Andrew Rea Tells Us What It's Really Like Being On Hot Ones - Exclusive
Andrew Rea's journey with his show "Binging With Babish" kicked off in 2016 when he shared his first YouTube video. After focusing on the burger cookoff from the popular show "Parks and Recreation," the concept took off. Since then, Rea has continued to grow the show, producing hundreds of episodes focused on recreating clever foods from television shows and movies along the way.
With the growth and popularity of the show, Rea has released a cookbook, an expanding cookware line, and has appeared on a number of other shows as a guest or judge, per his personal website.
Among the most entertaining of his appearances on another show? None other than his interview with "Hot Ones" host Sean Evans. Evans brought Rea on the show for a chat and to challenge his tolerance when it comes to spicy foods. And we got to learn all about it. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Rea dished on what his "Hot Ones" experience was really like.
Rea would love to go on Hot Ones again
The premise of "Hot Ones" is simple. Host Sean Evans invites guests on his show for an interview. While answering questions, the guest tries progressively hotter hot wings to see how they handle it. And for Rea, he thinks he handled it pretty darn well. "I could still talk and I wasn't pouring sweat or vomiting or crying which was a really nice surprise," he said. And for Rea, considering he doesn't really eat spicy food too often, that was a major accomplishment.
Later in the day, off-camera, the spice certainly caught up to him once it hit his stomach. "I had to lay down. I was motionless," he noted. "My fiancé almost called an ambulance because my stomach was doing somersaults." But despite that gastro discomfort, Rea said it was a great experience and one he would definitely tackle again. "Not only is Sean another person that I've had on the show, who's become a close friend, but also he's the most amazing interviewer in the game," Rea said. "He is the most affable and informed and curious, genuinely curious, and effective interviewer I've ever had the pleasure of working with."
For more from Andrew Rea, subscribe to "Binging With Babish" on YouTube. For cookware from Andrew Rea, check out the Binging With Babish line.