George Motz brings together in his person an infinite number of facets. From film directing, to acting or mastery as a television presenter. But if there is one thing for which he stands out and captures the world’s attention, it is his extensive legacy around one creation: the hamburger, its history and the elevation of this dish to the top, as an elevated concept that he transfers to his own cult gastronomic universe called Hamburger America in New York.
As a burger expert, he has been researching, writing, cooking and eating America’s favourite food for decades.
A self-proclaimed burger scholar, he directed the documentary Hamburger America, which looks at the history of American food, and the variations of the burger across the country, praising the smash burger. He has even inspired the food identity of a small independent burger joint called Dash Burger.
All this background has also served him to cook books on the history of burger making, immortalising his knowledge on paper in ‘The Great America Burger Food‘, the first book to showcase a wide range of regional burger styles and cooking methods.
He also translated the art of the burger into audiovisual format with the Travel Channel programme, ‘Burger Land‘ from 2012 to 2013, as well as collaborating with First We Feast on a series entitled Burger Scholar Sessions.
In the meantime, he has also built his role as a reference point by romanticising the consumption of this food. In an interview with CNN, Motz estimated that he had probably eaten about 20,000 burgers. And that figure has been growing ever since, as has his popularity built around this American gastronomic emblem.
