North Alabama man named finalist in Guy Fieri recipe contest
HARVEST, Ala. (WHNT) — Fred Baker is a man who wears many hats including dad, program analyst, and chef for his family.
After coming across Guy Fieiri’s “Big Flavor, Bigger Heroes” Flavortown Recipe Contest on social media, Baker entered among hundreds of applicants.
“I read the rules, and it looked like something easy enough to do, so I entered and became a finalist,” Baker said.
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He chose a Cajun-style recipe after learning that the grand prize was a trip to New Orleans.
“Because my mom’s side of the family is all Cajun, I knew that. You know, I at least had a shot,” Baker said. “So, I did an old Emeril Lagasse recipe that I picked up in the early 2000. And it’s a bacon-wrapped andouille stuffed double stuffed pork chop.”
He was just named a top ten finalist and has the chance to meet Guy Fieri, but the reason behind his passion for cooking is even better.
“I happened to go through a divorce and got custody of my kids,” Baker said. “So, I really spent a number of years focusing on them… and with that came lots of time in the kitchen.”
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He then had the idea of creating his own YouTube channel to serve as a video diary for his kids to look back on the recipes. The name: Dinner Dad.
“One of the things that was just always popping up is ‘What’s for dinner, dad?’ I thought, that’s that’s a great moniker, dinner dad,” Baker said.
Since then, the platform has taken off. Now, he just videos his hands so his viewers can feel like they are cooking with their own dad.
“I’m just going to keep creating content on YouTube and Instagram and just, you know, really doing it for the passion of cooking,” Baker said.
You can vote for Baker’s dish here by clicking “vote here,” and look for the video marked “Bacon Wrapped Andouille Stuffed Pork Chops by Frederick Baker.
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