Pittsford, N.Y. (WBEN) - He's known as "Chef Cuso" on social media, even though he will tell you he's not a chef. Regardless, Victor native Jack Mancuso is not only known for his viral cooking videos and recipes online, he's also an avid Buffalo Bills fan.
"Pretty much born into 'Bills Mafia' from the start. Grew up probably 15 minutes away from right here," said Mancuso in an interview with WBEN at Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University.
Mancuso has been a regular at Bills training camp since the team's arrival in the Rochester area in 2000. Whether it was being on-hand as a fan or to cook up some barbecue for the team as their official grillmaster, Mancuso has been there whenever he gets the chance.
"It's cool to see the Bills play in your own neighborhood. Normally, you're driving out an hour-and-a-half to Orchard Park, and it's really cool to be able to drive 15 minutes down the road and just see all those guys. And it builds a lot of excitement for the season," Mancuso said.
While his love for the Bills has never waivered since Day 1, his passion for cooking started during his college days in California when he was studying agricultural engineering.
"I started doing it as a hobby just for fun with my buddies in college," Mancuso noted. "It was nice weather, we're outside cooking, grill, drinking, you know how it goes. I started making the videos as a hobby, and got some traction slowly, just got a bigger, bigger following over time. And now it's surreal."
Eventually, Mancuso started working and partnering with some of the biggest brands like Major League Baseball and the NFL, including the Bills, who signed him as their official grillmaster in 2021.
"We do some really fun things like grilling steak in a mailbox, bringing tomahawks in the stadium, feeding the players on the field. It's cool, it's very fun. I'm grateful for it," Mancuso said.
While Mancuso specializes in crafting all-natural seasonings and rubs for cookouts and barbecues, his videos also showcase the fun nature of grilling with family and friends whether it's at home or at a Bills tailgate.
"If you watch the videos, you know it's all meat," Mancuso added. "It's all steak, seafood, pork, all that kinds of good stuff. And we always cook only outside. A lot of times we're just walking around the grocery store, trying to think of ideas, or we'll just sit down and have brainstorming sessions. Or sometimes we'll see a comment that sounds like a great idea on one of our videos, and we're like, 'Alright, let's make that.'"
Among the ideas from fans Mancuso is currently working on is a dehydrated food series, where is makes seasonings from scratch. Every single video as part of the series has been recommended from the comments section of his videos.
"Whether it's pineapple habanero, or the most recent one is chipotle honey - we had like honeycomb and did it all from scratch - the whole series is making these flavors from scratch. Everything's been recommended, and they've all been very pleasant surprises. Definitely going to keep that one going," Mancuso detailed.
And while many recognize Chef Cuso from his videos on TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, there are others that also know Mancuso as the rabid Bills fan he is. He says the recognition anywhere he goes is humbling.
"It's also very cool, I mean, I'm very grateful for every single person who watches the videos. It's a blast to meet people in person, get to say hi, thank them for watching the videos. But it's a fun time," Mancuso said.
As for the upcoming Bills season, Mancuso continues to ride high on his hometown team, even with the changes during the offseason.
"I think there's been a lot of big changes in the offseason, but I like the changes," he said. "I think some people are sleeping on us, but I'm not too worried about it at all. I think we're gonna have a great season, and probably do better than last year."