Hannah Hart wants to do ‘more and better’

In the span of about seven years, Hannah Hart has built herself into something of a cottage industry. She’s created the popular foodie series “My Drunk Kitchen” and her channel MyHarto on YouTube, written two books, produced a movie and several TV shows, racked up about a dozen acting credits and launched her Food Network series “I Hart Food,” in which she explores the signature foods and flavors of various U.S. cities. But ask her what stands out from Season 1 of that show and she’ll tell you every moment does – with one perhaps ranking higher than others. “A memorable moment includes running into George R.R. Martin, the author of ‘Game of Thrones,’ inside a Tecolote (Café), which was crazy,” she says. “We were shooting breakfast and then George R.R. Martin’s in there and he was kind enough to jump in the show with us because he wanted to talk about how much he loves Santa Fe. So that was just wild.” In that episode, which airs as an encore telecast Wednesday, Feb. 21, on Cooking Channel, she takes viewers to the New Mexico capital to check out its culinary scene, which is dominated by the chili pepper. Red or green, it seems everyone there has a strong opinion on these spicy hot delicacies, a topic Hart dove into with enthusiasm. “I’m all about the Scoville scale. I’m a pepper person . ... I’ve been known to dabble,” she says. “There is a huge debate in Santa Fe about red versus green. Some people prefer red sauce, some prefer green sauce, some people love the chili pepper in all of its forms . ... . And the chef we had that day was just so knowledgeable and so passionate about the cuisine that he was just a sheer delight to talk to.”

What book are you currently reading?

“‘Steppenwolf ’ by Hermann Hesse. I’ve never read it and I’m reading it.”

What did you have for dinner last night?

“We had pesto pasta with really good veggie sausage that my partner’s really into. And we’re not vegetarians or anything, but I do like to try out all the different styles of meat and nonmeat, just because I’m curious about foods in general.”

What is your next project?

“You know how people always say you’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot? Well for me, I want to make the iron hot by continually striking and so when I think about my next project I just think about continually striking. I feel really great about everything I’ve made so far and I just want to do more and better.”

When was your last vacation, where and why?

“I think it was summer of 2017, I went to Tulum (Mexico) and it was lovely ... the ambiance of being by the ocean and trying to re-energize for the year.”