A couple of weeks ago, I appeared as a guest chef on Torrance Citicable’s cooking show, Community Cooking. I think it is interesting to see how these shows are taped. This is the third episode I have appeared on and this appearance was a lot of fun!
After choosing my menu, I shopped for the items and prepared the recipes several times before the show. There are no teleprompters or cue cards on set, so I needed to have everything memorized and be very familiar with all the ingredients. The day before the taping and the morning of, I prepped all of my ingredients and packed everything to be transported to the set location. The producers of this show have won awards for their productions and they have everything pretty much down to a science.
When I arrived, the make-up girl does her magic. Her goal is to make me look GORGEOUS on camera. Well, actually, her job is to make sure I don’t look like a glow worm on camera, but I prefer my version! She does a great job, but just between the two of us, I needed a jackhammer to get all that make-up off my face later. Yikes!
Then, it is on to prepping the kitchen and setting up all the ingredients for the recipes. I demonstrated how to make Coconut Salmon with Pineapple Salsa, Aromatic Herbed Rice and Broccoli with Parmesan.
Next, comes the grips. They set up the lighting and make adjustments to the set so the finished show will look great. The sound technician then sets me up with a wireless mike. The three camera guys get set up for their angles and close-ups and the producers outside in the trailer are watching everything from there. These shows are a real team effort to pull off and everyone on set was professional and good at what they did. In this photo I am chatting with the producer, Jin about oven temp, stove set-up, etc.
Once all the technical end is set up and tested, we are ready to tape. This is where the host comes in. Tanya is an important part of the show and her job is to make sure the show not only moves along, but is also fun and informative for the viewers. We start taping and Tanya and I interact as I demonstrate how to make these scrumptious recipes. I also like to give entertaining tips and shortcuts. It takes roughly 30 minutes to 
tape the show. The food is plated and photographed and then the crew gets to sample!
You might wonder how you overcome nerves speaking in front of cameras , interact with the host AND actually effectively demonstrate recipes and cooking techniques. First of all, I put in the preparation time to make sure viewers are going to get delicious recipes and tips. My secret is simple: I like to have a good time with it. I actually envision myself in your kitchen, just talking to you. I love to cook and host dinner parties for family and friends. I think it adds quality to life!
Community Cooking airs on Time/Warner Channel 1 in Torrance at 9:30 am on weekday mornings. The producers also post shows on their website several months after airing on television. For those of you who live outside of Torrance, once I receive the link to the show, I’ll post it on my website for viewing.
