Before working with me on a food television show, commit these phrases to memory to get a leg up on the competition!
Breakdown: The culinary script written for all shows, webisodes and live action events that chefs, food stylists and production teams follow to get the cooking action accomplished. Breakdowns include recipes, techniques and specific cooking or prep support needed to get the recipe demo across to the viewer.
Talking Points: Points of discussion that the chef must convey about recipes, techniques, ingredients, etc. Usually written by culinary production staff, talking points are also helpful to the talent who need to fill on-air time while cooking.
Swapouts: Food items, dishes or ingredients used on-air to stay within the time constraints (i.e. 30-minute shows) and undo mistakes. Behind the scenes, food stylists will cook along with the talent to be ready for potential mishaps (burns, over-cooking, undesired final results). The swapouts are used whenever needed – whether it’s partially browned onions to swap for burned ones, or a completed apple pie coming out of the oven just five minutes after it went in – swapouts are the real “magic” of food TV!
Mise en Place: The French phrase for “everything in its place.” Learned the first day of culinary school, this phrase means being organized and ready to go before action begins. Whether you’re cooking in your own kitchen or prepping ingredients for a food show, this is crucial. For a culinary producer that means having breakdowns, talking points and recipes written, having lists of all equipment needed, lists of swapouts and schedules of the day. If you’re testing a recipe or cooking dinner, having all your vegetables chopped, spices measured out, and ingredients at the ready is the first step to culinary success.
Purchasing: To the average eye, purchasing may seem like simply going grocery shopping. But when you’re purchasing for a food show, you have to think about more than just your list of ingredients. Segments of shows can be shot as many as 4 times, including mistakes the talent makes and shots of just their hands moving/chopping/washing. As a purchaser, you have to anticipate how much of each ingredient you’re going to need to make it through all those passes. You never want to be on set and have your director say, “can we take that again?” and have your reply be, “that was our last chicken…”
Hello! Thanks for stopping by to get the inside scoop of Top Chef All-Stars! We are down to the final 3!
As the supervising culinary producer, executing my job in the Bahamas was a big one! The cast and crew were staying at the Atlantis hotel in Nassau and while the property is enormous and full of amenities, we were still on an island . . . on as they say “relaxed Island Time.” Getting ingredients on-the-fly often proved challenging and expensive. Thankfully our friends at GoodFellow Farms made regular trips to Miami via private plane to procure specialty ingredients for their market; conch notwithstanding. More on conch later.
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE – BAHAMAS FIRE
I cannot talk about my experience on Top Chef without mentioning the major grease fire at Twin Brothers restaurant. I’ve been producing food television for over 10 years and this was the first time I have withstood a kitchen fire, either on-set or off. A very scary experience to be sure.
The Culinary Department is in charge of all equipment and food so before every challenge, we test every appliance both small and large. When we arrived at Twin Brothers earlier in the day, we filled the fryers with clean oil and tested the thermostat to be sure it was calibrated correctly. When I dropped a frying thermometer into the basket, the oil registered 375-degrees F, exactly the temp. I set it to. Great! The chefs enter the kitchen and let the games begin.
The fryers and flat-top griddles are all cranked up while the chefs prep their food. After about 15 minutes, I’m alerted over walkie that one of the deep fryers is smoking and to rush into the kitchen immediately. As I swing open the kitchen door, the fryer bursts into flames before my eyes. The flames were intense and got so high they licked the kitchen ceiling! Without hesitation, our exceptional Assistant Director, Paul Hogan, locates the source gas valve and shuts it down. Safety is a very big deal to Hogan and his team; they really are the best of the best. Even with the gas line contained, the fire continued to escalate, blackening the walls and threatening to blaze the adjacent fryers as well. 911 were called, the building evacuated, and firefighters arrived.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and the restaurant kitchen only had minor damage. After investigation, it turns out that fryer in particular had a faulty regulator, something I could have never foreseen when I fired up the fryers and tested the oil temperature. So, without a regulator, the oil temperature continued to rise above the set temperature of 375-degrees F. and ultimately got up to around 500-degrees F, which is a dangerous degree to be sure.
Remember, even in your own home always consider safety first and to keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen.
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE – FISHING FOR CONCH & ISLAND FEVER
I got a first-hand education on opening conch from Bahamian locals immediately when I arrived on the Island. I have eaten conch salad and conch fritter before, both in Miami and in the Bahamas. The meat is tender and delicious and tastes very similar to calamari and abalone. I never had any experience with conch fishing or releasing the snail from its shell. I love my job!
To be sure, there is a real skill to shelling conch. Along the docks you’ll see men young and old tapping away at the shell with barbaric-looking chisels, hitting it in just the right spot, and releasing the whole conch within seconds. They made it look so easy! I watched these guys for a good 30 minutes before I got up the nerve to try it myself.
Conch is basically a large sea snail that holds onto its shell with a muscle. The first things to understand is that you don’t just go to town and smash the thing into pieces; that can make the meat tough and destroy the beautiful pink conical shell. There is a spiral-looking horn on the end and that is sweet spot to get inside the shell to release the tendon. You need to make a hole in the horn, then carefully push the snail out the opening using a knife or screwdriver. Check out this video to see a local in action!
The island where we shot this “Gillian’s Island” challenge was super remote, about 45 minutes away from the Atlantis. The crew had to be up and out at 4:00am to catch a boat and load all of the equipment and food onto the island. While getting out of bed at that early hour was a struggle, I witnessed one of the more breathtaking sunrises of my entire life.
As challenging as it was for the chefs to cook on a deserted island, it was equally difficult for the culinary team. 1 dozen coolers, 5 cases of water jugs, 200 pounds of ice, and barge of ingredients later, we were ready for the chefs to arrive.
Antonia, Tiffany, Isabella, and Blais did an amazing job cooking five-star food without running water or electricity. Sadly it was Tiffany who did not prevail. I gotta say, that girl has an effervescence about her and always has a smile on her face. I’m certain she will continue to shine!
‘Top Chef All-Stars’ airs Wednesdays at 10PM et/pt on Bravo.
