IWAS AT THE ‘TOP CHEF’ TAPING IN MADISON

Here’s what you didn’t see on the episode

2024-05-01 - Hannah Kirby Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY NETWORK – WISCONSIN

Superstar chef Dan Jacobs wasn’t the only Milwaukeean on “Top Chef” recently. Toward the end of the summer, I attended a taping at The Harvey House in Madison, as seen on Episode 5, which aired on April 17. As someone whose culinary skills are questionable at best, that is the closest I’ll ever get to being on the show, barring some kind of miracle. And, boy, was it a treat. On the episode, the top 10 cheftestants shopped the Dane County Farmers’ Market and did a Quickfire Challenge atop downtown Madison restaurant L’Etoile. Then they were let in on their next Elimination Challenge: Host “Top Chef ’s” first supper club. The chefs drew knives to determine which of two teams they’d be on, purple or green. Jacobs was on Team Purple. Each team had to create an elevated supper club menu, including a relish tray, a fish dish, a chicken dish, a beef dish and a dessert. They had two hours to prep and cook for eight judges and “40 other local supper club enthusiasts,” including me. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the taping I was at, including a trip to the control room, some of the dishes I tried, and my time with the host and judges.

Few details given out before ‘Top Chef’ taping

Attending a “Top Chef” taping is top secret business. The details I received ahead of time were on a need-to-know basis.

While the shoot would be at The Harvey House, I was instructed to meet at a nearby parking lot. I was told that most of my time would be spent sitting down indoors — quite different from the cheese festival my colleague went to.

I was given guidance on what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to on-camera clothing. No small prints or super-fine stripes, logos, solid white or neon. Yes to anything from a dress to a nice blouse with jeans or a skirt. For shoes, a block heel, wedge or flats were recommended.

With that in mind, I opted for an apricot-colored, rouched, button-down dress with a collar, which I paired with wedged sandals in a similar shade.

Step inside video village, aka the control room

I drove from Milwaukee to Madison on a warm Sunday morning in late August for the taping, which was expected to run from a little before noon to around dinnertime.

When I pulled into the lot, dressed-up folks were standing around, so I knew I was in the

right place.

After checking in, a handful of us were walked over to The Harvey House property, a former baggage claim house and train car by Madison’s Historic Train Depot.

Our first stop was “video village,” aka the control room. It was set up in what’s usually a private dining room of the restaurant.

But that day it was where crew — including the director, executive producers, a network executive, story producers, and the department heads of art, sound and tech — were posted up.

Two long tables — one in front of the other — faced the same direction with chairs behind each. Two large monitors were set up in front of the first table, and one large monitor was in front of the second.

The crew was viewing seven camera shots at the same time. It appeared that the chefs were busy cooking.

Some crew members were on laptops and wearing headphones. At the second table, a woman was watching a monitor and transcribing what was happening. There was also a Zoom link running for an executive producer who couldn’t be at the shoot in person.

What filming was like and some of the food I got to try

A couple of small groups, including the one I was in, were escorted into the dining room to scope out where we’d be seated. I was at a table for two with the Wisconsin State Journal’s Samara Kalk Derby.

A handful of us were taken back out of the room so our walk in could be captured on camera. All I could think was “Don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip,” as if I was graduating all over again.

Menus — just like the ones the judges referenced during the episode — were at the tables, previewing what was in store for us.

From my seat, the backbar — where more guests were seated — was in front of me. Additional tables of guests and a kitchen — where much of the action was happening — were to my back.

I had only caught a glimpse of the chefs doing their thing on my way into the dining room and for a quick glance or two later. So it was cool to finally see everything that was going down behind me when the episode aired more than seven months later.

After I chatted with my tablemate for a bit, waitstaff began bringing out the chefs’ dishes for us to share.

The crew approached tables and diners at the bar one-by-one for closer shots. They placed a mic disguised by flowers to better pick up what the diners said, and asked us to discuss specific dishes we tried.

An interaction between Kalk Derby and I ended up making the cut. While analyzing Manny’s ancho-crusted New York strip loin, Kalk Derby said: “It was a little tough. It was not my preference.”

I shook my head in agreement and said, “Mhmm.” Turns out, the professionals felt that way, too.

Until watching the episode, I had no idea that Jacobs won that day’s elimination challenge — his first win on the show. It feels pretty darn special that I got a taste of the dish he won for.

Jacobs was on relish tray duty. His consisted of chicken liver mousse, steak tartare, crudites in “soil,” pickled shallots and fried seed toast.

The mousse was “super smooth,” I typed in my Notes app. And the crudites in soil had a pleasant bite.

With cameras all over, I tried to be as discreet as possible with my note-taking. These were some of the other things I found noteworthy when it came to Team Purple:

Rasika’s fish dish — semolina fried fish, smoked sturgeon dip and peanut jaggery sauce — was too spicy for my taste (I’m a bit of a wimp). But the peanut flavor helped cut that.

When it came to Kévin’s beef dish — roasted beef tenderloin, jus and roasted fingerling potatoes — I wanted a whole

bowl of those taters. Savannah’s chicken dish — chicken tonkatsu with caviar butter sauce and pickled cabbage — had a nice breading to it, and the cabbage added the extra oomph it needed. As a self-proclaimed sauce queen, I needed more of that on Michelle’s bread pudding with roasted pineapple. Otherwise, I felt comfort in every bite.

Interviews with the hosts and judges

Afterward, media got to stop into video village once more, then we were brought upstairs to take turns interviewing Kish, and judges Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio. The cutest thing happened while I was sitting at a table, chatting with Kish. Simmons’ kiddo, Kole, ran up behind me, calling for his mom. In his defense, our hair does look pretty similar. When he looked up at me, his sweet, adorable, little face was filled with shear disappointment. I was not who he was expecting. But luckily, his mama was nearby. During my talk with Colicchio, he raved about the Dane County Farmers’ Market. At the time, I didn’t know how the market would be incorporated into the show. As we saw in the episode, it was where for that the chefs shopped week’s Quickfire. “The market was just really eyeopening,” Colicchio told me. “The produce, the amount of things that are being grown and what’s being grown is really exceptional.” While he admitted being surprised, he said he shouldn’t have been. “People want good food everywhere,” he said. “They want to know who makes their food, who grows their food.”

Where I spotted myself in the episode

I popped up during the episode a few times — which I never expected. And, yes, I absolutely pointed at the screen every single time. One of those times was around the 20-minute mark, when Kish was giving the cheftestants a brief history of supper clubs. You can spot me as the camera pans the dining room of The Harvey House while Kish said: “Supper clubs started as taverns, dance halls, where fried chicken and perch were served alongside a beer.” Here’s to my 15 seconds of fame.