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10 Questions with Chef ... Dave Lieberman

Written by Susan Dyer Reynolds, Northside Editor

Friday, 30 September 2005

It’s early Saturday morning and Dave Lieberman, host of the Food Network series Good Deal and author of the cookbook Young and Hungry, is preparing to do a cooking demo in The Cellar at Macy’s. This is stop number six of eight on The Cellar Tour, and he was hopping a flight to San Diego later that afternoon for number seven, but Lieberman is brimming with enthusiasm and an obvious sense of joy for what he is doing. With book signings, cooking demos, recipe testing, and the second season of Good Deal launching on October 8, most people would be exhausted, but Lieberman has youth on his side – he’s only 25. People magazine put the cherry on top of a phenomenal couple of years this past June by naming him one of their hottest bachelors,” but none of the success has gone to his head. I sat down with the down-to-earth chef to find out how he got here and what the future holds. Where were you born? I was born in Philadelphia, but I live in New York now, where the show is shot. Who or what was your biggest cooking influence? The first restaurant I worked at was French – heavy sauces, lots of butter, cream. So probably the second restaurant I worked at in Philly, Audrey Clare – they were doing this really clean Mediterranean food that was new to me and I really loved it. What is your first memory of working in a kitchen? Cooking with my father when I was 5 or 6. He was a stay-at-home dad, so he did the cooking while my mom put the bread on the table. It got me interested. I started watching cooking shows and trying to make the recipes. When I was about 7 I tried to do something really gourmet that I saw on a show – salmon wrapped in romaine and steamed – it turned out gross! What is your proudest cooking, food or restaurant moment? Seeing my food on national television for the first time. Not seeing yourself on national television for the first time? No! (Smiles, turns red) Just seeing my food! What is your favorite ingredient? Beets. I love them. I love the flavor, and their color is incredible. I even dyed a pair of wedding shoes with beet juice for a charity auction. What is your least favorite ingredient? (Pointing to Luke Sung’s photograph in the First Annual Best of Northside Food issue) I’m with Luke Sung – I don’t like okra either. I agree with him – it’s slimy. Even when you fry it, you bite into it and it’s like glycerin. If you weren’t a chef, what would you be? Not a chef ... hmmm. I’d be [U2 lead singer] Bono. Who is the audience for your book and your show? It’s really broad, from teenagers to retired people. I get a lot of older people coming up and saying, “You remind me of my son when he was 25.” How did you end up with a show on the Food Network? When I was at Yale, I had this public television show called Campus Cuisine. The New York Times covered the show for a story about young people who are into cooking and someone from the Food Network saw the article, which led to Good Deal. I realized early on that I didn’t want to be a restaurant chef – it takes a certain personality; I didn’t like the daily toil. I was more about experimenting, creating recipes and enjoying food with my friends – that’s the part that really jived with me. You can cook, you’ve got your own TV show, and on top of all that, People magazine voted you one of the Hottest Bachelors.” Have the marriage proposals been rolling in? Surprisingly, no (laughs). Although I have had a couple of fathers write in offering their daughters – it’s really disconcerting. One guy sent photos of his daughter in a ballet outfit. But no, I don’t have marriage proposals lined up or groupies. But that’s okay, because I’m happy just cooking. All I got out of the People thing is my friends making fun of me.

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