If music be the food of love, play on. And conducting the orchestra of chomping mouths is Dante Gonzales, whose concept television show, Dante’s Fried Chicken, blends food with music and is attracting support from big names like Stones Throw Records to Santogold.
The program, made in Brooklyn and aired online, has a homemade theme to it, however is just the starter dish to his brand. Dante also provides food for partygoers at gig nights and hosts his own events where people are only asked to make a small donation to gorge on a soulful feast. “There’s something debauched about the way people interact over the food I cook at parties.” Gonzales says, as he surveys the scene at London’s Cargo earlier this month. And it’s true; on the hot evening I spot my Brazilian friend licking the maple pecan root-slaw from around her mouth in an intimate moment and another girl suck the Guinness apricot coconut marinade from the fingers of a friend. Certainly this was a refreshing change to the awkwardness of sipping a glass of ice through a straw.
Last week, Dante’s brand of food for all came to London as a test to see whether goer-outers here would bond over his cooking. Firstly, he fed 250 hungry mouths at a Joe Bataan gig before unveiling a set of new recipes at his own party the next night. The menu, including a 38-hour Guinness and strawberry brisket, had queues of mouths watering, waiting for fuel to burn on the dance floor. By combining food and music under one roof Dante has redrawn the framework of a night out. His concept blurs the boundaries between typical forms of entertainment; it creates friendships and utilizes the unifying power of music and food to redefine the possibilities of socializing.
Like a true professional Dante missed his own party and didn’t leave the kitchen until the last wing had been fried. It’s clear that he learnt from an early age that hard work is the only way to achieve your dream and it was here too that Dante first witnessed the potential of food to bring people together.
“I was raised up in Compton, Los Angeles, and come from the totally normal ‘dysfunctional family’. But, at my grandmother's house every Sunday or festive occasion everyone in my family would get together and even the most infamous feud would be put to rest at her events, as if the food made people shine, and just be happy.
“She’s really the person who inspired my choice to do what I’m doing, although I never thought I’d end up with DFC back then. The first time I tried to fry chicken, when I was about 7 or 8, I set fire to my grandmother’s kitchen. She wasn’t impressed and I got a few more ass-woopins as I tried to become more involved in her cooking. Nevertheless, she kept encouraging me, all be it at the cost of her floor!”
To fund his university studies Dante worked in a restaurant that served French food in San Francisco. “I don’t just do home cooking, if you want a rose from a lettuce that’s fine!” And, his studies of anthropology and film contributed to the conception of DFC when he moved to New York on graduating.
When I met with Dante he talked passionately about his various interests and experiences and it soon became clear that DFC is an inevitable and carefully orchestrated synthesis of all of them. He believes food is a unique educational tool, viewing it as a vessel containing endless histories and cultures. “I believe that one way to find common ground amongst all lineages of humanity is through food. A person might think that a specific herb or fruit is indigenous to their geography or culture but research into its origins exposes facts about colonialism and international relations. I think if you follow the path of where food comes from you will find a beautiful cross-cultural map connecting us all. I refer to my food as African influenced cuisine, not just soul food.”
In this, Dante’s food mimics the role played by music in many people’s understanding of cultural history. Each dish/track presents the opportunity for fans to deconstruct the samples that make up the finished product; archival exploration that’s led to the adaptation of the term ‘hip hop head’ in food terms. “A chicken head is a person who’s open to explore similarities and new ideas in culture, art and music, through the medium of food.” This newly coined phrase is becoming part of the core vocabulary at Dante’s parties and represents a generation of young people keen to branch out from traditional forms of entertainment and give their taste buds a chance to dance.
Recipe
Blueberry N Strawberry Guinness Brisket
Dry Rub:
3 tbsp mixed dry herbs
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
3 tbsp cardamon
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 cup paprika
1 tbsp coarse black pepper
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp cayne pepper
5 tbsp salt
Wet Rub:
8-10 dashes liquid smoke
1/4 cup Frenches Mustard
2 tbsp cup Braggs amino acids (available wholefoods)
1/4 cup Red Bull cola
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3-4 kilos of trimmed brisket
1 can Guinness
1/2 kilo of sliced strawberries
1/2 kilo blueberries
Method:
· Mix all dry rub ingredients and wet rub in separate bowls
· Score top of meat fat side up to make sure rubs penetrate meat
· First generously coat dry rub over every inch. Then carefully apply wet rub do not over coat it mix the wet with the dry making sure you marry the two on the meat wrap in foil refrigerate for 1- 2 days.
· After meat has marinated prepare grill for sear ring at low temperature.
· Sear booth sides of meat.
· In a deep baking dish pour one can of Guinness place brisket fat side up in the pan cover with foil and bake at 121 C for 7-9 hours, interior of meat should be at 85 C..
· In a pan heat up your favorite BBQ sauce (or my Guinness BBQ sauce) add a teaspoon of Cinnamon and ginger powder mix well set aside.
· After meat has been cooked allow to cool of for 20 minutes, draining the Guinness and fat juices into a container.
· Slice meat very thing slices across the grain, put meat into a pot add desired amounts of meat juices and BBQ sauce.
· Heat up sauce and meat for another 45 minutes on low heat add berries in last 15 minutes.
SERVE IT UP with peas n mash, cole slaw n Yorkshire pudding, or on a roll....
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