Blue ribbon or deep fried?
What is it about county fairs that brings out the daft glutton in all of us? We flock to stands touting doughnut burgers, frozen unicorn popcorn, deep-fried Twinkies and bacon-wrapped everything.
Some of us may shudder at fair fare. Not award-winning pastry chef and culinary educator George Geary, who oversaw the Walt Disney Company’s pastry kitchens for 10 years. His culinary arts-meets-pop culture career has included everything from Hollywood set gigs — among them, baking for the cheesecake-obsessed “Golden Girls” series — to his role as culinary coordinator and blue-ribbon judge for the L.A. County Fair for 28 seasons.
His “Fair Foods: The Most Popular and Offbeat Recipes from America’s State & County Fairs” (Santa Monica Press) hit bookstore shelves last year. Now he’s dishing on everything from Elizabeth Taylor to deep-fried Twinkies.
Q: Before we get to the deepfried stuff, how did you wind up in Disney’s pastry kitchen?
A: Honestly, my path was not planned at all. After culinary school, there was not a pastry job to be had, so I went back to school to get my teaching credentials. I taught for a number of years, then landed a job at Marriott hotels. Marriott was cutting hours, so I thought, it’s summer, I can be a Disneyland ride operator. They only had positions in a barbecue restaurant, so I took it. I did that for a few months, and then I showed my supervisor my resume. Right then, I was given whatever hours I wanted and then (put) in charge of the pastry kitchen.
Q: Most memorable Disneyland moments?
A: I created the corn-dog recipe that is still used today in all of the parks worldwide. I created cakes for all the guests at Elizabeth Taylor’s 60th birthday party (at the park), Once, I was asked to make the monorail out of M&M’s candies. I learned never to say “no.”
Q: Deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried butter balls — are county fair food vendors just trying to outfry one another?
A: The fried foods are what gets a lot of the attention with the media during the fair, but the fried items are just a small sampling of the fair’s foods. I am glad to see some of the oldfashioned items such as popcorn and cotton candy still offered.
Q: What’s a California freerange-organic-obsessed locavore to do when faced with a deep-fried L.A. county fair lineup?
A: Bring your own sack lunch! Q: Which state or county fairs do you find irresistible?
A: Dallas’ State Fair is just so much fun! Lots of dancing and food, lots of barbecue.
Q: Now about those deep-fried Twinkies...
A: The Texas State Fair was the first to offer this sinful treat.