G. Garvin: MegaFest Star

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Chef Gerry Garvin, star of TVOne's Turn Up the Heat, is filling 10,000 seats with fans in Atlanta. It may be one of the largest gatherings to watch a cooking demonstration ever. It's all part of MegaFest, the Reverend T. D. Jakes's mega-meeting to rev up the spirit and feed the soul. Yesterday, Gerry made cherry tomato salad, with citrus vinaigrette, Alaskan halibut with cherry tomato sauce and Manila clams with cherry tomato sauce. Today, he will be whipping up short ribs ravioli with mushroom sauce and fried leeks and stuffed pork chops with ricotta and spinach with fennel sauce. It is the first time that MegaFest has featured a chef along with a host of other entertainers and preachers. MegaFest is a three day "total Christian experience" for the entire family. Gerry was invited to cook after meeting some of the Reverend's supporters at the 100 Black Men of America campaign. His reaction: "If you think they'll come, I will do it." Gerry is a new African-American star of Food TV. His show, Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin has run on TVOne since October 2004, within the first year of that channel's operations. He also runs a Fine Dining restaurant in Los Angeles, the eponymous "G. Garvin," and has catered dinners for President Bill Clinton and Senator Hilary Clinton among others. He is not a member of the Potter's House, which is putting on MegaFest. However, MegaFests attendees are also part of his core audience. "This is a groundbreaker," Gerry said, for MegaFest, which has never before had a chef appear. "It's one of those great honors." He added, "Who ever thought I would do a cooking live demo in front of 10,000 people?" The demo fits with his own mission, which is to inspire fans with "sophisticated simplicity and infectious enthusiasm." Will the pulpit become a major venue trend for TV chefs?... Is Emeril ready for MegaFest? (Is MegaFest ready for Emeril?) Other articles: Washington Post (subsequent) Previous articles: Todd English Chefs MTV Video Music Awards Gordon Ramsay on Jay Leno: Funnier than Hell Hell's Kitchen a la Apprentice: You're Fired! Bobby Flay: Tonight Show With Jay Leno Iron Chef America Meets Survivor Todd English: American Chef Gone Wild Technorati Tags: chefs food restaurants cooking branding cuisine television televangelism christianity --> back to superchefblog