PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — William Hite rarely wings it through interviews. But students at Mastbaum High School turned up the heat on the outgoing Philadelphia School District superintendent last week when he appeared on their YouTube show.
Mastbaum senior Jahlil Garcia welcomed Hite on a Panthers version of the popular celebrity interview series “Hot Ones,” where guests answer questions while eating wings with progressively hotter sauces.
Garcia asked him what he misses from his time in high school, his favorite restaurants in Philly, and his days as a receiver and running back at Virginia Tech. Hite held his own on the spice front, too.
“You say it has a kick to it,” Hite said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to talk after I eat this, but we’ll try it.”
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Hite especially enjoyed a sauce cooked up at Mastbaum, called Habanero Hall Sweep Hot Sauce.
“Yeah, I believe this will get people out of the halls,” he joked.
As he dabbed his eyes and wadded up another napkin, Hite told Garcia the school should market the Hall Sweep sauce to show off the talents of its culinary arts students.
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As the wings continued to climb the Scoville scale of heat, the superintendent’s eyes finally began to water.
“I’m not tearing up because I’m thinking about you and all of the other students. I’m tearing up because this is hot as hell,” he laughed. “That jawn is hot as hell!”
Hite will remain in Philadelphia but serve as the CEO of Cincinnati-based education nonprofit KnowledgeWorks.
Watch the full interview below: