Not Another Cooking Show
Stephen Cusato interview:
Stephen Cusato’s Youtube channel, Not Another Cooking Show, is just as delicious as home-cooked meals. As the title suggests, it is just as true as it sounds. It’s warm and friendly as the host. His skills in photography and food are second to none. He encourages you to enjoy cooking and sharing your love for the kitchen. Your humble correspondent was able to talk to Mr. Cusato about the journey that led to his amazing show. Bon Appetit
Stephen Cusato has always loved watching food. When the Food Network was just starting to be popular, his family would put him to sleep watching Japanese Iron Chef. Cusato also recalls how fascinated he was by seeing the chefs at work at their local diner.
“Food wasn’t something that I was obsessed with, so I just assumed that I would study business and work in advertising like my dad. Advertising was the coolest job in the world. Dad worked there. Hess trucks were always available to me every year because my father worked for Hess. He once asked me to appear in Hess ads and I replied, “No God! No! I wish I could do it now!”
While at Fairfield University, he studied abroad in Florence his junior year, and says the food culture left an impression on him. Following graduation, he entered advertising. However, the world of the media had drastically changed since he was a child.
“It was a difficult reality that, when I started my career in 2008 due to the financial crisis, the companies were not doing well. The world of advertising was evolving with the advent of social media. This was definitely not the golden age advertising. This is totally changing.” After three years at the company, he ended up giving his two weeks notice after he got a permit approved by the Parks Department to operate a food truck. The next item on his menu was Grilled Cheese! Grilled Cheese!
I decided to go into food, and open a food truck. I began a blog about food while developing the site to help me build my business. Food Freak’s Grilled Cheese ended up being the name for my food truck. I wanted this dichotomy of a weird name matched with this tastefully designed, cute little cart with really thoughtful food that was not grotesque in any way, but refined. The food should feel sophisticated, as if we were a restaurant inside a food truck. The service was something I really loved. Danny Meyer (restaurateur and legend of Union Square Cafe, Grammercy Tavern and Shake Shack), is one of my biggest food influencers. He wrote the book Setting the Table. For me hospitality has been a strong theme. I love interacting with customers to show that we truly care. It was easy for me to know when customers were away on vacation and when they were sick. “We did that for some time it was great, as well as big music festivals and catering events.” Food Freak Grilled Cheese even saw paparazzi when Anne Hathaway visited the food truck on her day of getting engaged. The food truck’s days, it would seem though, were numbered.
After several years, city regulations changed to allow carts of the right size. “We were stretched thin and not really building anything. The permit had expired and so we came to a crossroads. For me, that was quite difficult. I had loved it and hated it. It was a 14-17-hour work week. Although it made me feel confined, it taught me how to cook. Two of my co-workers were chefs who had a base in the field, so I was exposed both to basics and proper techniques. And though I never went to culinary school, it’s like you don’t have to.” I know what you’re thinking. Next, what’s the next thing? Here’s a clue: “Say cheese!
After spending some time trying out different options, a former colleague in advertising asked him to shoot photos for Tribe Hummus.
They knew that I was able to work with food so they asked me if I would be willing to stage some photos. I replied, “Yeah. Sure!’ Sure! These were some of the first things that I attempted, but they weren’t very successful. I was determined to master the use of a camera. I watched YouTube to learn everything I could about using a camera. He was able to make and photograph food in no time.
They would have me do 10 photo shoots per week, which was a lot, considering I worked for them and other clients for at least four to five years. Over time, I did thousands of photo shoots that developed my camera skills and they got better and better. Video became very popular and I realized that my eye for photography was good enough to be able to do video. “Video is a new skill. But I find it more interesting than photographing. You can do more with them.” His experience was so rich that it seemed natural to create a Youtube video.
Wet Ingredients:
1 egg yolk, whites and separated
For serving, you can also use butter or good maple syrup.
Do you like this video? Two new cooking shows are added every week to YouTube’s Not Another Cooking Channel.
Are You a Cooking Channel?
Stephen Cusato
Stephen Cusato:
Steve Cusato runs Not Another Cooking Show. The channel has over 224,000 subscribers and is growing fast since its inception. According to The Omnicore Agency, 50 million people had already created shared content by June 2018.
Stephen Cusato is from where?
Stephen Cusato Bronxville (age 36), male. Nov 26, 2021
Ethan Chlebowski who?
Hi, I’m Ethan. The show is about the technique and inspiration behind cooking. While food is a part of my heritage, and something I have always loved to cook from, it has never been something I had ever thought about.
.Not Another Cooking Show
