Hilah Johnson: Welcome to a very special episode of Hilah Cooking.
I'm Hilah, and as you can see I don't know how to temper chocolate.
Like I thought I did because I thought I was a genius and I could do everything, but I'm
about to go to Bacon Takedown and I'm totally late, but my chocolate didn't set up right
and I'm afraid that bacon dressing is going to be the only thing I have going for me today,
but fuck it, we have to go.
Hilah Johnson: Okay, so here we are.
It's like 3 o'clock.
I'm an hour early, so plenty of time to prepare and I think I get a complimentary bacon apron,
so that's nice.
I think I'm set up.
Let's go get beers.
I forgot to mention before that I made this bacon dress.
At least, if I don't win I have a bacon dress.
Take that!
Hilah Johnson: I'm here with Marcelo Nascimento of Lucky 13 Cocktail Catering.
Marcelo Nascimento: How are you?
Hilah Johnson: I'm good.
I'm Hilah from Hilah Cooking.
Marcelo Nascimento: It's nice to meet you guys.
Hilah Johnson: He's got a Bacon Bloody Mary to tell us about.
Marcelo Nascimento: Absolutely!
We actually took Tito's vodka and we infused it with fresh bacon, some jalapenos, onions,
and garlic.
All the kind of beige flavors that you have and not only just like a regular sauce you
cook with.
We took that whole process and decided to add the Bloody Mary mix to it.
The Bloody Mary mix itself is made up fresh.
It has the grocery tomatoes, which we grilled and then curated.
It has bacon, onions, horseradish, Worcestershire, all the kind of basic building blocks we put
in a Bloody Mary and we're trying to add as much as bacon to it as possible.
We really wanted you to taste the bacon and we think it's kind of neat.
We also stuffed the black olive with the pickle, bacon.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah, can I try that one?
Marcelo Nascimento: Absolutely!
Hilah Johnson: Wow!
I think that's the best Bloody Mary I've ever had in my life.
Marcelo Nascimento: Well, very cool, thank you.
[Music]
Hilah Johnson: I'm here with Matt Timms the inventor of the awesome Bacon Takedown 2010.
Tell us, when was the first bacon takedown that you entered in?
Matt Timms: I did a takedown six years ago in my apartment and just for friends and it
was just me and it was just as about chili and I was thinking to myself I should totally
make this a bigger deal.
I went down to this bar, down the street I love to go to and I just started doing chili
contests down there and people flooded it, but this is New York, this isn't Texas.
You wouldn't think something like that might happen, but actually it turns out people are
crazy about chili.
I was thinking, oh my god, I've got this great idea that maybe people are also having crazy
opinions about other stuff, say, for example, bacon.
Anyways, that was like years ago.
I had this idea last year and it was insane and I thought I could take it on the road
and that's why I got it with me out here.
Hilah Johnson: Are you going to other cities after this?
Matt Timms: Yeah.
I'm going to --
Hilah Johnson: Where are you going?
Matt Timms: -- Houston, New Orleans, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
Hilah Johnson: How long will you be gone?
Matt Timms: I'm not going to be away for long, I'll keep going back and forth.
I like in Brooklyn, I'm going to stay in Brooklyn and fly back out.
This is the coolest job on the planet.
If I can keep this going on --
Hilah Johnson: Yeah.
Matt Timms: God.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah, I know.
So, just basically you just eat bacon all day long to talk to people.
Matt Timms: I know.
I don't know if I'm -- I may be a little nervous today.
I just want this to go well, so I don't know how much space there is in my stomach for
bacon.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah.
Matt Timms: I'm going to try your bacon candy.
Hilah Johnson: Okay, my cup of candy.
Matt Timms: Oh, yeah.
I heard about it.
Hilah Johnson: It's a chocolate-bacon fantasy.
Matt Timms: I heard about it.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah.
You've got a tagline to everything.
Hilah Johnson: Oh my god!
I totally won the People's Choice Award, what the fuck.
Matt Timms: Yes, she did.
Hilah Johnson: I was not even expecting.
Matt Timms: Congratulations Hilah.
Hilah Johnson: I was not expecting that at all and then -- but you know what else is
awesome is this is the first time that I've ever won anything in my life.
In the 30 years that I have been alive in every one of these things, expect for now.
Matt Timms: That's sad, but true, but cool and true.
Hilah Johnson: Yes, thank you Matt.
Thank you, Matt Timms.
Matt Timms: No doubt.
Hilah Johnson: Hey, and good luck on your future journeys with Bacon Takedown.
Matt Timms: Hilah's the greatest and guess what else?
Hilah Johnson: What?
Matt Timms: I'm going to check out your blog tomorrow.
Hilah Johnson: Oh, you should because you'll see this one it within the week.
Matt Timms: I'm in it.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah, you're in it.
Matt Timms: Chili-takedown.com, FYI.
Hilah Johnson: Yeah, chili-takedown.com; got it.
Matt Timms: That was a good time.
Hilah Johnson: All right.
Matt Timms: Thanks for winning.
Hilah Johnson: Thanks for having me.
Okay, bye.