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Canada’s Carnival Eats includes Erin Fall Fair

June 2, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Noah Cappe, actor and funny man, is hosting the third season of his Canada’s Carnival Easts on the Food Network during which he attended the Erin Fall Fair. The series takes Mr Cappe on a wild tour of  many carnivals and fairs, including the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, to see just how outrageous carnival eats can be.

First, Noah Cappe assesses  the choices, learns and shares the learning with his viewers of how these delights are prepared and, then, he consumes them: “We find the craziest things – show how you cook it and then, I eat it!”

A great many of them. This is his first foray into a food show. He comes into it with special qualifications.

“I have a cast-iron stomach,” he declared, in a recent telephone interview, “and a very strong constitution!”

Considering the menu he is ingesting at the many carnivals and festivals, he would need to have a strong constitution; likewise, for the ambitions he expresses for the possibilities of future recipes.

It is all in good fun, of course. As he says himself, “I live it every day but people just eat it at the carnivals they go to once a year. They go and they eat anything they like and don’t worry about it. For the viewer, it’s just to let loose and have fun.”

It seems that the secret of the carnie dishes are to be combinations of sometimes contrasting ingredients all dumped on to one plate and cooked in excessive ways. Anything and everything deep fried, including nachos; “loading” such normally stuffed items as nachos and perogies with unusual extras and unexpected elements: lots of cheese, meat and, probably, sugar.

Similarly combined ingredients piled on top of each other is considered excellent eating with no holds barred. The intent, it seems, is to find the path to the more bizarre and, therefore, hilarious food challenges.

The show is obviously staged to amuse the viewers – “it’s pure entertainment, cooking in a quirky way. It’s a funny show.” Mr. Cappe laughed. “People are trying to make some of the dishes, themselves.”

Naturally, some spoil sports, detractors, will object to the show. “People say this show is such a bad message but the carnival comes once a year and I’m going to let loose and have some fun,” Mr. Cappe said.

The third Canada’s Carnival Eats season, which premiered last Saturday, runs for 13 episodes. It has been a marathon filming for the indestructible Mr. Cappe.

“This year, Season three … with 13 new episodes already done throughout last season. We did season two and three back to back – 52 fairs in 12 months – 200 food items. In season three, there are close to 100 food items in that season.”

In all sincerity, we had to wonder how he did this.

“It’s one of those things. Others have gifts. I’ve been given an iron stomach – I’ve never been ill [with this food],” he stated. Truly a wonder.

Mr. Cappe’s ambition, as he begins to find the carnival dishes too tame, is the funnel cake club sandwich. Funnel cake on the bottom, all crispy and sugar coated, ham and other meats and cheeses piled on top, accompanied, of course, with all the trimmings of mustard and pickles – that sweet and sour succulence brought to us originally in our favourite Chinese restaurants – funnel cake on the top. How does one opens the mouth wide enough to bite into it?

As though to console us, he did say, “In between, I try to be conscious of what I eat. I try to eat healthy.”

Otherwise in his life, Mr. Cappe is a host on other shows and an actor, also appearing in the series, a Good Witch.

He commented, “I’ve been an actor since I was a kid.”

Asked about the likelihood of further seasons, he suggested, “The viewers will say. In the meantime, I’m just grateful for the three.”

The show is on the Food Network on Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and you can catch up on more details by checking the website:  www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/carnivaleats/

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