Not having a formal culinary education made the process of writing the book especially tedious since I had to learn the science of cooking and figure out how to adapt what I had [...]]]> It took six years from the day I started writing the first book, Top Secret Recipes, for it to land on bookstores shelves.

Not having a formal culinary education made the process of writing the book especially tedious since I had to learn the science of cooking and figure out how to adapt what I had learned to recreating well-known products. I see now that this worked to my advantage since the recipes were written in such a way that the book was easy to use for folks who, like me, didn’t necessarily have a lot of kitchen experience. My recipes required no fancy techniques, commercial equipment, or hard-to-find ingredients.

As I was putting the book together I was working as a TV news reporter in Arizona and Pennsylvania, so I tapped into my experience gathering information to help create the recipes. I interviewed fast food restaurant employees. I educated myself by reading a variety of cookbooks and watching cooking shows on TV. I went to the library to gather information on food production, all the while wishing that someone would hurry up and invent the Internet. I sought out exactly what I needed to know for each recipe on my list, and after several years I had produced the cookbook that previously existed only in my mind.

My art background came in handy when I decided that schematic-style blueprints would be the perfect way to illustrate the “top secret” recipes. I created each of the blueprints by hand using drafting tools and black ink pens that I bought at a nearby art supply store. When the art was done I made copies of the entire manuscript, sent it out to 30 publishers, and waited impatiently for a response, which I was hoping would come soon because, in an unexplainable leap of faith, I had just quit my job. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. Within a few weeks I had offers from five different houses who wanted to publish Top Secret Recipes. Of the five, I chose the biggest one, Penguin, only because at the time they were publishing books by a guy named Stephen King, and I figured if they were good enough for him, they probably knew what they were doing.

When the book finally came out it in 1993 it was so different from any other cookbooks on the market that it got incredible media attention. I wound up on several national TV shows and in newspapers, and book sales were off the hook.

The success of Top Secret Recipes led to the next book, More Top Secret Recipes, which was more of the same type of convenience food clone recipes and it also sold very well. For the third book though, I thought I’d try something a little different. For Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, instead of creating clone recipes for fast food, snack cakes and candy bars, I decided to clone recipes for the signature dishes from the country’s most popular casual restaurant chains such as Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory, and T.G.I. Friday’s. This book was nearly triple the size of the first two books and it was my most ambitious project yet, but I had much more cooking experience under my belt and the book turned out really great. I even wound up appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show with that book, which, for any author, is the absolute best show to be on. Today, over 13 years later, that book still sells like crazy and is the all-time top seller in the series.

 After that I wrote two low-fat clone recipe books (Low-Fat Top Secret Recipes & Top Secret Recipes – Lite!), a book of drink clones (Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes), a couple more convenience food books (Even More Top Secret Recipes and Top Secret Recipes Unlocked) and another book of casual restaurant chain clones (Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2). This next book due out in September, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3, is the tenth book I’ve written, and a personal milestone. Over 1000 recipes, 450 blueprints, and ten books, all inspired by a simple chain letter that triggered a career of cloning recipes which has now lasted for over half of my life.

(Excerpted from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3, to be released on 9/28/2010)

It was then that I saw the price of candy bars increasing from 15 cents to 20 cents each. As a true candy lover – I was your typical kid, after all — this 25 percent increase in price was devastating. Each [...]]]> At the age of 12 I was consumed with secrets and sweets.

It was then that I saw the price of candy bars increasing from 15 cents to 20 cents each. As a true candy lover – I was your typical kid, after all — this 25 percent increase in price was devastating. Each day I rode my bike for miles around Orange County, California searching out every liquor store, convenience store, and supermarket where I could spend my lawn-mowing money on any remaining inventory of candy bars that still had “15 cents” printed on their wrappers. To me these wrappers were a precious collector’s item — a symbol of my vanishing pre-teen candy-loving years.

After spending several months finding as many of the 15-cent wrappers that I could, I continued to build my collection by saving every wrapper for each size of every candy bar on the market.  Because I always ate what was inside each of those wrappers I tasted practically every candy bar sold in the U.S. from 1976 to 1978. I noticed how each candy bar was made and I studied the list of ingredients on the packaging. After carefully removing and consuming the contents from the packaging, I stored the wrappers in scrapbooks and shoeboxes until I had several hundred in my collection. I stopped collecting the wrappers a couple years later when the price of candy bars increased again, this time to 25 cents each.                          

While writing my first cookbook, Top Secret Recipes, 12 years after I started my candy bar wrapper project, I found myself in a kitchen creating clone recipes for some of the same candy bars that I had collected and inspected as a kid, including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Almond Roca, Mounds, and Almond Joy. I eventually cloned several others for later books, including Baby Ruth, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Twix, Payday, Nestle Crunch, York Peppermint Pattie, Mars Bar, 100 Grand Bar, and many more. As it turns out, my hobby as a kid studying candy bars and their ingredients had planted a seed in me that would later sprout into a facet of my career.

The money I didn’t squander on candy I spent at magic shops. In addition to obsessing over candy bars at 12-years-old, I had become fascinated with illusionists — back then these guys were cool. I bought dozens of magic props and piles of books about magic because I absolutely had to know how all the magicians did their amazing tricks. For me, watching a magician perform on TV was more about figuring out how the tricks were done rather than sitting back and being amazed. You might think that knowing all the secrets would demystify the performance and ruin the experience, but I found that understanding the details behind the scenes gave me a larger appreciation of all the work that went into the craft. I actually enjoyed the show even more when I knew how all the tricks worked.                                           

People who create good food have something in common with magicians. They too are artists in a specialized craft often reluctant to reveal their secrets. And just as earlier in life when I was compelled to uncover the secrets of the magicians who demonstrate their skills on stage, I now spend my time figuring out how the “magicians of the kitchen” perform their tricks. But what makes my current obsession more challenging than my hobby as a younger man is that there are no shops selling the secrets I now seek to uncover. I must figure out these culinary tricks all on my own.

It’s only recently that I realized that these two seemingly unrelated hobbies from the same moment in my childhood were the first signs of character traits which would guide me toward my career destiny.

(Excerpted from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3, to be released on 9/28/2010)

Here is our complete album of sweet memories from that day… 

When my latest book came out in November I took it on a tour of Las Vegas. We had a great time and shared many tender moments. I took photos along the way and posted them all in a series of Tweets on Twitter.

Here is our complete album of sweet memories from that day… 

We start here at the Las Vegas welcome sign. The book is excited and looks very happy to have finally arrived.

Center strip. Book says, “I wanna go there and there and there…” Whoa, calm down dude. How about some lunch first?

The book orders a hot bowl of French onion soup here at Mon Ami Gabi. I pick up the check. Of course.

After lunch the book wants to see the Eiffel Tower. I don’t tell the book it’s not the real one. Why spoil the moment? 

I explain to the book that this is where famous people get into trouble. People like Carmen Electra and Britney Spears. Book doesn’t know who those people are.

Took the book to The Venetian Hotel. Book really wants a gondola ride, but the line was way too long.

Book wants to see a fountain, so I bring it here. It threatens to jump in if I don’t find a better fountain.

So I bring the book here to Caesar’s Palace. I ask if this fountain is good enough. Book says, “Neh,” and hops into the bushes.

Then we go to the Bellagio Fountains. Book thinks this is awesome but we both agree it would be way cooler without the Celine Dion music.

Book wants to go gamble “on a hunch,” but sees Captain America. Both pose for a photo because, “We match!”

We make a quick stop down at The Freemont Street Experience light show. Book is in awe and really wants a drink.

So we go to Dos Caminos where the books enjoys the first of many chilled shots of Don Julio.

When we finally get to the sportsbook, the book insists on taking the Raiders in tomorrow’s game. That’s when I realize it has had way too much to drink.

The last place I saw the book was here at the Mirage volcano. In the middle of this eruption the book wondered off into the crowd mumbling something about “strip club.”

I still have not heard from the book. If you see it somewhere, please drop me a note on Facebook and let me know how it’s doing. I miss it.

And it owes me money.

Back out to tour a few more cities with the new book, I stayed at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. Great hotel. And there’s this very cool retro bathroom downstairs, across from the Capitall Grill restaurant.

I don’t usually take pictures of bathrooms. This would be the first.

According to this plaque there have been [...]]]>

Back out to tour a few more cities with the new book, I stayed at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. Great hotel. And there’s this very cool retro bathroom downstairs, across from the Capitall Grill restaurant.

I don’t usually take pictures of bathrooms. This would be the first.

According to this plaque there have been many other cameras in this bathroom before mine. Even women pop in, but none showed up when I was there.

This may be the most famous bathroom I’ve ever adjusted myself in.

While staying in Nashville, I got a tip to try something called “hot chicken.” Nashville made this particular dish famous. Really. I swear. Google it. You’ll see.

And when you’re on a mission for the best hot chicken in town, this is the place you have to go: Prince’s. So I went.

The inside of this joint not much to look at and there aren’t many seats, so you’ll probably want to get the chicken “to go.” You order from this little window inside and wait at least 20 minutes to get your food. The chicken comes mild, medium, hot or extra hot. I told Minnie that I can handle hot. She raised an eyebrow and asked me, “Have you had hot before?”

I said, “No, but I can handle it.” I like hot food. She grabbed a slice of white bread and rubbed some of that sauce on it and told me to eat it, which I did. My tongue began to burn, my face turned red, my heart began to race, and my eyes teared up.

“Yeah, medium will be fine.” I told her. I ordered some water, found a seat, chugged the water, and recovered from my near trauma over the next 20 minutes.

When my number was called, this is what was passed to me through the window: One-quarter of a chicken that’s been breaded and fried, dunked in a secret sauce and stacked on two slices of white bread. The dish is finished with a random pile of dill pickles slices on top.

I know, it doesn’t really look like much. But after one bite I decided that this might be the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. The breading was thick and crispy, and the sauce was filled with big flavor followed by big heat. It reminded me of breaded-style buffalo wings, but the sauce was way better than any I’ve ever had on wings.

 They may call this sauce “medium,” but after four bites I was breaking out in a sweat, and my eyes were tearing up all over again. But the flavor is so good, you can’t stop eating. You suffer the heat, drink lots of fluids, and suck it down.

If you’re ever in Nashville, and you like really hot food, you must check out this chicken. 

Denver was the last stop on the tour. My hotel was right down the street from this area called Larimer Square. This is where I found a great restaurant called Rioja.

I went twice to Rioja while I was there, because I had to have this appetizer again. It’s called “Fresh Bacon.” It’s a curry-scented braised pork belly sitting in a fresh garbanzo bean puree.

Fresh Bacon is a signature dish here, and it’s amazing. I resisted the temptation to reverse-engineer it so that I might one day recreate it at home. I just sat there with a glass of red wine and enjoyed it.

My last TV appearance in Denver was at NBC on a show called Colorado & Company. Rob Schneider was also on the show promoting his standup appearance that night at Comedy Works. 

They threw Rob onto the cooking set with me just before the commercial to tease his segment coming up next. He worked over the dough for the clone of McDonald’s Cinnamon Melts and generally goofed around with sharp instruments.

It went over so well that I hear he is now in talks with a couple major networks for a new cooking show called “Doin’ it in the Kitchen with Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigalo.”

I was in Philadelphia for an appearance at  FOX 29 in Philadelphia today. Here’s a shot from the end of the show after Mike Jerrick (formerly on Morning Show with Mike & Juliet) ate a couple things from the book that are packed with sugar. He doesn’t usually eat sugar.

Look at him go — he’s doing the [...]]]>

I was in Philadelphia for an appearance at  FOX 29 in Philadelphia today. Here’s a shot from the end of the show after Mike Jerrick (formerly on Morning Show with Mike & Juliet) ate a couple things from the book that are packed with sugar. He doesn’t usually eat sugar.

Look at him go — he’s doing the “sugar-high jig.”  

After the show I set out to visit three top cheesesteak joints in The City of Brotherly Love for a down-and-dirty, loosen-the-belt-a-notch, Philly cheesesteak taste-off.

At each location I order the cheesesteak with grilled onions (”wit”), and chose the cheese that is considered the house specialty.

First stop is Tony Luke’s. Here the cheesesteaks are made with sliced rib-eye, and I order mine with white American cheese and wait about 4 minutes to get it. The bread here is perfectly fresh, but with a bite. Not too soft. And there’s lots of meat in there. I eat almost the whole thing but was forced to pitch about a quarter of the sandwich to save room for more cheesesteaks down the road. 

Next stop is Geno’s Steaks. This place has the most colorful building and the most colorful characters inside. Hey look, there’s the owner, Joey Vento!

Now let’s get to the food.

I order the specialty of the house: One steak wit onions and Whiz (Cheeze Whiz), and it’s ready in about 20 seconds. Unfortunately the small amount of meat on my sandwich is lost in the large roll, and the bread has no character. Whiz tastes like fake cheese to me, so it ruined the overall flavor of the cheesesteak. And the sandwich would definitely have benefited from more meat.

And some ketchup.

The final stop is Pat’s King of Steaks, which is right across the street from Geno’s. Here I get the steak with provolone and it’s in my hands in about 30 seconds. The first thing I notice is that the provolone is laid into the roll and the steak is piled on top of it, which means it’s not melted. The sandwich would be much tastier if the cheese is worked into the meat on the grill a bit before loading the roll.

When I go to take a bite out of this one a river of beef juice slides down my arm. Good thing I was standing.

But once I get my mouth around this sandwich, I like what I taste. The meat is good, the sandwich is loaded, and the roll is exactly what you expect from a Philly Cheeseteak: Good texture, good flavor, with a slight chew.

The verdict:

A great Philly cheesesteak starts with a good roll. It shouldn’t be too big or you won’t taste the meat. And it should be slightly chewy, yet fresh.

It’s also important to use good quality beef,  and the cheese should be entirely melted and combined with the meat so that every bite is a good one.

The only steak joint that got it all right was Tony Luke’s. You might have to wait longer for your steak here, but it’s worth it. The other spots didn’t take the time to work the cheese into the meat. They rushed the product, and it showed.

Tony Luke’s makes cheesesteaks the way I think great Philadelphia cheesesteak should be made, with good ingredients and with Brotherly Love. These steaks taste like Philly and not like something you’d get at a parking lot carnival in, say, Las Vegas.

Pat’s comes in at a close second. 

As for Geno’s? Sorry, Joey. You’re a cool cat, but today your steaks were not my favorite. Perhaps it was the Whiz? I don’t like Whiz so I probably shouldn’t have ordered it that way. Maybe I should go back and try yours again with American? That would be a proper taste test.

And come to think of it, I do have another day here.

Right now though, I think I need a nap.

How cold is it in Chicago during the holidays? It was 2 degrees when I got there in December, and that’s farenheit! I totally did not pack for such crazy cold so I layered 4 shirts over another 4 shirts with another shirt on top, and went hunting for chow.

Good thing I could keep warm [...]]]>

How cold is it in Chicago during the holidays? It was 2 degrees when I got there in December, and that’s farenheit! I totally did not pack for such crazy cold so I layered 4 shirts over another 4 shirts with another shirt on top, and went hunting for chow.

Good thing I could keep warm inside my stretch limo here.

Okay, that’s not my limo. I walked. 

First stop is Portillo’s for Chicago-style hot dogs. I went there first not only because I’ve heard good things about these dogs, but also because it was really close to my hotel and I felt my face falling off.

I really love these dogs. Portillo’s slaps an oversized hot dog into a fresh poppy seed bun, adds mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and a wedge of dill pickle for a deliciously messy masterpiece that falls everywhere when you bite into it. 

I liked the dogs so much that I went there three times in three days for the same thing each time (is that weird?): 2 Portillo Dogs with the works. Later I found out I should have tried the Italian Beef. That’s Portillo’s signature sandwich. Damn. But the dogs were great.

Next I went looking for deep dish pizza and found myself sitting with this beautiful pie at Pizzeria Due just a couple blocks from Portillo’s. This pizza was good, but not even close to as good as the deep dish made at my next stop. You can easily tell which joint had the better food even before going inside.

Here’s Pizzeria Due. No Line.

And this is Gino’s East. This is the pizza to eat when you’re in Chicago. The deep dish is awesome, but so’s the inside of the restaurant.

When you go to Gino’s bring a Sharpie and some Wite-Out because graffiti is encouraged.

While you’re waiting 45 minutes for your pizza to bake, take a stroll around the restaurant and look at the walls.

And the video games.

And the vending machines.

And the decor.

And the thermostat.

Even look down at the chair you’re sitting on.

And in 45 minutes you’ll get one of these beautiful deep dish pizzas. Mine came with sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and jalapenos on top.

These pizzas are built differently than other pies. The cheese, which is delicious, goes on the dough first, followed by the toppings. Then sauce is spread over the top.

But the best part of this pizza is the crust. See that yellow tint? The secret ingredient in this crust is cornmeal. There’s a lot of crust here, and you’ll want to eat it all. It’s great, and totally worth the wait.

I went back again the next day.

While I was waiting for my pizza the second time around I found this upstairs…

It’s Larry Thomas as The Soup Nazi from Seinfeld!  (Check out this post)

Gino’s rules.

Okay, here we go again.

Although this is the 9th time I’ve set out on a multi-city promotional tour with a new book, I still haven’t figured out how to pack right. But who cares? You can always buy a scarf here and a hat there when you find out that temps will plunge [...]]]>

Okay, here we go again.

Although this is the 9th time I’ve set out on a multi-city promotional tour with a new book, I still haven’t figured out how to pack right. But who cares? You can always buy a scarf here and a hat there when you find out that temps will plunge to single digits by the time you hit Chicago.

The bottom line is this: These trips are a total adventure, and you’re really lucky to be there (wherever “there” may be).

You find yourself in a lot of airports. That’s when you try to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

You often reach those destinations late at night and fall into bed without unpacking. When you wake up and throw open the curtains in the early morning, you often discover a great sight like this one from my room at the Four Seasons in St. Louis. 

But on some mornings it still looks like night out.

You get to appear on some great national TV shows like Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel.

Here’s the view of the set from behind the table where I’m about to clone Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts. When we plugged in the fryer it knocked out the power to part of the set. They lost a few monitors and lights, but somehow got everything back on just before coming over to me.

Sometimes you experience crazy, unforgettable moments like that.

Sometimes you appear on a shopping channel, like The Shopping Channel in Toronto. It’s basically Canada’s version of QVC. I appeared on the channel 7 times throughout the day — all that food on the table was sitting there for over 24 hours.

So don’t eat the shrimp.

But mostly what you do is appear on morning and afternoon news shows on local affiliates like this one here at KSDK-TV, the NBC station in St. Louis.

This is the “Noon News,” and I’m about to go on with these cloned Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Do they look nervous? 

This one is the “Noon News” at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. Julie was on a diet, so she didn’t eat any of the food. That was okay since we only had a few minutes for the interview and it’s hard to talk with your mouth full.

This is “Chicago This Morning” at WBBM-TV (CBS). Here I’m talking about McDonald’s Cinnamon Melts with Don Schwenneker who happened to have an old copy of Top Secret Restaurant Recipes with him. He says his wife bought it years ago for the Olive Garden Salad Dressing clone. That’s so cool.

He had me sign the book.

And here I am at KDFW-TV, Fox 4 in Dallas with Lauren and Tim. They helped me make a clone of Panera Bread French Onion Soup.

Lauren spilled beef broth all over the cooktop. But the soup still looked good.

Now it’s time to go home.

I’m glad. I had my adventure and everyone was really great. It’s moments like these that make a book tour special. 

Those are just a few of the hits. And this…

This is what I miss.