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Brian Boitano generates heat on The Food Network
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Brian Boitano is hot on ice, but can he heat up the kitchen? The Food Network sure hopes so. Pull up a chair, folks: What Would Brian Boitano Make? is being served on the culinary net beginning 1 p.m. today.
The new outing features Boitano, who lives in San Francisco, in a number of culinary escapades. Beyond some wild get-togethers in his home, one episode finds the man feeding an all-girl roller derby troupe. In another, he’s charming his handyman’s supper club.
In other words, if “Martha Stewart’s Living” was injected with some testosterone and sprinkled with a bevy of modern-day sensibilities it might look something like What Would Brian Boitano Make?
The truth is, Boitano’s interest in food has been expanding for years.
“I didn’t grow up with anybody in my family who was a good cook,” he admits. “I think, denying myself food during my competitive years really made me more interested in food. I would see cooking shows on TV and have this passion to learn things. As soon as I gave up skating and I could really start eating regular food, I branched out and tested out recipes on my friends.”
Boitano’s mystique is interesting. A three-time Olympian, he nabbed more than 50 titles and was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the National Italian-American Hall of Fame.
He was handed an Emmy for “Carmen on Ice.” Book deals happened. Pairing up with fellow Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt for several skating extravaganzas didn’t hurt his celebrity either. Nor did a caricature of himself on the hit show , which spawned the cult phenom known as What Would Brian Boitano Do?
These days, he cooks. But beyond his chicken paella burgers or his crab and avocado crostini, the 44-year-old can only guess as to why his star keeps burning bright.
“I think when you are an athlete, it’s a different type of fame,” he says. “People see you going through this really challenging thing — competing and performing — and then you’re talking about how you feel. Actors are portraying a character and it’s not as tangible.”
In the meantime, he says he’s happy to be entertaining in the kitchen, a lot, these days. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
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