When Antoni Porowski moved his knife to chop parsley on a wooden cutting board, a crowd of nearly 1,300 people cheered him on. Porowski was center stage in Goldstein Auditorium at Syracuse University, preparing a farm-fresh salad.

“You guys like never make food? I’m literally just cutting parsley!” he said.

On each episode of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” Porowski transforms the lives of families by teaching them about the accessibility of home cooking. The food and wine specialist spoke at SU on Saturday night for a cooking demonstration, moderated discussion and audience Q&A session.

The event, sponsored by University Union and Traditions Commission, kicked off with the 2018 Homecoming Court crowning of this year’s king and queen. Senior television, radio and film majors Danny Higgins and Katie Dills were crowned king and queen.

Porowski walked on stage, greeted by a roar from the crowd, where a white-clothed table was set with a cutting board, tools and ingredients. He paid tribute to Syracuse, wearing a Strong Hearts Cafe T-shirt under his studded, leather jacket and mentioning the SU football game from earlier in the day.

“Hey, Siri, who won the Syracuse game today?” he said, knowing the double-overtime victory against the University of North Carolina would send the audience erupting into cheers.

Porowski wasted no time getting into the cooking demonstration. He said he’d prepare a college-friendly salad that’s “quick” and “simple” — two of his favorite words. The dish is a sneak-peak recipe which will be featured in Porowski’s cookbook, set to be released next year.

But the Fab Five member said he needed some assistance with the demonstration. He called Higgins and Dills to the stage to help him prep carrots and dates. While they helped slice and peel, Porowski playfully asked the two students if they were dating.

“Am I not supposed to ask that? Is that inappropriate?” Porowski said, igniting laughter from the crowd. The homecoming king and queen couldn’t control their laughter — Dills then pointed to her boyfriend in the front row.

He continued the cooking demonstration by making a vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice, honey, fresh ginger and parsley. As he finished the salad preparation, Porowski added a special ingredient for the Syracuse audience — oranges. He revisited his technique of “supreming” citrus fruit, which he used in the third episode of “Queer Eye,” to teach police officer Cory Waldrop how to make an avocado-grapefruit salad.

About 20 minutes into the presentation, the three sampled the final product. Porowski asked Dills and Higgins what their plans were for the night. Higgins eagerly responded by inviting him to a house party later in the evening.

Antoni Porowski brought SU’s 2018 homecoming king and queen, Danny Higgins and Katie Dills, up on stage. The students helped him prepare vegetables for the salad. Courtesy of Layne Lindroth

The stage was cleared as Porowski took a seat next to SU Student Association President Ghufran Salih for the moderated discussion segment. Salih kicked off the conversation by asking Porowski about his food interest during his college years — to her surprise, he didn’t discover instant ramen until recently.

Porowski said he’s always been “weirdly obsessed with food,” but he didn’t recognize this love until he was cast in “Queer Eye.” Growing up, Porowski said he was always thinking about the next meal and analyzing what he would change. Although he was never allowed to cook with his mother as a child, he’d always watch her from a distance. Porowski’s self-taught culinary education began by watching Food Network cooking shows and YouTube videos.

The conversation shifted to Porowski’s experiences on Netflix’s “Queer Eye.” He said he felt overwhelmed when the show was first announced — he gained more than 70,000 followers on social media in one day. Porowski described himself as an “extroverted introvert.”

“I have days where I can really turn it on, and I can really be out there and I love entertaining,” he said. “And there are other days where I’m really quiet, and I really just want to be on the subway with a book or in a coffee shop.”

But since the show has surged in popularity, Porowski said he is constantly moved by the stories he hears from fans — something that will never get old. When he was waiting in the concessions line at a Broadway show, one girl told Porowski that her brother came out to her family after watching episode four of “Queer Eye.”

The Fab Five is currently in production for their third season of the show, which will take place in Kansas City. Porowski said he wants to feature an immigrant’s story in the upcoming season. He expressed gratitude to the show’s all-women creative team who have planted the seed to make that goal possible.

Rounding out the cast of “Queer Eye” are Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk and Jonathan Van Ness. Salih asked Porowski about the Fab Five’s group chat — he said it’s filled with gifs and memes about the show.

But he said the cast also uses their group chat to help each other out while filming. They constantly share information they learn about the show’s “heroes,” a term that the group uses to describe the people featured in each episode. These lifestyle makeover nominees have been painted as “sad dads” and “hapless bachelors” by some media, but Porowski sees these people as anything but.

In the “lightning round” questions, Porowski said his favorite cuisine was Italian and his favorite grocery store in Syracuse is Samir’s Imported Foods, which offers Middle Eastern and Mediterranean specialty foods.

The last part of the event was a student Q&A session. The first question asked Porowski what were the most valuable things he’s learned from each member of the Fab Five.

The most valuable thing each #FabFive member has taught @Antoni: @bobbyberk has taught him how to pack efficiently, @KaramoBrown has taught him confidence, @jvn has shown him how to always be himself, and @tanfrance is always positive, despite any personal challenges

— Haley Robertson (@_haleyannn) October 21, 2018

Porowski was asked by another student what “Queer Eye” has taught him about himself. He said he’s been an emotional person since he was a child, when he would cry during “Free Willy” and Disney films. Although “Queer Eye” was not part of Porowski’s original life plan, he said he couldn’t be more grateful for the experience.

“It’s taught me to use what I thought was a liability because I thought that sensitivity was a weakness,” he said. “It’s proven to be one of the biggest assets of my life.”

Porowski has found that the more vulnerable and sensitive he is with the heroes on “Queer Eye,” the more comfortable they feel around him. He cited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who Porowski walked with in the Montreal Pride Parade — as an example of empathy that more men should aspire to.

When asked about opening his new NYC restaurant, Village Den, Porowski said it was a learning experience. His first menu draft was too elaborate, so he worked with his team to simplify it — a reminder to Porowski that cooking can be really simple with the right ingredients.

The final question of the evening was about Porowski’s favorite memory from the past two years. He described a touching moment with his father, who expressed his pride in Porowski after watching an episode of “Queer Eye” and seeing his son march in the parade. Porowski said this was a “beautiful” moment for him because his father doesn’t express praise too often.

Before leaving the stage, Porowski had some advice for his college-aged audience.

“Tell each other that you love each other. Everyone needs to hear it, too,” he said. “Just go out of your way and say something nice. Just be a good person.”

Published on October 21, 2018 at 7:14 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu