From YouTube to Netflix, Daym Drops has made a name for himself in the foodie community. This “food titan” currently has 1.54 million subscribers on YouTube and has been active on the platform for over a decade.
Recently, he ventured into Netflix territory, making his debut hosting the new food series Fresh, Fried and Crispy which premiered globally on Wednesday, June 9. Throughout the show’s 8 episodes, Daym visits a variety of local food establishments and interacts with the chef, the waitstaff, and the other patrons. He passionately talks through his delicious first bites and takes a hands-on approach to the construction of the meals.
Daym told us, “I know that I am meant to be a voice in a community that loves food and that loves all types of food.”
In Fresh, Fried and Crispy, Daym tries a variety of meals, including vegan chicken and his favorite — a Baltimore crab sandwich that was packed with flavor. Describing that experience, Daym shared, “I went in for a bite and I broke down. I think a single tear might’ve fell down my cheek. I broke down on that bite, right there, because it exploded with so much flavor. Like you could taste Baltimore, you could taste the roots, you could taste again that passion.”
Monsters & Critics had the opportunity to chat with Daym Drops about his experience filming Fresh, Fried and Crispy and the message he’d like his fans to take away from the series.
On making his Netflix debut
Monsters & Critics: Fresh, Fried and Crispy premieres June 9th on Netflix. How are you feeling?
Daym Drops: I am beyond excited, like ecstatic. No matter how many words I string together, it still won’t break down how I feel at this very moment. We’re only hours away. We are literally hours away. When it hits for me, I’ll be here. I’m showing up. I am present for the show, even though I was there to film it. I’m going to look at it from the outside, looking in.
It’s like I’m starting to remember the things that I had said to the chef, or I might have said to a patron that was at that particular establishment, at that time. And I’m having that conversation all over again in my mind, while it’s playing out on Netflix in front of my face, before my family, before my friends, and before the world.
Monsters & Critics: How do you feel about the new exposure and the new audience you are going to be able to reach through Netflix?
Daym Drops: The question is, how am I supposed to feel? Nothing prepares you for this, there is no how-to guide. Regardless of what anybody else has to say, nothing prepares you for this very moment — for the fact that you’ve been working hard all of your life, doing food reviews inside your car, and then you get the opportunity to work with Netflix.
I’m bringing all of that to the forefront and putting it out in front of the world, in front of a much larger audience on a larger scale. And it’s like, how do you take that curveball? How do you knock it out of the park still? I don’t know how to feel, but I know that I am meant to talk to the people. I know that I am meant to be a voice in a community that loves food and they love all types of food.
Fresh, Fried and Crispy’s message
Monsters & Critics: What do you want your fans to take away from the series?
Daym Drops: I want my fans to understand that now is the time for us to truly support the Mom-and-Pops [independent restaurants] that are out there, regardless of where you live. That’s what the show focuses on at the end of the day. I mean, it’s the food, it’s the fun, it’s the engagement, but it’s supporting the Mom-and-Pops.
They struggled through the pandemic. Not everybody made it through. Some are trying to pick up the pieces right now. Now is the time to get out there, get back to the experience, get back to some amazing bites, get back to talking about it again. Get other individuals excited about it.
That’s what Fresh, Fried and Crispy is going to do. It’s going to bring families together, bring friends together, bring strangers together. It’s going to get the people talking about these locations that I’m going to. It’s going to get them saying, “Hey, listen, I need to be there already.” It’ll get them excited about being there and then get them excited about trying some of the foods that they see in the show.
Check out our whole interview here:
Daym Drops shares his controversial food opinions:
Fresh, Fried and Crispy is currently streaming on Netflix.