Simple question: When we see a TV chef cooking in what looks like their home, is it actually their home or is it on a sound stage? I remember reading (The United States of Arugula, which I’m about 1/3 of the way through) that Julia Child was on a set. Graham Kerr was in front of an audience. James Beard was on a set.
But what about the likes of Alton, Rachael, Bobby, and Jamie?
Alton and Rachael are sets. Ina Garten used to be in her own home, but recently built a barn with her set in it. Giada used to cook in rented homes, which switched between (sometimes, within) seasons; her latest season claims she’s cooking in her new home, but rumor is it’s another rented kitchen.
In a behind-the-scenes episode of Good Eats, it’s revealed that Alton’s current kitchen is a set that is an exact copy of his friends’ kitchen. In fact, some filming was done in the original kitchen until neighbors complained about the production trucks.
I guess it makes sense. It would be easier and cheaper to build a kitchen on a sound stage than deal with the harassment, potential law suits, and insurance costs of filming in a residential neighborhood.
One wonders about Bobby Flay cooking on a NYC balcony, though. They must have rented an apartment solely for the show.
Yeah, at least the first season is in a home. You can tell the difference because you can actually see a real neighborhood in the background.
Dang! That’s a copy of an actual person’s kitchen? Who does Alton live next to? Gordon Ramsay? Alice Waters? I can only assume the real-world kitchen has a plain old GE fridge and a Tappan range instead of whatever brand is sponsoring the season.
I’m just a bit depressed at the thought that there are people out there with kitchens large enough to hold a TV production crew. My kitchen has a 4x4 foot floor area and would be seriously overcrowded with me and some bloke with a cell phone camera. OTOH, it doesn’t take long to mop the floor.
Heh, “neighborhood in the background”. That reminds me of that horrible Quick Fix show on FN, with the google-eyed skinny woman who doesn’t swallow when she puts stuff in her mouth.
Her recipes were so uninteresting the few times I watched, that I’d start paying attention to the “window” behind her. And see the same biker go by. Again. And again. And again. Quite a workout, that, for a 30-minute show.
Last time I flipped by and saw it, they’d changed the set. No more “window”.
Yeah, the first kitchen was a lot tinier. It’s gotten a few revisions over the years, slowly getting bigger and better.
As I recall, the house was owned by someone on the production crew and was built specifically for the show–springs under the floor, etc. So the freaky writeable refrigerator and viking range is very real in that house.
Easier to shoot on the set now, though, as they can cut out the back of the fridge, oven, etc for camera shots instead of just sticking one on the back wall.
At least a couple of Julia’s later series were filmed in her home: In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs and Baking with Julia. There may have been others but those two for sure.
Heh. I’m seriously thinking of replacing the patio with a kitchen. I haven’t measured it, but I’m guessing 15 x 20 feet. For a patio I’ll just use the deck, which will be reachable from the kitchen. I’d like to turn the old (small) kitchen into a library.
All I need is the money! 