They're Not Acting...They're Cooking!
Chef Shows on the Tourist Network and RSN
By Toni Davis
Some people are terrified of television cameras...they freeze like "deer in the headlights." But, almost without exception, great chefs are different...They might not be all that good at the small talk leading into a show, but once they get cooking...they forget about all the lights, cameramen, directors, switchers and onlookers. They tune out everything but the food, and it is beautiful to watch!
It’s high-energy fun on the set – the TV crew and the chef get to know each other fast when the pressure is on. Once they have that team "spirit" going for them, they are unbeatable. Even under the most difficult circumstances...on a hot beach in the blazing sun with 40mph wind gusts...they make it work. Luck was on our side most of the time. We would barely finish a segment before the heavens opened and drenched us...or we would run out of propane gas just as we finished the last dish... once, a big-breasted woman in a bikini walked right onto the set at Higgs Beach with a giant 30 pound pet rabbit on a leash...the chef never batted an eye as he finished a complicated maneuver with a lobster and Creehan managed to blurt out, "Stay tuned – we’ll be right back" before the whole crew dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.
It’s high-energy fun on
the set – the TV crew and the chef get to know each other fast when
the pressure is on.
It was a long, tough season of shooting the shows on location, but despite the hard work, we had fun, and through it all, the chefs never quit cooking – even during the breaks they were prepping the next dish, checking temperatures, whipping complex sauces...and always making sure everything was on schedule.
That’s what I love most about these shows...it all comes together because the people are dedicated to making it happen. Our crew, the chefs and the most important member behind the scenes, our sponsor, DCS by Fisher & Paykel. DCS is awesome – they don’t just write a check and walk away - they get into it, and they carry their weight for the team...literally!
Over the past year, DCS has shipped their Liberty Grills wherever we asked (Have you seen these grills? They are awesome!). Once, the grills and camera equipment were loaded on a barge and sailed 45 minutes to Little Palm Island. The next day, we wheeled the grills into the middle of Turtle Kraals restaurant on the Key West Harbor – the next, we hauled them in the rain to the docks at Keys Fisheries in Marathon - we lugged them to the beach in Destin, and we’re planning to take them to a low country marsh in Pawleys Island and to a ski slope in the Rocky Mountains later this year.
I hope you will watch the shows...they are hot, fresh and tasty! The hottest chefs from the hottest restaurants in the hottest resorts in America – real people who really cook for a living. They’re not acting...they’re cooking! An incredible amount of work and love goes into each one, and, thankfully, they are archived permanently at: www.tripsmarter.com/chefshows.
Bon Apetit!
