Reviewed by: Mary Helene Hall
Hot & Hot chef Chris Hastings’ life saved by Johnny’s Restaurant chef Tim Hontzas
Reading time: 2 minutes
Legendary Birmingham chef Chris Hastings is happy to be alive today thanks to a fellow highly acclaimed local chef, Johnny Hontzas.
In a wide-ranging, 90-minute interview with the popular local podcast Word of Mouth, Hastings, a James Beard Award winner and owner of Ovenbird and Hot & Hot Fish Club, ended the Q&A session with a shocking life or death story.
Choking incident at Johnny’s Restaurant in Homewood
Asked about his favorite restaurants, Hastings started ticking off a number of local favorites ending with Hontzas’ Johnny’s Restaurant Homewood.
Hastings described how he regularly eats there and even has a designated spot in the restaurant.
Then he proceeded to tell a story about choking at the establishment, fortunately finding the one person he knew could save him — Hontzas.
He was eating a dinner that was comprised of chicken, peas, collard greens, rice and a roll.
“I’m kind of half checking my text messages, emails, eating, not paying a lot of attention, and chewing some chicken, and I go to swallow it.”
“It’s a little bit bigger than it probably should have been, and it’s kind of stuck, but I’m still breathing. So I was thinking, okay, well, I’m just gonna get some tea, and I’m gonna wash it down. Down goes about half a cup of tea, and I can’t breathe.”
Chris Hastings
Chef Johnny Hontzas performs the Heimlich maneuver on Chris Hastings
Hastings recounted he didn’t panic and sought out Hontzas.
Surprised to see Hasting’s, Hontzas’s eyes got as “big as saucers” — but then proceeded to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
A very grateful Hasting’s added:
“Fortunately, I picked the right guy, and Tim was a man for the job.”
Want to hear the entire interview? Visit Word of Mouth on Spotify.
