Food Network Obsessed

Henry Laporte (Salt Hank) Reveals Salt Hacks and Elevated Snacks

Episode Summary

Henry Laporte, the viral TikTokker “Salt Hank,” shares how he went from doom scrolling during the pandemic to being featured on Crack an Egg With.

Episode Notes

Henry Laporte, the viral TikTokker “Salt Hank,” shares how he went from doom scrolling during the pandemic to being featured on Crack an Egg With. Hank dishes on his decision to quit his marketing job and pursue a career as a culinary content creator when his first video went viral. Famously capturing attention with a satisfying crunch and holding it through his creations’ completion, he details how he found his formula for viral views. Hank reveals what makes sandwiches the perfect canvas for food experimentation and the secret to the perfect build. He highlights the freedom the American staple gives chefs to elevate, downplay or feature versatile flavors. Proving you don’t need formal culinary training to make it as a chef, Henry shares why he loves creating cooking tutorials for followers on the platform that inspired his craft. Finally, he reveals what he hopes to learn from his future trips abroad, the biggest surprises of competing on Food Network and which of his idols he recently got to cook with.

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Follow Salt Hank on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@salt_hank?lang=en

Check Out Hank’s website: https://hanks.kitchen/

Learn More About Crack an Egg With: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/crack-an-egg-with

Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/henry-laporte-salt-hank-reveals-salt-hacks-and-elevated-snacks

Episode Transcription

Jaymee Sire:

Hello, hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and food network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we have a saucy TikTok star on the podcast to talk about how he gained millions of followers in a matter of months and why Salt is your best friend. He is an entrepreneur, content creator, and the mastermind behind Salt Hank. It's Henry Laporte. Henry, welcome to Food Network Obsessed. Of course, most people know you by your online persona. Salt Hank. So let's start there. What is the story behind your name?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, absolutely. That was just kind of the first thing that I typed into TikTok, username entry, and, and then I couldn't think of anything else after that, and it didn't seem like the worst name ever. It's two syllables. It's easy to remember and it's got my name in it, so I stuck with it and then I went viral and I was like, okay, I can't change it now.

Jaymee Sire:

So, well now you can’t change it. You're stuck with it for forever now.

Salt Hank:

. Exactly. And now it's like my actual name. Everybody calls me Salt, so I kind of like predetermined my future name forever by just like typing it in in TikTok at one point.

Jaymee Sire:

Well, that's amazing. Well, let's talk about TikTok because obviously as you mentioned, you went viral there. How, how, what led up to like getting on the platform and deciding that you were gonna be creating the, these videos? Because I know you graduated with a journalism D degree and, and really tried to hand it a, a couple of things before landing where you are now.

Salt Hank:

Mm-hmm. . Yeah, TikTok specifically. I just noticed there was like an explosion of food stuff happening on there, and I'd always been obsessed with food content and food media and everything related to that on like YouTube and all the other platforms, and obviously Food Network as well. But then it really started to sort of blow up on TikTok and it wasn't really just like dancers or that type of stuff that was originally on there. The food scene was like exploding during Covid. So that's what made me sort of get on there. And it was sort of just like a natural fit. It felt easy-ish and it was like really fun and, you know, such short videos. It's like not an insane amount of work or like a crazy barrier to entry. Mm-hmm. Like you're literally just filming yourself, cook with your phone, and if you have some sort of basic knowledge of editing and kinda, you know, how, how to shoot, then it's, it's pretty easy to throw together a video And, and like you mentioned, I have a broadcast journalism degree, so I kind of grabbed a lot of that knowledge from there.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you remember like the first video that you did that like went really viral?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, I had Covid and I made Mad Matheson's Pozole recipe and it , I think got like 40,000 likes. And immediately I like quit, quit my job, . Are you serious? Yeah. I quit my job. Like, well, I just stopped working. I didn't quit. I just completely gave up on anything else and that was, I was like, okay, we're, we're in this now. This is all I care about because it, it had been my dream for like years and years to be involved in food media. I still wasn't. And I was like, okay, if I could do it once, I could try and do it again. In worst case scenario, in six months I'll, I've gotten nowhere and I'll give up, but I have to at least try. So I basically just gave up on everything else and started filming tos like every single day . And that's all I did for a while, and it worked out luckily.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, it was a pretty good gamble on yourself, I'd say. I mean, I saw one video now has like over 70 million views, which is just bonkers. What, what do you think about your videos? Was it that kind of made them start to take off?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, that lamb burger went crazy. That actually, I think that sort of informed my decision making for like going viral after that. It was sort of a little bit of a formula in the beginning and I, I don't know if like, if people still, but all my videos start with building the sandwich mm-hmm. and it's kind of the exact same entry point for every single video. It's like slapping food down on bread, crunchy bite, big crunchy bite, stupid comet by me, some like goofy thing I'll say. And then that just seemed to really, really work well in the beginning. And then, I don't know, maybe people got used to it, but for, for the first like couple months of that it was, they were getting like 10 to 20 million views, like pretty frequently. So, so that little formula definitely was what really kind of changed the game for me and yeah, that, that worked. I still use it to this day, but now I'm able to kind of branch out and do other stuff as well, which is nice.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I mean, do you think that the, the internet specifically TikTok kind of rewards that, not not formulaic, but that kind of, you know, repetitive, you know, people know what they're getting and they, and they're excited about what's coming. I like why, why does that work so well?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, I think that could definitely be like a blessing and a curse because you do sort of put yourself in a box when you're like so focused on the numbers and you know why you're getting those numbers. Like I was like, oh, I can only do this one thing, but it also, um, is a blessing cuz you get really, really good at this like one specific thing that people are like in love with. And like for that, like I was able to just dial in this like formula like pretty perfectly to where I like, you know, my, my workflow was like I knew exactly how to do it and exactly how to film it and I could kind of plan the shoots and just, it was very efficient and it kind of all like made sense within those boundaries of like that formula. But then also like you become so obsessed with like going viral that you sort of like, well I, I don't even want to try and experiment with anything else. But then you're kind of forced to, cause if you go viral a bunch of times other people will start to do the same thing and mm-hmm and then people, like I said, get used to it and then you'll start to see comments of like, oh God, I, I hate this like, style that everyone's doing of like, the thing that you started is now like something that's just everywhere and people are so sick of it and you're like, okay, it's time to drop that and move on to something else. But yeah, if you find like a niche or something that's really working for you, I think it's definitely worth kind of capitalizing on that.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. And, and speaking of that niche, like you've mentioned, it's, it's the building of the, the sandwich. It's quick, it's heavy handed, you've got the saucy, the meaty, the, the natural sound, you know, your, your funny comments and everything. Was that kind of a premeditated approach or, or like you said was it just kind of happened and, and you decided to run with it?

Salt Hank:

So I made a video of a vegetable tart one day and it was like, the video began with a big crunchy noise and me like eating the food and that one did really well and I was like, why did this do well? Like the rest of the video sucked, but the beginning had this like one specific thing and I think it is that like crunch noise and like that is such a good hook for some reason. Like people I know p i I hate muck banks personally mm-hmm. , but I know people like the sound of like a big crunchy bite and I was like, okay, I'm, I'm gonna like keep that in there. And then you just do that and you can combine different aspects of videos that do well all, you know, kind of coming together and then you figure out what that formula is. But I think it started with like me figuring out that big crunchy bite mm-hmm. and then showing the actual final product in the beginning of the video and looping back to that at the end was kind of the hook. Mm-hmm that was mm-hmm definitely like the main thing.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you, have you had any moments where you had like a great idea and then you feel like it completely flopped or, or failed all the time?

Salt Hank:

. Yeah. I mean it's still like a complete toss up what people are gonna like and stock's like always evolving and there's always new people on the platform and there's always new shtick and like new things that people are drawn to. So what used to be like clearly a viral video now all I have no idea how it's gonna do. So I don't, I don't any specific example. It happens all the time though, but yes. Thousand percent.

Jaymee Sire:

We, we always see all the, all the ones that do well. Right. Not the ones that flop, I guess. Um. Right. How would you describe, I guess, your approach to food and flavor overall?

Salt Hank:

I think it's pretty experimental. I try to be as much as possible. I, I don't really have any formal training and so I didn't have any like, habits going into like just learning how to cook and cooking now even I'm sort of just like following my intuition. So I, I think it's, it's, I don't know, it's experimental. It, it doesn't really follow any like necessary like guidelines or mm-hmm. traditional rules or conventional kind of what you'd expect from a chef because I never actually was a chef. So that's sort of how I, I don't, I don't know, honestly, I don't really have an approach . I think that's the problem with me trying to describe it is I sort of just like throw shit on a sandwich and hope it tastes good. .

Jaymee Sire:

But I think, I mean it's working so far. I mean, like you said, sandwiches are kind of your bread and butter so to speak, no pun intended. What it is about the sandwich, do you think that is resonating with people so much?

Salt Hank:

I mean, everyone loves a good sandwich. There's few people who can't relate to like, just like the perfect sandwich and then it's also just a great canvas to build, you know, a meal on and regardless of like what you're making, even if it's the most fancy lavish thing of all time, you can still create a sandwich out of it. So it was just a great kind of blank drawing board for me to be able to sort of like, yeah, it is always a sandwich, but it's also like anything you could ever think of to cook, you can somehow, you know, like put in a sandwich .

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Make it in the sandwich. , make any dish and throw it in between two pieces of bread and you've got a sandwich. Right? Uh, yeah. What, what is the key, what is the key to a perfect sandwich in your mind?

Salt Hank:

Can't be dry. It can't be overwhelming leaf flavorful. Like you gotta have balanced flavor. It's, you know, you follow the same rules as like normal just cooking in general, like the flavor profiles all have to fit within each other. Like regardless of the fact that there are multiple layers, like, you know, it's hard to describe honestly , but, um.

Jaymee Sire:

You just know when you see it definitely can't be dry.

Salt Hank:

Yeah. You know, when you see it. I also don't know how many rules there are in this. Like, I get yelled at every time I, I make a video because I've broken some rule that I wasn't aware of before. Like, I did a duck sandwich where I poured a bunch of cheese on top of the duck. I didn't know you weren't supposed to put cheese on duck before, but the sandwich itself was phenomenal. Um, um, so I don't know if there are really any like big faux pa like no-no situations and sandwiches, you know, it's worth trying and if it sucks then just don't do it again. I guess this is one rule.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I feel like there's also no rules, you know, if, if it tastes good and you like it, like that's, that's all that matters, right? mm-hmm.

Salt Hank:

Thousand percent.

Jaymee Sire:

What is your favorite sandwich video to date that you've made?

Salt Hank:

Oh, it's a tough one. I, I love the lamb burger one, just because that kind of did put, put everything on the map a little bit and the, the sandwich itself is so incredible. I think there are some that flew a little bit under the radar, the, the french dip. I'm gonna go with that. Okay. That's like my favorite sandwich I've ever made. It's like the most extravagant one. I think by far. You make like this in crazy prime rib roast. You do a really nice like compound herb butter on the outside and it's this huge fancy like mean coarse dish. Mm-hmm. prime rib roast, and then you make like an incredible aju and put it all in a sandwich and it's just such an incredible meal. So I think I'm gonna go with that one. And also I was able to pull off the production of the video really well, which sometimes you have an incredible idea and the food itself is so good and then you just, just completely screw up the actual of the video and you have like, that's, there's, you know, there's two components to it and, and luckily for that one the sandwich worked out and so did the videography part of it. So, so I, I'd say this French dip sandwich for sure.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. Well, I mean, clearly if, if anybody has followed you or, or listening to you talk about, you know, some of these, you know, sandwiches and creations that you've made, it's not just making sandwiches, right? Like you're, you're cooking different components, you obviously know how to cook. Where, where did you learn how to cook? Or, or like you said, was it just all experimentation in the, the kitchen or was there somebody specific growing up that kind of inspired you initially?

Salt Hank:

Definitely my parents, they, like a lot of people, I mean, were just such huge inspirations to me in the kitchen. They always had me like helping out and making sauces and, and and roasts and stuff with them. So, you know, from the ages of like seven to 15, 100% my parents. And then once I kind of got ahold of the internet and figured out I could learn from YouTube and stuff like that, all those guys like Babish, mad Matheson, chef John, Joshua Weisman obviously like a, a ton of those dudes just literally taught me how to cook. And so I've, I have a ton of gratitude towards them and, and they're like so inspirational too. And I still like, that's, that's still how I'm teaching myself how to cook is just going to any of their channels and looking for ideas or, or new techniques or ways to spin things. So those guys taught an entire generation how to cook. Honestly. I think like there's so many people that didn't go to culinary school or didn't work in kitchens that are still such incredible like home chefs that learned from the people on YouTube and beyond. So a lot from those guys for sure.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I mean I think that can be said for a lot of different things, right? Like YouTube has kind of opened up just a world for people to learn for free, you know? Yeah. And how do you approach that as, as somebody that's now, you know, I guess teaching others to, to do the same?

Salt Hank:

Yeah. It's so cool. I mean I, I'm like thrilled to be able to show people, I mean like such little novelty things too that are so easy to do that people don't really understand as much, like pickling mm-hmm. or like making mayonnaise. It's like such a simple process and then people like don't know, like, I'll, I'll post a little tutorial, but how to like pickle onions. People are like, oh my god, this is like the, the easiest thing that I would've never tried. So it's, it's really an incredible thing to be able to like help people through, um, certain things like that. Mm-hmm. and just, you know, level, level people's cooking game up just like the smallest amount just through like, something as simple as mayonnaise I think is really interesting because those are the things I think that you can experiment with so much because it's just one component and one ingredient, but there's a million ways to hack it. Mm-hmm, like, you could make any million variations of an aioli, but it's always the same. You just put eggs, oil and some, you know, garlic and lemon and whatever else you want and a jar and, and blend it and it turns into mayonnaise. So things like that really excite me, like being able to teach people, cuz that's when I think people will go out on their own. Mm. And, and start to experiment beyond what you've kind of shown them is when they have like something like a, a pickled onion recipe and then they can throw whatever pickling spices they want in it, or they can make it spicy or, or sweeter or salty or, or less briny or more briny or mayonnaise. They can make it, you know, an aioli with, with duck fat or they can just go out and kind of paint their own canvas like I mentioned before. Yeah. But, so that, that type of stuff really excites me. Teaching people like the simple kind of basics and where to start on certain things. It's is fun.

Jaymee Sire:

Do you hear, uh, back from people that have actually like tried or recreated any of your recipes and, and like their, their feedback? What's that like?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, it's, it's really fun to go look at like who's reposting stuff and then like who's tagging you in their version of it. And honestly, I have kind of gotten my ass kicked on my own recipes so many times I'm like, that looks a thousand times better than what I made. But it's so, so cool to see people like thanking me for the recipe and then going on and making it like their own and, and making it better or doing like a different thing with it. It's, it's really awesome and it's, I I'm able to like kind of see it in my Instagram thing. It's like, oh, this person tagged you in one of your recipes mm-hmm. . So I'm constantly scrolling through that and congratulating people and asking them how it was and stuff like that. It's awesome. It's really cool.

Jaymee Sire:

That's cool. Is there something that you like want to learn to cook or learn more about that you haven't yet?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, I mean, I'd love to just get in the weeds with like, more traditional cooking. I, I love like making Mexican food and, and, and making Asian food and, and just food from across the globe. But I want to go to these places and, and learn from, you know, the chefs who are doing it like in the most authentic way. Mm-hmm. , I'm lucky enough actually next month. Yeah. Wow. Next month I'm leaving for Oaxaca for Oh wow. Like a month and a half. And I'm gonna learn from Alejandro Ruiz who's a, a just incredible like legendary chef down there, how to make some like really traditional oaxacan cuisine like mole and, and stuff like that that, you know, is famous now. But I think he helped bring it to the, to the world and I want to be able to do that with a lot of different types of food because I've learned from the internet, but it's, it's tough to know where they learned it from. You know, you want to get down to the roots of, of where it's really from and it's, it's cool to be able to do stuff like that now because I'm kind of in the space. So now that I have the opportunity, I think I really need to take it, which is what I plan on doing, so. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

No, that sounds incredible. I'm sure you're gonna be documenting the entire time there on . Yeah.

Salt Hank:

Yeah. I'm gonna have to try and figure out a balance of like helping them and him not being like, get that camera outta my fucking kitchen . Like, so we'll see how it goes. But the primary focus of the trip really is to learn. Yeah, I'm gonna try and film as much as I can and, and bring them as much content back to my audience as I possibly can, but I really do want to just go there and learn as much as possible.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I, I know you me, you mentioned Asia as well and I know you spent some time there before the pandemic. What do you remember about just your food experiences while you were there?

Salt Hank:

Oh God. I mean there was so much that was such like an eye-opening experience. The, the whole trip was insane. I mean, I, I spent a lot of time in big cities where there'd be like, I, you know, I'd just be eating street food. Every meal would be street food. And I was just like so thoroughly impressed with what dudes and, and anybody could do with like, the minimal like equipment. Like they'd have like a trash can and like a great, and like they'd live in like a corrugated shack on a corner and then they'd come out and make like the world's best like barbecue chicken on like this like trash can fire and there'd be like a line down the block. And it was just like so incredible to see these people making like such incredible food. And then we went to the Minta Way islands off like the west coast of Indonesia and we lived really kind of deep in the jungle and we'd be like spearing frogs and stuff for dinner and they'd be making some ball and just, and I couldn't believe how good all the food tasted. So that was, that was an ex incredible experience and I, I still don't really know how to make any of that stuff that well I definitely want to plan on going back that was more of like, just kind of a go there and eat situation. But it's, it's definitely like broadened my love for food into more than kind of what I had known from just eating here in America and stuff like that. So it's definitely a eye opening experience.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you think your favorite bite and or destination was from that trip?

Salt Hank:

, Vietnam. I was eating like four Bonies a day when I was in Vietnam. I was just going crazy on banh mi, cuz every corner has one and they're like 50 cents. Wow. So you can just go and eat a bon me every like 20 feet. You're walking, you get like a bon me and a beer and, and that's just your entire day. And I was obsessed with like the pat so good. They just would have it in this like big jug and they just, it was ridiculous. definitely bombies though. I was, I was a big fan of that.

Jaymee Sire:

Where else do you find your inspiration for, you know, recipes, content, videos, et cetera?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, I think a lot of the people on TikTok right now are really killing it. People are getting so creative just kind of based off of like necessity. I feel like there's so many people doing the same thing now that it's like so impressive what some of the people even just on TikTok are creating and they're doing stuff that I don't think is done in kitchens really. I think that a lot of people are still coming from that same background of like not having a, of formal training. So they're just like making stuff up that sounds good in their brains and throwing it on the internet. So I think there's a ton of inspiration to be drawn from literally just like scrolling on food TikTok. I love watching, you know, guys like Owen Han or, you know, golden balance of Mod. Those guys are all just killing it, making such incredible food. So love watching my contemporaries just play around in the kitchen. They, they're such inspirational people and I'm, I'm so proud of what they're doing too.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. And a lot of times you guys do, you know, collaborations together? I mean, how, how do you describe this, you know, online culinary community that's, that's kind of blown up in the last couple years?

Salt Hank:

It's amazing. I mean, I've, I've heard that in previous generations there's been competition or chefs didn't like each other, but the amount of camaraderie and, and just like how welcome I felt when I was kind of starting out. Everybody's so incredibly nice. Um, and, and encouraging of each other and, and just like stoked to see other people win. I haven't, you know, met one rude person or anything like that. Everybody's like, you're killing it. Like, keep it up, just keep doing your thing. Like, just so proud of each other and there's so much encouragement and it's all, I think probably just coming from a place of like, we're all kind of in this together a little bit and there's room for everybody and everybody's adding their own sort of flavor. Um, so it's really cool. And, and we all are actual genuine friends in real life now, which is really incredible.

I've gotten to like chat with all these people who before I was successful and by any means were like kind of, you know, my heroes a little bit. I was like, with these guys are killing it. Like all these, these girls and guys are just doing such incredible things. And now I'm able to like chat with them and, and have real just like normal conversations with them. I, I just got to meet Babish this past weekend, which was like the most starstruck I've ever been in my entire life. I couldn't believe it. I was like, oh my God, I I've never sh I'm like shaking right now, like a little kid. But it's so cool and everyone's just incredibly nice and it's, it's really refreshing and, and I'm very happy about it.

Jaymee Sire:

Coming up next, Henry talks about what it takes to develop a line of salts and gives us the scoop on his favorite food network shows. I know you also have developed a line of salts that you sell online, which is obviously very on brand. What is the process of developing a product like?

Salt Hank:

Yeah, it's definitely a lot of ups and downs. We're still I think now we've, we've kind of figured it out, but there was a lot of like learning moments for sure. I tried to kind of do it all on my own in the beginning and, and like, we were literally mixing like parsley with like raw garlic and, and, and dried garlic and stuff and jars, but it was definitely like a kind of mom and situation and just selling as much as we could. You know, I've gone through multiple like distributors and suppliers and, and fulfillment centers and things like that. And just learning the business is so, so it's like such a crash course in masterclass on, on, um, just consumer packaged goods and the salt world in general and just like e-commerce and everything like that is, I mean, I'm not really necessarily like an operations guy at all. , I'm, I finally outsourced it to somebody who is, but we had some very major screw ups in the beginning. And then we, like, just most recently even had a situation, I feel really bad about this, but we sold way more than we thought we were going to during Black Friday and we couldn't figure out how to turn on the sold out thing on Shopify. So we were at a product, but we were still selling. So a bunch of stuff got to people really late. So if you're listening to this and your salt got there a couple weeks late, I'm so sorry .

Jaymee Sire:

I, I feel like salt can get a bad rap when you're talking about sodium and, and that kind of thing. How do you convince people not to be shy with salt in the kitchen?

Salt Hank:

Well, I, I would say if you want your food to taste good, then you can't be shy with salt, right? First and foremost, I think that that should be a secondary worry. Maybe if you wanna watch what you're eating, a couple meals a day and then make something incredible for dinner or something like that, then you can, uh, be shy and your, and your, and your meals that are just for sess and then try to appreciate one meal and salt the hell out of it.

Jaymee Sire:

. I couldn't agree more. And I know you created a pesto chili egg on Crack an Egg With for Food Network. And in that video talked about, you know, loving food from the moment you, you tasted your per first piece of salami, were there any food network shows that you grew up watching?

Salt Hank:

Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely. I mean, several Man vs. Food, big fan of that, Triple D obviously, Beat Bobby Flay was probably, I think definitely my favorite has always been kind of my favorite. We used to watch that in college all the time. And that's actually another show I got a ton of inspir. I mean, it's such a good show to just go watch in one episode. You get to watch like six different meals get made. So, great place if you're kind of in a creative rut yourself looking for some inspiration, uh, go watch Beat Bobby Flay and I'm sure there will be a meal or two on there that you can maybe like recreate yourself. But yeah, I mean, everything on Food Network obviously is incredible.

Jaymee Sire:

So, I mean, speaking of Bobby Flay, I, I feel like your love for Calabrian Chilis rivals his love for that pepper as well. If you were on an episode of Beat Bobby Flay, what challenge would you win or hope to? Like, what would you go in there with on an episode of Beat Bobby Flay?

Salt Hank:

That's such a tough question. I mean, he is literally the goat, but I have seen him be beat/ Yeah. Several times. So it happens. I might have to hit him with that bond. Me honestly, like, I can't come at him from the like, you know, Latin or southwestern angle. He's obviously got that dialed mm-hmm and that's kind of like, if I had a specialty, I would say it was that. So I think I'm gonna go with yeah, that banh mi dip that I mentioned before.

Jaymee Sire:

No, I, I think that would be an interesting one to watch because I, I think for for both of you, it wouldn't necessarily be, you know, a traditional bond. Me. Yeah. It would be like your take on a bond. Me, it's not like, you know, it was like a traditional, you know, Vietnamese chef for something like that doing it. So I think that that would be definitely an interesting battle to watch for sure. Uh, what about Chopped? If you could create a chopped basket, what, what would be inside for the, uh, for the competitors?

Salt Hank:

I think I do pretty well with like, weird meat. I think I'd have a competitive edge if there was like a whole duck or something in there. Mm-hmm. like, I don't know, like a leg of lamb or something like that, that like people would be like, what do I do here? I could figure something else out with, with something like that, that I think might give me an edge on other people, but a whole basket. I don't know. I like mushrooms, weird meat. There's always like some, some like curve ball in there, like brown sugar or something. .

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, .

Salt Hank:

Yeah. I don't know. I'd have to go on the show and find out I guess. But yeah, I, I saw a bunch of, uh, talkers having their own see that own Chopped episode recently? It's pretty cool. Yeah. I was so proud to watch that as Golden Balance one. Yeah. Oh, my guy I mentioned earlier. Yeah, you, you kicked ass. That was, that was sick.

Jaymee Sire:

No, it was a, it was a fun episode to watch for sure.

Salt Hank:

That's, yeah, that's nerve wracking for those guys. I mean, for me it would be just like having the actual, I didn't mean to incorporate the word chops in here, but having the chops to be able to go on that show without like technical, you know, a ton of technical experience and, and make something mm-hmm. out of. And I it is all real. They were, they came back and I talked to 'em about it and they were like, yeah, no, this is all legit. Like, we don't fake, none of it's faked. We had no clue what we were getting beforehand. And the time limit is like, you are, you know, dead locked into that 30 minutes or however long it is and it's like, wow. That's crazy. You'd think the production would give you like a little bit of a hint or something beforehand, . So that's, that's terrifying. I mean, it's nerve wracking.

Jaymee Sire:

No, it's, it was, it's what makes it good, right? Like I feel like I've, I've co-hosted on Beat Bobby Flay a few times and I get the same, like, similar questions like, is it rigged? Like why does he always win? Like does he know the secret ingredient? I'm like, no, he doesn't like, he doesn't know. Like, he's just really good .

Salt Hank:

Yeah, I've heard that. People have told me he, he's, he will like bang out four episodes in a day having no idea what's coming. Just like, it's crazy. He's a machine. I mean, that's, it's true. It's, he is who he is. That makes sense.

Jaymee Sire:

I think that's a, a perfect way to describe him, for sure. Well this has been so much fun, um, getting to chat and, uh, hear your story. We're gonna finish things off with a few rapid fire questions and then we have one final question for you. Um, so, rapid fire round, your favorite TikTok follow.

Salt Hank:

Oh, toric Kitchen.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay.

Salt Hank:

Yes.

Jaymee Sire:

I pick that one up. Yes. . Yeah. Last thing in your notes app?

Salt Hank:

. Calabrian Chili aioli , . Wow. I couldn't, uh, been more.

Jaymee Sire:

Wow.

Salt Hank:

Yeah. That's funny.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay, well mic dropped there. No, we still have a couple more. That's incredible though. Most used phrase?

Salt Hank:

God, it's not even, it's so boring, but I say that's pretty good in like almost every single video.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Salt Hank:

But it's the only thing I could think of to say when I'm eating the sandwich, Mike. That's so good. But I don't wanna be like, it's so good cause that's what everyone says. I'm like, that's pretty, pretty good

Jaymee Sire:

Pretty good.

Salt Hank:

. I, I gotta think of a better one than that though, if I'm gonna make merch about it.

Jaymee Sire:

, what's the last plane ticket that you booked?

Salt Hank:

Miami. I just got back from South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, that's true.

Salt Hank:

Which was incredibly fun. Got to meet some Food Network legends out there, actually. Very cool. Got to cook on stage with Guy Fieri.

Jaymee Sire:

Really? That's awesome.

Salt Hank:

Yeah. What a ridiculous adrenaline rush?

Jaymee Sire:

Tell us about that. Okay. I know this is rapid fire, but now I, now I need to know more about the Guy, uh, cooking demo. How did that come about?

Salt Hank:

It was crazy. I mean, they, they, so we had like Foodie Con, which was like a little sister event to South Beach wine food. And they had me and Owen doing a sandwich on stage, which is like pretty classic. And they were like, by the way, if you wanna have a moderator, come on, let us know you'd like, and obviously we were gonna like shoot for the stars and never thought we would get Guy, but we were like, oh, guy Fieri, like, that'd be great if we could get Guy. And then like a week before they were like, oh, he's down. Like, what? You're, you're doing it with Guy? I was like, what the hell? My God. Like, holy crap. So we, we were freaking out. I was incredibly nervous. Um, he actually, his son went to my high school, Hunter, so I went to high school with Hunter.

Jaymee Sire:

That's funny. 

Salt Hank:

Years ago I had met Guy, so we had a little bit of common ground going into it. But yeah, me and Owen went on stage with Guy and made some cabanas and it was great. I mean, he's, he's such a pro and so natural, like on stage and, and such like a leader in those situations that he made it easy. He was just asking us questions, kind of rapid fire like this, the whole time. He was just like firing off about Cubanos mm-hmm. and how to just pick ingredients and just details and stuff. And he's such an entertainer that he just, he made it really easy, but obviously such an honor to like, be able to be even like in the same room as him. So that was one of the, I think probably actually the coolest experience that's come from all of this entire thing was was cooking with Guy. That was really, really, really incredible.

Jaymee Sire:

That's awesome. I'm so glad we got to hear about that. All right. Tool you can't live without in the kitchen?

Salt Hank:

I mean, chef's Knife, right? Yeah, it's gotta be Chef's Knife, . I've been using my mandolin a lot lately. Yeah. Chef's Knife.

Jaymee Sire:

Like that most underrated pantry staple.

Salt Hank:

Ooh, Creole seasoning. I'd say Creole or just Cajun seasoning like Tony Cher's or Slap Your Mama or Old Bay or something like that, I think is so clutch in specific moments. If you just wanna make like a chicken breast or any type of simple dish and need to make it taste good in two seconds, that is the easiest way to do it. Literally that with butter and garlic and lemon and, and it's like, oh my God, you just impressed everyone there. So definitely one of those. I think any, any type of Cajun seasoning,

Jaymee Sire:

Love that. Sauce that everyone has to try once or maybe sauce that everybody has to learn? Either one.

Salt Hank:

Chimichurri. Chimichurri. Yeah, absolutely. It's my go-to for a anything. It's good on everything and I literally could just eat it like cereal spoonfeed in my mouth. I'm obsessed with chi chewy. I, I could eat that all day and it's so easy to make. So yeah, definitely that one.

Jaymee Sire:

I love a good chimichurri. All right. Our, our final question is not rapid fire, so you can take as long as you want. On this one, we ask everybody the same question. Obviously we get completely different answers for everybody. So what is on the menu for your perfect food day? So like, take us through the whole day breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. There are no rules, so you can time travel, spend as much money as you want, be served by any chef. You know, it's your day. Just take us through the ideal meals for Salt Hank.

Salt Hank:

. Okay. Oh my gosh. All right. This might take a second.

Jaymee Sire:

. That's okay.

Salt Hank:

All right. Starting the day. This is like a Saturday.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay.

Salt Hank:

But enchilada in the morning has been like my go-to thing. I love an enchilada in the morning, so that, corn beef hash is my favorite breakfast. So like a really well done corn, beef hash, so that for breakfast, an enchilada, a corn beef hash. Mm-hmm. Boom, done, sourdough toast, amazing. Tons of salt, hot sauce, all that for lunch. French dip again. I've definitely, definitely going French dip, like a, a big old prime rib roast, really nice caramelized onions with like red wine and cook down with some worcestershire sauce and like an aju with some bouillon in it so it's really flavorful and salty and briny. Oh yeah, that's.

Jaymee Sire:

.

Salt Hank:

Love that. And definitely want to seal the day off with like a tasting menu. I think I'd just let Thomas Keller like, come to my house and make me French Laundry for the end of the day.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, I mean it's your day. I said there's no rules, so I think that’s okay.

Salt Hank:

There's no rules. Yeah, I'm just, he's hanging out at my house for four hours and making me a full 12 to 13 light course French Laundry tasting menu. , that's, that's dinner.

Jaymee Sire:

All right, well, do you have a garden though? Where? Where's he gonna source all of his food? .

Salt Hank:

Yeah. I'll let him figure that out. I'm sure.

Jaymee Sire:

I guess so.

Salt Hank:

We're all going to Napa. I'm cool with that too.

Jaymee Sire:

Well, I mean, that works too. Are you having dessert or not a dessert guy?

Salt Hank:

I'm, I'm having dessert if Thomas Keller's cooking it. 

Jaymee Sire:

That's true. 

Salt Hank:

But typically probably not. But if you know it's him, so.

Jaymee Sire:

I’m sure it'll be fabulous. For sure. Well, thank you so much. That sounds like a perfect food day. Perfect Salt Hank Food Day. And it's been so much fun just to watch your meteoric rise on the internet and continued success and looking forward to seeing your highlights from Oaxaca as well.

Salt Hank:

Thank you so much, Jaymee. This was an absolute blast. Really appreciate you guys having me on.

Jaymee Sire:

You can watch Henry's episode of Crack an Egg With on foodnetwork.com and make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.