The effect doesn't last for very long though - and I'm not sure it applies to the story he relates (assuming it's true, it may not be of course) about the first time he noticed it. Watching the clip, he's handling that chicken for some considerable time.
I've heard of 'Chef's hands', but this is still certainly notable for the duration he's handling the chicken. I wonder if there's a variation of the effect at work.

I've seen people frying with their bare hands several times; there was even a documentary about it back in the 90s on TV. They wet their hands, and don't keep them in the water for very long. I guess that probably is the leidenfrost effect.

I can pick up red hot coals with my bare fingers while sustaining no injury. I just need to have very dry skin so that the heat isn't conducted into the tissue. The partially burned wood has a very low heat capacity and you can see it stop glowing and go black where I touch it. Is that the "Lawrence of Arabia" trick you're talking of? It's not the same thing, but it's still a question of technique.