Bob Blumer was the creator and host of the pioneering

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

shows ''

The Surreal Gourmet ''The Surreal Gourmet'' is a Canadian cooking program on Food Network, hosted by Bob Blumer. The show features creative techniques for cooking and the memorable Toastermobile. Generally, the foods prepared on ''The Surreal Gourmet'' are intended ...

'', ''Glutton for Punishment'', and the host of '' World's Weirdest Restaurants''. He is also the author and illustrator of seven cookbooks, including the most recent Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better. Blumer was born and raised in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, but now resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Bob serves as an Ambassador to Second Harvest in Toronto spreading the word about food rescue and hunger relief. He is also an ambassador for Love Food Hate Waste, a National Canadian zero-waste initiative. He currently works as a spokesperson, does appearances, develops food-related content, and recently played a character loosely based on himself in the upcoming movie The Way to the Heart.

Biography

Blumer was born in

. .

Before cooking

In 1981, Blumer graduated from the HBA program at the

Richard Ivey School of Business Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...

at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

. From 1984 to 1993 he was business manager for Canadian singer-songwriter

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as " Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", " One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series ''Maniac M ...

As a writer

Books written by Blumer include: * ''The Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs'' * ''The Surreal Gourmet Entertains: High-fun, Low-Stress Dinner Parties for 6 – 12'' * ''Surreal Gourmet Bites:Showstoppers and Conversation Starters * ''Off The Eaten Path: Inspired Recipes for Adventurous Cooks'' * ''Pizza on the Grill'' (co-written with Elizabeth Karmel) * ''Glutton For Pleasure: Signature Recipes, Epic Stories, and Surreal Etiquette'' * ''Flavorbomb: A Rogue Guide to Making Everything Taste Better''

As an Artist

In addition to creating his signature surreal food presentations and illustrating his own cookbooks, Blumer’s illustrations and objets d’art can be found in many places: • In 2012, he designed and fabricated the Surreal Gourmet Suite at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto • In 2016, he was commissioned to create a series of interactive food stations for the iconic Canadian photographer Ed Burtynsky. • In 2020, he re-designed all of the public spaces and fabricated many pieces of sculpture for Shelter Hotel in Los Angeles. Blumer’s artwork has also been commissioned by Emeril Lagasse, The Benziger Family Winery, the Hollywood Farmers Market, The 2019 Bonavista Biennale, and the Jessop Winery Art Gallery in Napa Valley, CA.

Guinness World Records

As part of an episode of ''Glutton for Punishment'' shot during the 2008

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

, Blumer set a Guinness World Record on July 10, 2008, by flipping 559 pancakes in one hour. This record has since been broken in 2009 by Steve Hamilton, who flipped a record 956. Due to Blumer's success in Calgary, the fifth and final season of ''Glutton for Punishment'' featured attempts to break six other world records. He broke all six records he attempted. On June 12, 2010, Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for making the largest bowl of

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

at the 26th Tomato Fest in

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and p ...

. Blumer and a crew of Jacksonville volunteers made a bowl weighing in at 2,672 pounds. The feat was filmed for Season 5 of his show ''Glutton for Punishment'', which recorded Blumer's attempts to break six world's records. On July 4, 2010, Bob Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for most pizzas made in an hour at the 14th Annual Corso Italia Festival in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario. He made 168 pizzas in 60 minutes, complete with tomato sauce and cheese. On August 30, 2010, Blumer broke the Guinness World Record for removing individual grains of rice from a bowl with

chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the do ...

. He picked up 134 grains of rice in 3 minutes in Taiwan. This record still stands. On July 10, 2010, Bob Blumer broke his seventh record by setting the fastest time for peeling 50 pounds of onions. Blumer set the record in 2 minutes 39 seconds at the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival in Walla Walla, Washington, United States. This record still stands. http://community.foodnetwork.ca/blogs/hostsinterviews/archive/2011/02/14/glutton-for-punishment-bob-blumer-on-the-onion-episode.aspx

References

External links

*
The Surreal Gourmet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumer, Bob American food writers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian television chefs Living people University of Western Ontario alumni Writers from Los Angeles Writers from Montreal Year of birth missing (living people) Chefs from Montreal