A self-confessed popcorn aficionado, middle school ELA teacher James Toney takes his addiction seriously. Having always loved the snack, he gained quite a reputation while in college.

As luck would have it, Toney bagged an internship with Walt Disney World and was assigned to sell popcorn around its various parks. So, every day in the summer of ’98, Toney, the popcorn man, was living the dream! 

Dressing up in a variety of costumes and smelling of popcorn all summer would be enough to make anyone sick. But not Toney. It didn’t change anything except the way he made it, and he became even more serious about making gourmet popcorn. Toney recommends the book Popcorn by Patrick Evans-Hylton and here’s his favorite way to make his favorite snack. 

Use the stove-top popper to make delicious, movie-theater-quality batches, then season to taste.

Add 1/2 cup of yellow corn kernels and 2-3 tbsp of oil (experiment with your favorite) to your stove-top popper.

Turn the handle over a low flame.

Once done, season to taste, depending on style and mood. I like salty, garlicky, cayenne pepper combos.

Butter, not margarine! Salty, not sweet!

Delish!

For more about the amazing James Toney and how he started his SAS journey, click here!