Bob Blumer

Last updated

Bob Blumer
Bob Blumer (15863933231).jpg
Blumer in 2014
Born
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Culinary career
Television show(s)
Award(s) won
Website bobblumer.com

Bob Blumer was the creator and host of the Food Network shows The Surreal Gourmet , Glutton for Punishment, and the host of World's Weirdest Restaurants . He is also the author and illustrator of seven cookbooks, including the most recent Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better. Blumer was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, but now resides in Los Angeles, California. [1] Bob serves as an Ambassador to Second Harvest in Toronto spreading the word about food rescue and hunger relief. He is also an ambassador for Love Food Hate Waste, a National Canadian zero-waste initiative. He currently works as a spokesperson, does appearances, develops food-related content, and recently played a character loosely based on himself in the upcoming movie The Way to the Heart.

Contents

Biography

Blumer was born in Montreal, Quebec. [2]

Before cooking

In 1981, Blumer graduated from the HBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. [3] From 1984 to 1993 he was business manager for Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Siberry.

As a writer

Books written by Blumer include:

As an Artist

In addition to creating his signature surreal food presentations and illustrating his own cookbooks, Blumer’s illustrations and objets d’art can be found in many places:

• In 2012, he designed and fabricated the Surreal Gourmet Suite at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto

• In 2016, he was commissioned to create a series of interactive food stations for the iconic Canadian photographer Ed Burtynsky.

• In 2020, he re-designed all of the public spaces and fabricated many pieces of sculpture for Shelter Hotel in Los Angeles.

Blumer’s artwork has also been commissioned by Emeril Lagasse, The Benziger Family Winery, the Hollywood Farmers Market, The 2019 Bonavista Biennale, and the Jessop Winery Art Gallery in Napa Valley, CA.

Guinness World Records

As part of an episode of Glutton for Punishment shot during the 2008 Calgary Stampede, Blumer set a Guinness World Record on July 10, 2008, by flipping 559 pancakes in one hour. [4] This record has since been broken in 2009 by Steve Hamilton, who flipped a record 956. [5]

Due to Blumer's success in Calgary, the fifth and final season of Glutton for Punishment featured attempts to break six other world records. He broke all six records he attempted.

On June 12, 2010, Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for making the largest bowl of salsa at the 26th Tomato Fest in Jacksonville, Texas. Blumer and a crew of Jacksonville volunteers made a bowl weighing in at 2,672 pounds. The feat was filmed for Season 5 of his show Glutton for Punishment, which recorded Blumer's attempts to break six world's records. [6]

On July 4, 2010, Bob Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for most pizzas made in an hour at the 14th Annual Corso Italia Festival in Toronto, Ontario. He made 168 pizzas in 60 minutes, complete with tomato sauce and cheese. [7] [8]

On August 30, 2010, Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for removing individual grains of rice from a bowl with chopsticks. He picked up 134 grains of rice in 3 minutes in Taiwan. This record still stands. [9]

On July 10, 2010, Bob Blumer broke his seventh record by setting the fastest time for peeling 50 pounds of onions. Blumer set the record in 2 minutes 39 seconds at the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival in Walla Walla, Washington, United States. This record still stands. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza</span> Italian dish with a flat dough-based base and toppings

Pizza is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients, which is then baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.

The Surreal Gourmet is a Canadian cooking program on Food Network, hosted by Bob Blumer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginger beef</span> Canadian-Chinese dish

Ginger beef is a Canadian Chinese dish made from beef, ginger, and a distinctive sweet sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Reichl</span> American chef, writer, and editor

Ruth Reichl, is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and been co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. She has won six James Beard Foundation Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California-style pizza</span> Style of single-serving pizza

California-style pizza is a style of pizza that combines New York and Italian thin crust with toppings from the California cuisine cooking style. Its invention is generally attributed to chef Ed LaDou, and Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. Wolfgang Puck, after meeting LaDou, popularized the style of pizza in the rest of the country. It is served in many California cuisine restaurants. California Pizza Kitchen, Round Table Pizza, Extreme Pizza, and Sammy's Woodfired Pizza are four major pizza franchises associated with California-style pizza.

<i>Fighting Foodons</i> Manga, anime, and video game franchise

Fighting Foodons is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoto Tsushima and serialized in Comic BonBon in 1998. It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on NHK-BS2 satellite channel from December 11, 2001 to June 25, 2002. It also received two Game Boy Color video games released in 1999 in Japan, as well as a WonderSwan game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Pizza</span> Canadian restaurant chain

Boston Pizza (BP), known as Boston's The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar outside of Canada, is a Canadian multinational restaurant chain that owns and franchises locations in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cong you bing</span> Chinese savory flatbread

Cong you bing (cōngyóubǐng), also known as scallion pancake or "green onion pancake", is a Chinese savory, unleavened flatbread folded with oil and minced scallions. Unlike Western pancakes, it is made from dough instead of batter. It is pan-fried, which gives it crisp edges and a chewy texture. Many layers make up the interior, contributing to its chewy texture. Variations exist on the basic method of preparation that incorporate other flavors and fillings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of pizza</span> History of the food known as pizza

The history of pizza begins in antiquity, as various ancient cultures produced flatbreads with several toppings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Reader</span>

Ted Reader is a Canadian chef and author of several cookbooks.

Glutton for Punishment is a program on Food Network hosted by Bob Blumer and produced by Paperny Entertainment. The show features the host competing in various daunting, food-related challenges. He is given five days to become proficient enough in the episode's featured specialty, then his newly acquired skills are put to the test by matching him up against champions and experts in the field. In several competitions, Bob Blumer surprises by qualifying ahead of many pros—and he sometimes even wins. When he is not doing so well, he acknowledges the difficulty he has, often with self-deprecating humour. Bob recently broke the Guinness world record for the largest bowl of salsa at the Jacksonville, Texas, 26th Tomato Fest on June 12, 2010. The final bowl weighed in at 2,672 pounds. The feat was filmed for Season 5 of "Glutton," during which Bob attempted to break six world's records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Dundon</span>

Kevin Dundon is an Irish celebrity chef, television personality and author, known for featuring on television series such as Guerrilla Gourmet and Heat. He is the author of the book, Full on Irish: Contemporary Creative Cooking and his recipes have been featured in publications such as the Sunday Tribune and Weekend magazine in the Irish Independent. He has also cooked for The Queen and both an Irish and a US president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seafood pizza</span> Variety of pizza with seafood toppings

Seafood pizza is a pizza prepared with seafood as a primary ingredient. Many types of seafood ingredients in fresh, frozen or canned forms may be used on seafood pizza. Some retail pizza chains, as well as smaller restaurants, offer seafood pizzas to consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dishwasher salmon</span> Method of cooking fish

Dishwasher salmon is a fish dish made by a cooking technique where salmon is wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a dishwasher for a full cycle. Dishwasher companies and Consumer Reports have identified potential issues, including inconsistent temperatures and the risk of foodborne illnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick DiGiovanni</span> American internet celebrity and businessperson

Nicholas Channing DiGiovanni is an American celebrity chef, internet personality, and entertainer. As of March 2023, DiGiovanni has over 25 million followers across his social media accounts, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza in Canada</span> Pizza variants from Canada

Canada has many of its own pizza chains, both national and regional, and many distinctive regional variations and types of pizza resulting from influences of local Canadian cuisine.

References

  1. "Interviews". powells.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010.
  2. Montreal Gazette. "Celebrity chef Bob Blumer gives Mazon Canada a helping hand" . Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Flapjack flipping world record set at the Calgary Stampede Archived November 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "'Salsaville' breaks record". Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX.
  7. "CBC News - Canada - Canadian TV chef breaks pizza record". Archived from the original on July 8, 2010.
  8. "Waterloo Region News - Latest Daily Breaking News Stories".
  9. "Guinness World Records". Archived from the original on August 7, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  10. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Fastesttime-to-peel50-lbs-of-onions/49060.htm Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine ,
  11. http://community.foodnetwork.ca/blogs/hostsinterviews/archive/2011/02/14/glutton-for-punishment-bob-blumer-on-the-onion-episode.aspx [ permanent dead link ]