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…”