Charlie Boghosian, better known as Chicken Charlie, came to America at 11 from Damascus, Syria, with his family, a produce store, and a work ethic that never quit. What started as a 14-year-old's summer job turned into a 30-plus-year career feeding tens of thousands of people a day across California's county fair circuit. Oh, and somewhere along the way, he invented the deep-fried Oreo.

In this episode, Chef Claudia Sandoval and Chicken Charlie trace their food memories back to the dishes that made them: a mother's fried eggplant stuffed into pita with fresh yogurt and tomatoes, the Armenian and Middle Eastern cooked on the stove, and the accidental cookie that launched a food empire. Along the way, they talk about what it means to feed 20,000 people a day, why the county fair is a world unlike any other, and why the best things in life — like deep-fried Oreos — are sometimes just sitting on the counter waiting to happen.

This episode is in partnership with the San Diego County Fair. Learn more at sdfair.com

New episodes every Wednesday.

You can find Chicken Charlie's on Instagram @chickencharlies

Follow along on Instagram ⁠@bitefullypod⁠ and ⁠@chefclaudiasandoval⁠

Host & Executive Producer: Claudia Sandoval | Producer: Shei Yu | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin | Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Mike Fennessy

Bitefully is an Immigrantly Media Production.

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