Internet Cooking Phenom Guga Discusses New Book and His Wildest Culinary Experiments

Gustavo Tosta, belovingly known as Guga across social media, has turned the barbecue and culinary worlds upside down.

On a given day, he's doing what many chefs would consider unthinkable and, in some instances, borderline nuts – from deep-frying Wagyu to dry-aging steak in yeast. And that's just been in the last month, let alone all the experiments the Miami-based cook has conducted through the years.

For his zaniness and many experiments gone right, he's garnered more than 4.1 million subscribers on YouTube, nearly 1.5 million followers on Facebook, and close to 600,000 loyalists on Instagram.

He also has a new book, Guga: Breaking the Barbecue Rules, with 100 of his proudest recipes. He'll hit Books & Books in Coral Gables on April 24 to talk about it and mingle with fans.

"Ever since I can remember, dating back to five years old, I was cooking," Guga tells New Times. "Then, I was cooking hot dogs, and these days, I get bored of food. I am always wanting to try something new. Even when I'm here cooking for my family, I want to try something different. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's bad. But, I always learn something."

Born in Brazil and now a local living near the Redland, Guga's experiments are as eye-catching as they get. He says one of his most successful experiments has been putting mac and cheese powder on a steak. His videos provoke the culinary crowd to comment and have attracted regulars like Gordon Ramsay, who likes to weigh in.

"When I put mac and cheese powder on a steak, no one did that until I did," says Guga. "If a chef at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant did that, it may not be good for their reputation. But I'm not in that position, I did it, and it actually turned out to be amazing and viral, and many other chefs started doing it. Things like these open up possibilities that perhaps no one else would try."

Not every experiment goes swimmingly. Among his recent fails was trying to dry-age a steak in Nutella. He says, "It turns out it was not a good idea, but from that, there was a lot to learn... we learn from every experiment and, from that one, we learned it wasn't about the chocolate compounding with the meat, but the sugar."

On the topic of meat, Guga works with more than just barbecued concoctions. In his new book, he includes recipes for sides, sandwiches, tacos, sauces, and more. These recipes span Japanese potato salad, fried bacon bread knots, and Brazilian deep-fried bananas.

"I have never written a book before and, being on YouTube for ten years, I had always been asked, 'Can you consolidate your best recipes into one video?'" he says. "Well, that is impossible. However, I now have everything in this book, and it means everything to me."

An Evening with Guga! 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 24, at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; booksandbooks.com. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.