Fried Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake, Fried S'mores, and Deep-Fried Butter are the stars of a new reality series—as well as the Texas State Fair concessionaires who dream up wacky and deep-fried dishes every year. A&E's series "Deep Fried Dynasty" premieres tonight, Tuesday, March 8 at 10 p.m. Etsy, many of them family-run small businesses, with subsequent episodes of many food vendors during the Texas State Fair.
A&E's promo material describes the premise of the show as "American Dream, deep-fried, chocolate covered, and wrapped in bacon". For sisters Johnna Mackie and Christy Arpilo, operators of the iconic Fernie's Funnel Cake and several other booths chronicled in the "deep fried dynasty," it's a profession that easily lends itself to a reality show.
"It's the biggest show on Earth for 24 days. Everyone just needs to fly over the wall and that gives them a chance to see what's going on," Arpilo tells Eater. "We're proud to be a concessionaire at the Texas State Fair. Some might say we're non-vegetarian, that's fine with me. I love it. I embrace my inner Carney."
Lack of time at the fair naturally leads to drama. “You basically have 300 hours to make your living for the year. You don’t get 301 hours, you don’t get 305 hours. Those 24 days are just too full,” Arpilo says. Both sisters surprise Didn't want to spoil the show, but the show contains a lot of emotion. "I couldn't imagine I'm crying on TV saying I can't believe I'm crying about the funnel cake, Mackie jokes.
Then there is the friendly competition between sellers. "We love each other so much and we'll shirt each other from the back," Arpilo says, but notes that this could turn into a "food fight" as the competition heats up for the annual Big Tex Choice Awards. Is.
The show also touches on the dynamics of the family. This marked the first fair in which Mackie and Arpilo ran their five stands without their beloved mother and the State Fair of Texas, who first began working at the State Fair with her husband in 1967 and was the first stand to bring funnel cakes . Funfair. Wanda 'Ferney' Winter passed away in 2021 at the age of 95, and fair customers paid tribute to Fernie by bringing flowers to her stand.
“At times someone would come in and we would shout and cry and at times we would support our guests who came in and they cried. There were a lot of emotions at the fair this year,” Arpilo says.
What would Fernie think about his daughters becoming reality show stars?
"His vest buttons must be popping," joked Arpilo. "Whenever we did a TV show, she would always say, 'Who are my girls, I taught them everything I know.'"
Mackie added: "Mom and Dad should be very proud. We want to keep that going. We want to pass it on to the next generation."