'What Would Brian Boitano Make?'

Brian Boitano is renowned for his 1988 Olympic gold medal in figure skating and infamous for a song from 1999's "South Park" movie. But now the professional skater is working a different arena -- the cooking show.

On Sunday, Boitano makes his Food Network debut with "What Would Brian Boitano Make?" Quite possibly one of the campiest cooking shows to hit TV, it follows the Olympian as he makes meals for the likes of a bachelor friend, a handyman, a new mom and roller derby girls, all from the comforts of his real-life kitchen.

Boitano spoke with Slashfood about his cooking-show debut, being a "clean eater," his "South Park" song and the one kitchen gadget he can't live without (Slap Chop anyone?).

Have you always been a cook?
Well, not always. After the Olympics I really started to discover food. I always wanted to eat food, but I never ate food before the Olympics because I was always on a diet, and what I ate wasn't that interesting. Then after I started discovering food and wanting to prepare it, and then discovering different recipes and ways to prepare it -- just by trial and error. So it's like all self-taught, and just having friends over and finding out what they like, and what I like to serve.

So I've always, always loved food. In fact, for my 'up close and personal' in the '88 Olympics, I did a thing where I went to a restaurant and said I wanted to open a restaurant. So I've always wanted to have a restaurant and that kind of thing since I've been 20.
You haven't taken any cooking classes ever?
Yeah, I did take some cooking classes, but most of it is trial and error pretty much -- a self-taught home cook.

We only ask because you know the proper way to hold a knife.
I did take some cooking classes, but you know most of it -- I don't know how I learned how to hold a knife. It's so funny cause I've always held a knife that way. And I curl my fingers back too! You know, when you're holding the vegetables and you curl your fingers back.

What are some of your favorite things to make?
On a daily basis, I'm what I call a really clean eater. It's simple, it's clean and very few ingredients. I make sauces and stuff like that when I have friends coming over. But what I usually eat is fish. I'll do all kinds of fish -- usually just sautéed in olive oil with salt and pepper. And then I'll eat Swiss chard; I like leafy greens. Or I'll do zucchini or squash of some sort. I make all kinds of vegetables. I love vegetables, especially at night. As for the protein, it's usually a fish but I get a hankering for some steak sometimes.

Is this your house that the show is shot in? We love the stove.
It is actually. That's original to the kitchen, it was there from 1936. I gutted the kitchen. It's the only thing original to the kitchen.

How did this show come about?
I had an idea for a different type of show. I met with one of the producers [and said] it might involve skating in it. He said, 'Why don't we drop the skating idea and just do the cooking cause you obviously know a lot about cooking, and I think you could carry an entire cooking show.' And so I went, 'Wow.' Most people want to add the skating and not subtract the skating. So I was like 'great, that sounds really fun and I would love to do it.'

Tell us about the premise.
It's campy, and it's funny and fun. It's sort of reality-docudrama but with informational things and great recipes, recipe information. It's like a combination of a lot of things that really don't exist on any other show.

It's great you actually got to use the 'South Park' 'What Would Brian Boitano Do?' song as your intro. What did you think when that first came out?
I was really worried before I heard the song. And then I heard the song and I was like 'Wow, they were really nice.' I was really, really pleasantly surprised. And so everybody's like 'I'm so surprised you're using the song.' I'm like 'Well I wouldn't use the song if they were nasty to me.' I used the song because they were very nice.

One of your episodes involves roller derby girls and an all-bacon meal. Is bacon one of your favorite ingredients?
It's not. It's weird. I'm getting a lot of input on the bacon. Did you realize that bacon is like the No. 1 search of food? If you add anything bacon-wise, it's a hit. People love, love, love bacon. I like bacon, but really this show is about me preparing things for what people want, not what I eat. So the derby girls wanted all bacon, so they got all bacon.

Who are your culinary inspirations?
When I watch Food Network, I love Tyler Florence. I've never seen him make something that I wouldn't want to make myself. I love Michael Chiarello. I love Ina Garten. And I love Lidia [Bastianich]. I love her. She's really, really great.

What tool in your kitchen could you never live without?
The garlic chopper. I love that thing. Why would anyone chop garlic with a knife if they have that, right? You can save so much time by not mincing garlic.

Did your friends in the skating world know you were this handy in the kitchen?
They didn't even know I could cook I think. They're like, 'Wow, why didn't you tell us?' you know, and I'm like, 'Well, you guys never come over for dinner. We always go out to dinner.'

"What Would Brian Boitano Make?" debuts on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 1 p.m. EST on the Food Network. For more info on the show visit AOL Television.