Key Takeaways
- For his 72nd birthday on the Today show, Al Roker received a bouquet made of bacon instead of flowers, joked that it was a gift he could “get behind,” and laughed off Craig Melvin’s on-air warning that eating it all might keep him from reaching 73.
- Dylan Dreyer explained that producers swapped real rose blooms for thick bacon strips, leaning into Roker’s long-running bacon-loving persona from his cookbook recipes to his cooking demos.
- The segment also nodded to Roker’s health journey and three decades on Today, as he reflected with trademark humor on losing over 100 pounds after gastric bypass and joked that looking back at 72 mostly reveals “a lot of jerks.”
Al Roker celebrated his 72nd birthday on Thursday, August 20, with a gift tailored to his well-documented appetite: a bouquet of bacon served live on Today. The elaborate arrangement earned immediate approval from Roker—and a playful warning from co-host Craig Melvin about what might happen if the birthday boy finished it.
According to People, the surprise arrived during the 3rd Hour of Today, after Roker danced on the plaza during British singer Raye’s Citi Summer Concert Series performance. Dylan Dreyer noted that Roker’s birthday shares the calendar with National Bacon Lover’s Day before presenting him with thick strips of bacon fashioned into flowers. “That’s a bouquet I can really get behind!” Roker said as he sampled the gift.
According to Dreyer, members of the production team removed real roses from their stems and replaced the blooms with bacon. “This bud’s for you! That’s fantastic,” Roker joked.
Melvin quickly offered a reality check: “Here’s the thing, you eat all that you’re not going to make it to 73.” Dreyer responded by encouraging Roker to have another piece.
Bacon has long been part of Roker’s public identity beyond the weather desk, appearing in his recipes, cooking demonstrations, and food segments. His cookbook, Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By, includes bacon-stuffed waffles, while his online tutorials have shown viewers how he prepares large batches in the oven on parchment-lined baking sheets.
That enthusiasm exists alongside Roker’s candid discussion of his health. His weight once reached 340 pounds before he underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2002, a decision he has said followed a promise to his dying father that he would improve his health and remain present for his children.
Roker ultimately lost more than 100 pounds but has repeatedly stressed that surgery did not eliminate the work required to maintain the change. After regaining 40 pounds during a difficult period surrounding his mother’s illness, he returned to a routine built around moderation, strength training and walking.
The birthday also arrived during a major professional milestone year for Al Roker, who recently marked three decades on Today. Reflecting on that run earlier this year, he said he hoped viewers “didn’t feel like I wasted their time” and “felt better after watching than before.”
Asked whether turning 72 prompted him to look back, Roker kept the moment light: “Yeah, when I look back, I see a lot of jerks.”
