Born in Dauphin, MB and raised in Winnipeg, seasoned culinary professional Richard Caron has spent over twenty-five years behind the line in local kitchens, as well as mastering the art of scratch cooking in various restaurants from coast to coast.
Outside the professional kitchen, his current quest is a deep-dive obsession with Winnipeg’s legendary culinary staple: the Fatboy burger. As the creator behind @fortheloveofallfatboys, he has combined his classic culinary training with a passion for hyper-local food history, turning a personal love for chili-infused, shredded-lettuce masterpieces into the city’s definitive authority on the subject. From tracking down obscure mom-and-pop joints, to hitting all the Winnipeg favourites, he has built a dedicated community of local food fanatics. When he isn’t defending the honour of Winnipeg’s best burger joints, he can be found managing his backyard “chaos garden” with his wife Chantal, or watching his sons compete in various organized sports.
What is your channel called and what is it about?
@fortheloveofallfatboys. It’s a love letter to Winnipeg’s unique, messy, meat chili-centric-topped burger culture, treated with the respect (and critical eye) of a professional culinarian.
When did you start it? What motivated you at the beginning?
The channel started in the summer of 2022. Rising from the ashes of an well documents, on and off lockdown over the precious two years. The motivation or “bones” behind the entire “quest” was just that, a QUEST. Deep down, I may have been looking for a way to reconnect with the culinary scene in Winnipeg, after being gone for most of two decades. The gut check reality of it all, my family an I were sitting down at a popular Fatboy establishment in Gimli, MB. Questioning halfway through my consumption of that Fatboy, “how many restaurants in Winnipeg and Manitoba have their own Fatboy or slight variant of?” It wasn’t about which is the best Fatboy, and at the heart of the quest, even though I use my tried and true “Even Score Rating System” for most all reviews. The ranking score of each Fatboy is somewhat trivial. Trying them all was always the goal.
Who were you inspired by? Any influences?
I’ve done a few Q&A’s about my Fatboy Review channel, but this is the first time I’ve ever answered this question. Moment of truth, I’m really just a whole melting pot of influences combined with my weird Xennial pregnant paused humour. First off, the name ForTheLoveOfAllFatboys, and the way I capitalize the words, is lifted from one of the YouTube Food Reviewing greats, TheReportOfTheWeek (or Reviewbrah). The cadence and style of my reviews itself also borrow from John Jurasek, but are mainly influenced in that sense by pizza review extraordinaire Dave Portnoy. His overt nature and knowing what he’s looking for after reviewing thousands at this point are what motivate me to keep the quest going. Sheer numbers alone, like Dave’s, make any reviewer of his stature unmatched.
Lastly, my motif, the hat, the glasses, and the various printed t-shirts. All a distraction. I learned that from Blippi. He’s a YouTube Children’s Icon. The Clark Kent of Social Media, if you will.
How would you describe your audience?
Easy-going, yet passionate individuals. Accepting, yet rooted in conviction. This is not a conglomerate of folks, where negativity is welcome. We acknowledge snarkiness and sarcasm within the community. It’s Winnipeggers, Manitobans, Fatboy enthusiasts, who don’t take their local food scene too seriously, but still are distinguished enough to have an empassioned opinion about who’s Fatboy has the best chili meat sauce.
What is your creative process? Do you have people who work with you?
Ultimately, “the LIST” of places to review started with a pretty rudimentary list of places that I, myself, knew, definitively had Fatboys. “the LIST” is the sacred documentation of Fatboy Quest and is the basis for all reviews. When I started doing actual research on the internet and by word of mouth from friends, family and random acquaintances. I slowly realized I may have bitten off more than I could chew (pun intended) with “the LIST. 100+ different Fatboys and counting, things have spiralled into never-ending proportions.
As for the reviews themselves, there’s no rehearsing. One Shot. What you see is what you get. I try to do a little foreword on the establishment being reviewed. Sometimes it’s the situation of ordering, ambiance, sometimes it’s random off-the-rails commentary, and sometimes, that’s where the social media gold lies.
As for people I work with in this endeavour, it’s less of a working arrangement and more of a partnership until the end. I usually have my two excited and seldom patient kids in the back seat of the car waiting for a bite and a “what’dya score it?”
However, my ride or die in this operation is my cameraperson and wife, Chantal. She’s there, always making sure the restaurant’s sign doesn’t have a glare (I could care less), making sure I’m properly framed in the shot (I like the aesthetic of off-centred framing), getting the video filmed until the end, no matter the weather conditions (for which I am very appreciative). With little to no fanfare. None of this would happen without her. I don’t think anyone else would put up with my Fatboy shenanigans, let alone all the other regular husband shenanigans?
How do you monetize your content? Do you also have another job?
I’ve monetized my content through a few partnerships with TravelManitoba. Other than that, not much to speak of in the net worth category. I’m sure I could sling some merchandise (as many have suggested they would purchase if available), as well, if I were more adept at navigating all social media platforms, I could get in on sponsorship and or Social media revenue sharing of some kind. The thing is, that aspect of content is not a strength. Actually, I would consider it a weakness. If I had a social media manager of sorts, I’m sure I could make a go of this in the money department. I suppose it was never the goal in the beginning, so to pivot seems like selling out. And as someone who’s value reflect my generation, I guess not selling out still archaically counts for something in my Fatboy reviewing head.
My 9-to-5er for the past 4+ years has been at Italian Fine Dining Winnipeg staple Harth Mozza & Wine Bar. I’ve tongue and cheekidly titled myself as “Western Canada’s Self-Proclaimed #1 Line/Prep Cook” for the last decade or so. Whether it holds credence is in the eye of the beholder. Cooking food is ingrained in my being. Making food is part of my purpose.
What is your favourite piece of content you have created?
Hands down, my review of Pete’s Place at the Garrick Hotel. Sadly, Pete shut down for reasons unbeknownst to myself. However, with most reviews, I’m a big proponent of juxtaposition. I’m trying to find the things that offset themselves to bring out the true nature of the review. It’s actually what makes a Fatboy itself great! It’s the juxtaposition of components in the burger, making the offset of flavours bring out the true greatness of what a Fatboy can be. Wearing a Charlotte Bobcats, Bismack Biyombo jersey. The big yellow brick buildings imagery in the background. The bar’s patrons yelling obscenities at me from across the street. It was so on the nose for a Fatboy review within the confines of the City of Winnipeg, I could feel it in my Dancing Gabes.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
Currently, the best part of reviewing Fatboys is eating the Fatboys. I’m a very in-the-moment kind of individual. That being said, being in the moment is sometimes appreciating and reminiscing moments of the past. I really feel the best part, in the future, will be how my kids remember “those 4 or so years where dad dragged us around on a quest to try every Fatboy imaginable”.
The worst part is I’m 45. I have the literal intestinal fortitude of most 45-year-olds in whom Fatboys are a semi-regular part of their diet. Good going in, and we will leave it at that.
What are your future plans for your channel?
Again, doubling down on the narrative that I am someone who is of the now, “the LIST” must be completed, and this the QUEST will have been conquered. It’s good to have a beginning, middle and end. Finality is a part of life. In my opinion, an open-ended quest to try every Fatboy isn’t a life I want to live. If some Fatboys remain uneaten at the end of the QUEST, so be it. I control my own destiny. If the channel grows in popularity, monetarily, in ways I can’t even comprehend, I can say, I’m open and here for it all. If it all ends tomorrow, I’m fine with that as well. It’s been educational in ways I could probably write a book, or maybe a Fatboy thesis paper?
Folks have suggested I review other Manitoba-esque provincial junk food staples. I just can’t comprehend how anything would/could compel me as much as a Fatboy.
Where can we follow you?
Instagram. I mean, I’m sure you could find a presence of my Fatboy reviews on Facebook, YouTube or TikTok. But all my reviews are on Instagram.
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Canadian content creator that you love?
Well, I suppose this is giving “love” to a creator. However, a little outside the box, I suppose? I’d like to thank JS Fellows and his band brethren, the Weakerthans, for allowing me the use of a piece of music that I’ve turned into my social media review outros. Without the three iconic words “I… hate… Winnipeg” from the song One Great City. The whole stack of cards would tumble. I like to think of it as my Lebowski Carpet. It really ties the room together. The encapsulation of what the track says with a kind of spiritual connection to the Fatboy and its place in the grand scheme that is Winnipeg. So thanks again for being cool about me co-adopting a song that had many more savoury associations than some guy that review Fatboys slapping it on the backend of his videos.
John goes as Vivat Virtute on Instagram and with his partner Christine on Bandcamp. His activism is engaging, yet not overbearing. Oh, and there’s weaving and braiding. So kind of one of those catch-all kinds of “creators”. I’m into it all.
