Five-spice lamb burgers slathered with pickled cucumber relish and five-spice aioli? Such a dish has just the sort of exotic spark Roger Mooking of the Cooking Channel likes to infuse into classic barbecue.
Mooking, host of “Everyday Exotic,” helped hand out America’s favorite frozen treat to a flock of Atlantans on June 17 at the East Lake Farmers Market as part of the Cooking Channel’s ice cream truck tour. Local favorite Jake’s Ice Cream, known for its endless array of unique taste-bud tempters like the Chocolate Pecan Piescream and Steve’s Thrillah Vanilla, provided the free ice cream.
The Cooking Channel launched earlier this year on May 31 in replacement of the Fine Living Network. It is the Food Network’s second serving of a 24-hour cable channel for foodies starved for amped-up food programming with a greater focus on the “how to cook” than the “watch me eat.”
Getting a quick taste of the newest lineup means sampling shows like “Food Jammers.” Food geeks Micah Donovan, Chris Martin and Nabu Adilman star as a trio devoted to creating extreme culinary contraptions using junkyard parts, home appliances and offbeat imaginations in their warehouse studio. Fresh vending machine tacos or edible hot rods, anyone? The Cooking Channel also features Food Network stars Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay as they cook up original instructional shows.
Mooking’s show shines among the programs. “I knew from three years old I wanted to be a chef,” he fondly recalled as he prepared to serve ice cream to fans. “My very first memories are standing on a chair at the kitchen counter, learning how to cut chicken and make wontons.”
A third-generation restaurateur and chef, Mooking is the executive chef and co-owner of Kultura Social Dining and Nyood Restaurant in downtown Toronto.
“My grandfather came from China and moved to Trinidad,” explained Mooking, who moved to Toronto when he was nineteen. He draws on Chinese and Caribbean cultures as well as the classical European techniques in which he was trained to design broad ranges of unique culinary creations.
With dinner menu options at the Nyood such as tuna tartare with black olive tapenade, plantain chip and quail egg on the appetizer list and entrées like a panko-crusted strip loin with chimichurri and goat’s cheese mousse, a mouth-watering meal is easy to come by.
Diners finding delicious dinners is just how “Everyday Exotic” got its start. Seven years ago, Mooking was a chef at a restaurant called Barrio. Nearby was a shooting spot for many of the Food Network’s original shows. “At the time I didn’t know who they were,” Mooking said of the Food Network staff that would enjoy dinner at his restaurant after a long day on the job. “But I would always go over and say hi.”
Friendly relations and impressive fare led to a phone call Mooking later received about an idea the Food Network had for a show. Years after that original pitch, “Everyday Exotic” finally aired, to popular and critical success.
In each episode, Mooking focuses on incorporating one “exciting but accessible ‘obedient ingredient’” into staple meals, he explained. His take on soul food leaves viewers hungry to spice up boring, everyday meals with exotic twists ranging from a topping of sweet and succulent lychee fruit on grilled pork chops to serving a nori-crusted salmon on a soba noodle salad.
Starved for seconds yet?
Fortunately, this chef tackles more than meals; Mooking is also a musician. His solo debut album, Soul Food, draws from genres like rock soul, ballad soul and modern soul, among others. Far from his first artistic undertaking, Soul Food reaffirms his talent as an acclaimed recording artist who was a key member in the popular ‘90s Soul trio Bass is Bass.
“Food is love,” Mooking said of all his successes. “I’m just spreading the love.”