Cooking on Air

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I get to meet and sometimes work with interesting personalities - renowned local chefs, showbiz personalities, public figures and the like. I recently taped a few cooking segments for a breakfast show and it still gives me the jitters - it is never the same when cooking on cam. I am forever conscious of what I am about to say next, and if the person I am working with will ask me something I absolutely have no answer for.

Chop it all up!
And so, as I tell everyone in my team, preparation is key. Do your mise en place, meaning, all your ingredients should already be in place. Arranged on a tray per recipe, this gives you the impression that the recipes are pretty easy to make even though it is really not. I tell you, though I love to cook, I just hate it when I need to do a lot of chopping and pre-preparations, that by the time I get to the actual cooking part, hell, I am already exhausted. However, this part is something that you should do, otherwise, your demo will look extremely cluttered and disorganized.

Tool of the trade
The tools of course, need to be prepared as well,and mind you, make sure they are all working. I remember doing a taped show in another stations breakfast show and gosh, the food processor wouldn't work, I had to squat down and re-plug the damn thing, and imagine me being out of frame for a few seconds - everybody was wondering if I slipped or dropped something. Good thing it was a taped show. I watched it when it aired, and did you think the director edited that part? He didn't! I never guested on that show again.

Spiel it out
The script is another thing you need to focus on. I prefer doing a pre-taped segment since it allows me to move at a more reasonable pace rather than going live and praying the whole time that the steak doesn't burn while I am saying my spiels or that the sauce doesn't become too thick while I am explaining a tip or two to my partner. And boy, the lines that you need to memorize - that so and so product is rich in what-have-you nutrients; that you can get it in blah-blah-blah stores at so and so sizes; or that you have to text 123 to win an instant prize. Hohum. I gotta give it to the showbiz people, how can they do it all with grace?!

Ask away
The questions of course are a given. Usually, the segment producer will allow us (meaning me and my celeb partner) to interact with each other, maybe share with him/her a tip or two about the dish. Though I love to cook and doing this on cam is something that I really enjoy, I don't however like it when people ask me silly questions like, if the dish I am preparing is a breakfast dish, and you ask me if this is also okay for lunch, well - Of course, I'll say its okay anytime of the day! You eat want you want anyhow right? Ever heard of all-day breakfast? But of course, that wasn't how I answered my celeb partner at that time. Don't get me wrong though, I have worked with some pretty fascinating and witty celebs and it will be a joy to work with them again. But, give me one dumdidumdum partner, and I just wish the tapings all over man!

So, the next time you watch cooking shows and food segments, remember, behind the scenes, there might just be an even more interesting thing happening.