You've Got To See What Goes Down Behind The Scenes Of 'Top Chef Jr.'
Top Chef Jr. is everything - and, oddly enough, nothing - like you'd expect it. There are the cloches for revealing dishes, and when someone's eliminated, they have to "pack up their knives and go," just like the original. But when you're watching a competition show, you never really think about what goes into coming up with each challenge: the ingredients, the props, the custom banners, signs, and menus.
The show - premiering on Universal Kids Friday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. EST - features host Vanessa Lachey and head judge Curtis Stone guiding a group of 12 aspiring chefs through a series of challenges, eventually winnowing away to the best of the best. Oh, and they're all between the ages of 9 and 14.
What happens on camera will play out over the next several weeks; what goes on behind the scenes, however, is every bit as fascinating.
Tucked away in Southern California, the entire production's housed in a massive warehouse. So, when you see the soft light shining through the windows in the market, where the contestants race to get ingredients for their challenges, know that it's a set of lights and fake leaves. And just beyond those gray, teal, and yellow walls is the more surprising part: an entire Santa's workshop of sorts, where people race to put everything together.
There's a hair and makeup station, a lounge with couches for people to hang out between shots, a craft services table loaded up with every kind of chips you could imagine, and a massive art and props department. Long rows of tables are piled high with cups, plates, pots, pans, and kitchen-related tchotchkes of every kind. It's like walking through a flea market, only minus the scent of mothballs and chipped dishes. Everything's meticulously organized, so the crew can find what they need for each challenge.
Next to the rows of goods is a pop-up tent with a printer the width of a car trunk, a sewing machine, and all kinds of art supplies. While the show's filming, another team works behind the scenes, quickly designing all of the signs, packages, and menus you see on screen.
"They can literally flip the set from a Hawaiian luau to something that feels like a beautiful family room," Stone explained.
The set itself is broken up into four components: The main cooking area, the dining room, the market (where contestants shop for ingredients), and the rec room, where the chefs hang out while the judges deliberate.
"I've even had them paint this on the floor, 'season as you go,' because their seasoning at the start of the competition probably wasn't where it needed to be, but with time, it's gotten better and better," he said.
Though Stone runs a restaurant - Maude in Beverly Hills - and has spent years cooking both in commercial kitchens and on TV, hosting a food show was relatively new territory for Lachey, who also competes in Dancing With The Stars.
"Every time I leave set - I kid you not - I get inspired that day and I'm like, 'I'm gonna try that,'" she said. "So when I'm asking [the contestants] questions on the show, I'm genuinely like, 'What did you put in that? A bechamel? How did you make the bechamel?' And the producers are in my ear like, 'okay, wrap it up. You can get your tutorial later, Vanessa.'"
What Lachey's been making, well, that's also top secret. After all, she doesn't want to give away any spoilers.
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