The crowd ate their way through a menu of Sock-It-To-Me Fried Chicken Tacos and Blueberry Guinness Smoked Briskets, all the creation of one man: Dante Gonzalez aka Dante Fried Chicken (DFC).


Dante is part of a group pioneering chefs who travel the world and bring food to live music, art and cultural events. “I come to different cities and they treat me like a rockstar or a DJ,” admits Dante.

His signature transatlantic African cuisine is influenced by migrating African and European foods combined with indigenous American traditions and elements of Asian cuisine. His trademark spin on the humble Southern Fried Chicken is an evolved recipe that started with his Grandmother Jean, a chef for jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and now boasts 30 ingredients, an inspired mix of global slow food ideals and the centre point to the DFC concept. This is not just fried chicken, it’s cultural anthropology.

His culinary adventure began in New York ten years ago where he provided his food to guests at the city’s warehouse parties. “I started at loft parties in Williamsburg,” says Dante. “I fried chicken alongside video installations and DJs.”

Showcasing Dante's culinary and musical curation skills, the jams featured the likes of M.I.A., Santigold, Mos Def, Theophilus London and TV on the Radio alongside a pioneering menu of over 100 recipes that included Coconut Rosemary Mac Up, Black Bean and Collard Greens Egg Rolls and Mofongo Gumbo Tamales. "The food of New York is probably the most diverse of any on this planet," he explains. "I eat a lot in Queens where there are over 300 different types of cuisines."

I'm glad food is finally becoming a recognised art form of cultural communication. Food and lifestyle have both finally collaborated in one of the biggest ways since the roaring 20's supper and social clubs.

He’s since taken the DFC brand around the world, cooking at events for brands such as Tiger Beer and Red Bull, as well as one-off pop-ups like our very own taco shack. "It's about building a community from the ground up," continues DFC. "Then you can nurture your core foundation and make sure you grow with them, so that even if you dramatically change your process or aspects you still maintain the core morals of the foundation you've created around community."

Dante’s own community, which has grown from strength to strength, has partly been helped by his dedicated social network followers. “Social networks definitely helps if you’re a food artist,” says Dante. “I’m frying chicken on the streets of LA, and I have people following me all around the world.” That’s not to say typical social communication doesn’t work, too. “I think word of mouth is underrated,” says Dante. “It’s not just social media. About fifty percent of people who come to my events are told by their friends.”


As well as the strength of his community, Dante has also experienced success thanks to a new interest in innovative food amongst people. “I’m glad food is finally becoming a recognised art form of cultural communication,” explains Dante. “Those of us who were doing these types of experimentation with food were doing so without any notion of what we were doing otherwise. Now all you have to mention is food and lifestyle… they have both finally collaborated in one of the biggest ways since the roaring 20’s supper and social clubs.”


Dante predicts a future where promoters and venue owners will redesign the interior architecture of their spaces to accommodate these chefs. “When someone is building a new performance space, people should automatically be thinking about the kitchen,” says Dante, who predicts this is just around the corner. “All clubs have a stage, but they’ll also have a kitchen. People are going to start doing innovative stuff with food, music and art. The food is just as important as the art hanging on the wall.”

http://www.dantefriedchicken.com