They say geniuses are eccentric, but then probably the eccentricity is what sets them apart. For instance, would any normal chef think of removing individual grains of rice with a pair of chopsticks for a Guinness record or think of setting the fastest time for peeling 50 pounds of onions?
Bob Blumer, chef and author of the “The Surreal Gourmet” cookbooks and series, and star of the show “Glutton for Punishment”, actually set the record for removing 134 grains of rice in three minutes in Taiwan and for peeling 50 pounds of onions in two minutes and 39 seconds.
He has also broken the record for making the most pizzas in an hour (169). All this was part of his plan to set six Guinness world records by the latest, fifth season of the show “Glutton for Punishment”.
“It's exciting to break a record; it's addictive,” says Bob, who got into the world of food just as innovatively, with a book titled “The Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs”. The book received glowing reviews from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times Book Review and the San Francisco Chronicle.
His popularity grew as he wrote “The Surreal Gourmet Entertains: High-Fun, Low-Stress Dinner Parties for 6-12” and “Off the Eaten Path: Inspired Recipes for Adventurous Cooks”. Soon he was on television with his show “The Surreal Gourmet”. But Bob never officially trained as a chef.
“I believe that you should fake it till you make it. I just learnt as I went along, I've been self-styled for nearly 20 years. It feels like I did go to school; I just took the long way,” explains Bob. He is known to use simple ingredients to create bold flavours in ‘whimsical' presentations; his signature dish is a savoury cupcake.
“It looks like a cupcake, but it is made of lamb or salmon and icing made of mashed potatoes.” The way he comes up with these ideas is pretty straightforward — he experiments in his kitchen. “I think of flavours and combinations and taste them in my mind. Then I actually make the dish and taste it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a disaster. But it's all part of the process.”
Many would agree that writing cookbooks is hard because the instructions have to be easily understood, processes have to be practical, timings have to match and finally the dish needs to look like the picture in the cookbook.
“This is why most fancy chefs find it hard to write recipes because they know too much, their recipes might be too technical. But I don't know too much. I usually make an analogy of different food styles and I don't try to make the food look shiny. I just photograph the dish as soon as it's ready. I don't use any tricks,” he says.
“I usually figure out and record the timings as I make the dish. Then I follow the timings and see if there are any problems. It's quite simple. The greatest complement I receive is when people tell me that that recipe worked like it was supposed to.”
Being a gastronaut, as Bob calls himself, is not as easy as it looks. It does require some skill.
“One needs to be a culinary adventurer with an insatiable appetite for food. It's about tasting what's around and duplicating those flavours, with a passion for cooking. I naturally gravitate towards the kitchen. Yet I don't cook every day, like chefs. It's not a chore for me, so it's exciting,” he observes.
Anything can set off an idea for Bob — it could be surrealists Salvador Dali or Rene Magritte, his friends who are working chefs or south Indian street food that he tried while travelling in India.
“I'm content with cookbooks and TV shows. It's actually a privilege to be able to do this. I love what I'm doing and I keep praying for these opportunities to continue.”
Bob is currently working on a new show called “World's Weirdest Restaurants”, where he will be visiting unusual restaurants in each episode, starting from America. “Glutton for Punishment” airs every day at 10 p.m. on TLC.
