The Chef Show Season 1, Episode 6: Aaron Franklin review
By Louis Skye
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 19: Jon Favreau and Roy Choi speak onstage at the Netflix FYSEE Food Day at Raleigh Studios on May 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)
It’s a barbecue bonanza in the sixth episode of The Chef Show, as Jon Favreau and Roy Choi team up with Aaron Franklin for all things meat.
In the sixth episode of Jon Favreau and Roy Choi’s The Chef Show, the duo meet up with Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue, to savour the culinary scene in Austin. Franklin had a cameo in Favreau’s 2014 film Chef, on which The Chef Show is based, and it is only fitting that he appear on the show talking about what he loves most—barbecue.
Austin Culinary History
The trio tuck into some breakfast taco as they discuss the culinary scene in Austin, and how it differs from Los Angeles. Breakfast tacos themselves are rather particular to Austin, not having gained the same popularity in LA.
Interestingly, the food truck scene in the city also differs from LA. Whereas the Kogi food truck, which shot Choi to fame, was a small mobile eatery, in Austin, most food trucks are essentially trailers, and they don’t have to move—they remain parked in their spots for as long as they want.
However, like Choi, when Franklin began, he had a tiny truck, and only one cooker. As his truck garnered more fame, he added more cookers and eventually opened up his own barbecue restaurant. It wasn’t smooth sailing, though. Franklin admits to having had more passion than skill at first but as he began to cook more, he learned how to adapt and how to work with the weather, the wood, and the cut of meat that he had to create a great product.
He is also a huge proponent of cooking barbecue the traditional Austin way, instead of the more new-fangled techniques. Favreau and Choi agree that it makes his barbecue taste delicious. We’re about to find out why.