Chuck Hughes, star of the new Cooking Channel series "Chuck's Day Off" dishes on all sorts of topics, including the time his restaurant's building set on fire, how he feels about cooking with his mother, and the advice he has for cooks. Here are 6 interesting things about Chuck Hughes!
1. He has his own show. His new series, "Chuck's Day Off," is a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant industry. In each episode, Chuck invites a guest to his restaurant, Montreal's Garde Manger, and he cooks for them. That guest may be his fishmonger, his coffee provider, or anyone else who is involved with the inner workings of the restaurant. Throughout the show, you'll learn about how a restaurant really works and see how Chuck juggles the tasks of running a restaurant and cooking for it.
2. He's not afraid of unhealthy foods. His favorite go-to dish is fried cheese with avocado, tomato, and cucumber on top. He also loves any dish with bacon. He loves bacon so much, in fact, that he has it tattooed on his arm!
3. He can fight fires...kinda. One morning, before shooting began on an episode of "Chuck's Day Off," Chuck and his crew started to smell smoke. It turned out that there was a fire on the second floor of the building, directly above his restaurant! The fire caused some water damage in the restaurant, but Chuck decided that they should shoot anyways. They managed to turn the disaster into a full episode; the firemen were guests in his restaurant that day, and dined on oysters and a roast encased in salt.
4. He's a sportsman. A true Canadian, Chuck likes to play hockey three or four times a week. He also goes to the gym regularly and enjoys skiing and wakeboarding.
5. He shares a kitchen with his mom. On the opening day of his restaurant, Chuck's mother volunteered to step into the kitchen and make a pecan pie for his aunt's birthday. Many of the guests enjoyed the pie so much that upon returning to the restaurant, they asked whether she would be making the desserts every day. Due to popular demand, Chuck decided that his mother would become a permanent fixture in the restaurant and she became the pastry chef from then on. Chucks says he enjoys working with his mother and, now that he's older, "sometimes I'm actually right!"
6. He likes to break the rules. Chuck firmly believes that "there are no wrong answers in cooking." He encourages everyone to step outside the boundaries of recipes. For example, if a recipe calls for one sprig of thyme, don't be afraid to change it to two sprigs. Heck, you could even put in rosemary, instead! Don't be afraid to deviate.
1. He has his own show. His new series, "Chuck's Day Off," is a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant industry. In each episode, Chuck invites a guest to his restaurant, Montreal's Garde Manger, and he cooks for them. That guest may be his fishmonger, his coffee provider, or anyone else who is involved with the inner workings of the restaurant. Throughout the show, you'll learn about how a restaurant really works and see how Chuck juggles the tasks of running a restaurant and cooking for it.
2. He's not afraid of unhealthy foods. His favorite go-to dish is fried cheese with avocado, tomato, and cucumber on top. He also loves any dish with bacon. He loves bacon so much, in fact, that he has it tattooed on his arm!
3. He can fight fires...kinda. One morning, before shooting began on an episode of "Chuck's Day Off," Chuck and his crew started to smell smoke. It turned out that there was a fire on the second floor of the building, directly above his restaurant! The fire caused some water damage in the restaurant, but Chuck decided that they should shoot anyways. They managed to turn the disaster into a full episode; the firemen were guests in his restaurant that day, and dined on oysters and a roast encased in salt.
4. He's a sportsman. A true Canadian, Chuck likes to play hockey three or four times a week. He also goes to the gym regularly and enjoys skiing and wakeboarding.
5. He shares a kitchen with his mom. On the opening day of his restaurant, Chuck's mother volunteered to step into the kitchen and make a pecan pie for his aunt's birthday. Many of the guests enjoyed the pie so much that upon returning to the restaurant, they asked whether she would be making the desserts every day. Due to popular demand, Chuck decided that his mother would become a permanent fixture in the restaurant and she became the pastry chef from then on. Chucks says he enjoys working with his mother and, now that he's older, "sometimes I'm actually right!"
6. He likes to break the rules. Chuck firmly believes that "there are no wrong answers in cooking." He encourages everyone to step outside the boundaries of recipes. For example, if a recipe calls for one sprig of thyme, don't be afraid to change it to two sprigs. Heck, you could even put in rosemary, instead! Don't be afraid to deviate.
