Chef Harry & Friends Profile
Dennis Haskins, although receiving his career break on The Dukes of Hazard, he became a generation X icon as Principal Belding, on the currently syndicated popular kids' series Saved by the Bell. In real life, he is much like the character he played: warm hearted, smart, funny and caring.
Aside from making guest appearances, his main activity is playing golf in charity events and traveling around entertaining troops in such far away places as Bosnia and Kosovo. We had such a good time together cooking and joking around, that he even came to an event I was hosting for a client the next evening. Held at the Hollywood Museum of Entertainment, it showcased a vintage Martini and Rossi poster exhibit. We really hit it off!
Speaking of hitting, he tried to show me how to chip a golf ball in is back yard and, after 20 minutes or so, we both decided my talents were best confined to the kitchen. He loves to eat and was ready to learn a few recipes he could handle for friends. He is a total mushroom lover and inspired a shiitake scampi creation that also became one of my favorite dishes.
His kitchen reflects his bachelorhood and is clean and hardly used. But, now that I showed him how easy it is to cook, he plans to dirty up the place a bit. Warm tile and maple cupboards make his kitchen very livable and the room opens onto a living area that is casual and comfortable. A couple of horses in the backyard are more a reflection of his love of animals than his desire to ride. He prides himself in the brushing and currying of his horses over trotting and cantering.
Dennis is one of a rare breed in Hollywood. He has a face that is recognized wherever he goes, a successful career, yet time for anyone in need and the patience of a saint. I know we will see each other at future events and am certain I learned more from him than he from me.
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