We grilled champion chef Josh Capon at The Grilling Games
Chef Josh Capon with Kidsday reporters, from left: Owen Murphy, Nicholas Cortese and Andrew Galligan. Credit: Newsday / Pat Mullooly
Josh Capon is a six-time champion of Rachael Ray’s Burger Bash and owns several restaurants in New York City. On June 27, we were able to meet and interview Josh at the annual Grilling Games presented by Pine Mountain and Royal Oak held at Astor Place in Manhattan. Throughout the games, people were able to compete in competitions such as the Hot Dog Toss and Burger Flip.
Afterward, Josh held a demo where he told us about himself as he cooked his famous Pine Mountain Flame Burger and Pine Mountain Grilled Bratwurst. After Josh gave out samples, we met up with the famous chef and asked him some of questions.
When Andrew Galligan asked him to describe the kitchen at his restaurant Lure Fishbar, Josh replied, “Everyone knows what they are doing, and we are like family. Yes, if you come in on a 9 o’clock Sunday, it may be chaos, but it is organized chaos.”
Andrew also asked him what he does in his time away from the kitchen? He replied with a smile, saying, “I just keep on cooking. I love to barbecue with family.”
Nicholas asked Josh about his travels to a lot of European countries to fulfill him dream of cooking. “What was your favorite place to cook?,” Nicholas asked. He replied, “I did go to many countries like Italy, Germany and France. As much as I looked forward to seeing the Italian culture, I liked cooking in Germany because I am just so familiar and interested in Germany’s food and culture.”
Nick also asked him how did it feel competing and winning several times against all of the professional cooks at Rachael Ray’s Burger Bash. Josh responded, “Well, I’m not a fan of much competition. I just like cooking for family, friends and my restaurants. However, I was fortunate to win it six times and it feels good, not just because I won, but because I was with so many other cooks like me and it was a great experience overall.”
To finish off the interview, Owen asked Josh as a co-host of “Frankenfood,” — a reality show on Spike TV — what was the most memorable dish cooked for him on the show? He said that the frozen sausage ice cream was the most memorable dish, even though it was disgusting.
Finally, Owen asked him what is the most important ingredient in his famous Bash Burger He told us that he thinks the love and compassion that goes into the burger while it is being cooked is the most important ingredient.
We had a great experience with Josh and his food.
