Fresh off his presumably successful assault on
,
and the contents of
in Eastwood, Travel Channel star Adam Richman has decided to return to Central New York.
The host of "Man v. Food" will appear in a live afternoon show Aug. 28 at Chevrolet Court during the New York State Fair. He will cook, judge a food challenge and provide what he hopes are some "dynamic entertainment interludes."
His appearance is free with fair admission.
“The thing I groove on most is an opportunity to interact with the fans,” said Richman, who stopped at several Central New York locations last week while filming an episode of his series slated to run in early September.
It’s the second year the state fair has added a food celebrity to its lineup of events at Chevy Court. Last year, TV host and chef Bobby Flay took the stage to demonstrate his cooking skills and tell some food-related stories.
Fair spokesman Fred Pierce said Flay’s show drew 6,000 people, one of the largest afternoon crowds at Chevy Court last year.
Having a cooking celebrity is a good fit for the fair, Pierce said.
“Cooking and food have always been a big part of the fair,” Pierce said. “As long as people are interested in seeing cooking celebrities, we’ll try to provide that for them.”
Richman counts himself as a big fan of Flay’s, and says there won’t be much comparison, as far as the cooking goes.
“He’s a chef,” Richman said. “I think of myself as a guy who cooks.”
“My goal is to make great food accessible to everyone,” Richman said. “That’s my raison d’etre.”
He said he looks forward to the fair as a venue because “the state fair speaks to everybody. It’s a gathering, a celebration, a once-a-year thing.”
Details of the food challenge at which Richman will officiate will be released later in the summer, according to Pierce.
Richman said he’s only done such a food challenge live once before, at an AAA event. His TV show usually shows him taking on eating challenges, like giant burgers or ultimate hot wings.
He still isn’t saying much about his trip to Central New York last week, because “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
He did say something “awesome” happened at Heid’s in Liverpool. “You’ll understand when you see it,” he said.
He also brought home a sack of Syracuse’s famed salt potatoes.
“I haven’t decided whether to cook them or keep them as a souvenir,” he said.
Richman, who played lacrosse in high school and at Emory University in Atlanta, said the non-food highlight of his trip was the chance to meet with members of the Syracuse University lacrosse team.
“As a guy who loves lacrosse, the chance to strap on the Syracuse No. 22 (worn by such stars as Gary Gait and Mike Powell) and score a goal — that was a rush beyond rush.”