Rick Bayless Answers Five Questions with SCREEN

We have a very special guest today for Five Questions with SCREEN, and he’s here to announce the new home for his critically acclaimed culinary series! James Beard Award Winner and visionary chef and restauranteur Rick Bayless stopped by today to tell us all about his superb show landing on GoTraveler, his greatest athletic achievement (this one will surprise you), and his love of… American Ninja Warrior?!? All that and more as Rick answers Five Questions with SCREEN, and of course, we have to start with the food!

SCREEN: Ok Rick, today you can have any plate of food you want, anywhere on the planet? Where are you going and what are you ordering?

RICK: Restaurante Arroyo outside Mexico City. I’m getting Carnitas. I’m taking in the wildly festive atmosphere with mariachi music, norteño bands and all the dancing performers. Click here to join Rick on his travels throughout Mexico. And about those travels…

SCREEN: What will viewers love most when they’re watching your Mexico: One Plate at a Time series on GoTraveler?

RICK: I think they’ll see that even though some of the older episodes will have a different vibe, the thread through the whole series parallels the sense of culture throughout Mexico: it’s a place of deeply rooted tradition.

Take a sneak peak at Mexico: One Plate at a Time then click here to feast on the series on GoTraveler…

SCREEN: Worst job ever?

RICK: Never had a bad one. I’ve been working in restaurants since I was little because my family operated a barbecue restaurant. When it’s your family’s place, no job is too small and you end up doing everything. And I mean everything.

SCREEN: Your greatest athletic achievement?

RICK: There was a time in my yoga practice when I couldn’t achieve any inverted poses, so I undertook some strength training programs to work up to it. That was like 20 years ago. Now, I’m upside down pretty much every morning. 

SCREEN: Your best summer vacation ever?

RICK: My wife Deann and I just returned from a trip through France’s Loire Valley. We were fortunate enough to have the brilliant director David Bell invite us to a retreat at a stunning chateau to put the final touches on a new immersive theatre piece I wrote called “A Recipe for Disaster,” which debuts in Chicago in October. We also toured Combier distillery and visited a charming farmers’ market in Chalonne-sur-Loire, after which I cooked a big feast for our friends.

SCREEN: What’s that TV show you’re a little embarrassed to admit you love to watch?

RICK: I’m not embarrassed to say it’s “American Ninja Warrior!” I love feats of strength and agility (I love watching circus performers), so it’s a treat to see these athletes finesse their way through a challenging obstacle course.

[Rick… these American Ninja Warrior epic highlights are for you!]

SCREEN: What’s inspiring you today?

RICK: The teams at our restaurants. It’s been an hellacious 18-plus months and they’ve brought creativity and hospitality in the face of very difficult circumstances. That’s endlessly inspiring to me.

Thank you so much for playing Five Questions with SCREEN, Rick! Click here to enjoy Rick’s foodie adventures on GoTraveler.