolutely amazing.
Will you ever get the opportunity to cover these butchers and the more obscure cuts of meat that they tend to lead towards? Out in L.A you can order game meat like rabbit, and venison. These cuts of meat are delicious but people don’t really cook them that much anymore because it’s not so readily available unless it’s a regional thing.
Rahm: Yes, I would hope to cover all that stuff in the future of my show. Everything from dry- aging, to not only meats, but charcuteries and headcheese and the different cuts that people have never seen before. And get into game, and get into a lot of different areas of beef that or meat in general that people haven’t seen. Not so much exotic, but on an interesting level. You know, I want the ‘wow’ factor.
Definitely, and America has such an amazing history of regional produce, it would be great to cover. My last question is do you have any vegetarian friends left? And if so what do they think of the show?
Rahm: Yeah, I have a lot. One, they are very proud of me. Two, I’m not a man that is just into the slaughtering of many animals as I can and cooking them, I know and appreciate. Being a rancher, my mom is a third generation rancher. I was raised on a ranch and I know what it takes to get from point A to point B and I appreciate that fact, and there is a reason why it comes out in my sleep so much is the fact that I am so passionate because I do know what it takes. And I express that to all my vegetarian friends because I am very passionate and very caring from where the food does come from. And how it gets to the table and what it takes to get to the table. And you know a lot of my friends are vegetarian by choice and a lot of them are vegetarian by health. I still do love and adore vegetables, it just happens that I just love the history the energy and the time it takes to put meat on the table.
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