In 1978, “Saturday Night Live” skewered Julia Child. She — well, Dan Aykroyd — tried to improvise a tourniquet out of a chicken bone and kitchen items.
Nearly 50 years later, the skit remains a classic.
These days, Craig Geraghty does humorous cooking demonstrations too. Unlike Child’s, his are meant to be funny.
He’s both a professional caterer, and a comedian.
Craig — who was born a couple of years before “SNL”‘s Julia Child bit — has lived in this area for just over a year. He followed a few of his 7 siblings here, after a lifetime in Woodside, Queens.
He’s quickly made a name for himself. His Friday night Compo Beach lobster roll deliveries earn raves. He’s been cooking with Stephanie Berghoff’s “Home Cook” service, on Saugatuck Avenue.
Last month, he made crab cakes and lobster rolls on the Westport Library stage. He leavened his presentation with his trademark humor.
The large audience laughed often.
And ate well.
Craig Geraghty, at the Westport Library.
Moving to the ‘burbs from the boroughs was not easy. Geraghty loved his neighborhood. He knew everyone, and could walk everywhere.
But his wife was born and raised in Brookfield. “She grew up in a house. She wanted to live in one” — not an apartment, Craig says.
The couple worked out a deal. When their daughter was born, she was baptized in the same Queens church Craig and his parents attended.
But a year to the day after her birth, the Geraghtys moved to Norwalk.
The family connection remains. Craig lives a half mile from his sister Moira Schneider, a teacher at Greens Farms Academy.
But now he drives everywhere. As he gets to know the rhythms (and quirks) of Fairfield County, he hones his comedic patter.
And he finds new audiences.
Geraghty says, “I’m an entertainer. God didn’t give me height for basketball, or an arm for baseball. I was always good at making people laugh.”
He’s done standup comedy and improv since the late 1990s. He’s been an actor, on shows like “Iron Fist,” “The Deuce,” “Ray Donovan” and “The Many Saints of Newark.”
Craig Geraghty, on “Ray Donovan.”
He’s made commercials for Prilosec (with Larry “The Cable Guy”), Greenpeace, Sunny Delight, AAmco, TD Ameritrade, Goldman Sachs and ESPN. He also played the role of LasVegas.com.
But his cooking career — begun when he was a teenager, and continuing through many years working the Lobster Inn in Southampton — did not include a comedic ingredient until one day, a member of his golf foursome asked what he did for work.
Saying “I’m an actor” always led to questions like, “So why are you playing golf?”
So, on a whim, Craig said, “I do cooking demonstrations.”
“Great! I need someone to do one for my library,” the man said.
Craig was hired.
He had never done a cooking demonstration in his life.
He watched YouTube videos. He practiced. And he created a fake business — the Block Island Seafood Co. — to give his work some legit-sounding authenticity.
(He fully admits it’s a made-up firm. But now it’s the name — and website — of his catering company)
Craig Geraghty, with his logo and lobster roll.
Craig’s first demo was a hit. Years later, he’s done about 500. “I could do 300 a year, if I wanted,” he says.
But he’s got plenty more irons in the fire. He makes audition tapes in his new suburban bedroom (that’s the new, post-COVID way the industry works). He’s meeting other actors.
He’s working with The Home Cook. He’s gearing up for the summer catering season.
And he’s doing demos too, like the one at the Library.
“The greatest feeling in the world is making someone laugh,” Craig says.
Dan Aykroyd: Eat your heart out.
(To learn more, click here for Craig Geraghty’s website.)
I can definitely relate to the whole notion of walking everywhere in Queens vs driving everywhere here. My mom never even learned how to drive until our family moved to Westport from Fresh Meadows, Queens when she was 36.
Craig seems like a very creative guy. Best of luck in his ventures.