“The Bear”: What does a culinary producer do?

Christopher Storer created “The Bear,” but his surprise FX hit might not nail the comedy accuracy without his younger sister, Culinary Producer Courtney Storer.

Executive producer, associate producer, co-producer, of course; what exactly does a “culinary producer” need? At the show’s TCA winter press launch, the answer to that question was as satisfying as an Italian beef sandwich.

“Cooking goes beyond styling the food or making sure the food looks good,” said Courtney, former culinary director of Jon + Vinny’s Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. “Does it go a little deeper into what people look like when they cook? How do you hold the knife? where are they

“Movement in the kitchen is extremely important on this show,” he continued, describing the wonderfully stressful episode 107 as akin to dance choreography.

Culinary production can include choosing pans and dishes, coating your kit with the right ketchup, and telling the difference between ‘walk-in’ and ‘freezer’. And what the heck is a short boy (that’s an undercounter refrigerator) or a salamander (that’s a broiler)?

Courtney, who Chris calls Coco, is not alone in the difficult task: Matty Matheson, who plays Neil Fak in the series, is one of the series’ executive producers. He’s also a renowned chef and restaurateur – so yes, between the two of them, the food at “The Bear” is legit.

Matheson believes authenticity is the reason the food industry has embraced “The Bear” as much as it has TV critics, particularly the way it goes about the cast’s kitchens.

– Are you moving urgently, are you moving purposefully, or not – right? he said. “You see a few people.” with purpose and urgency in their movements, around people not. So you watch how they move in a specific way, which is very important and very meaningful for people working in the (food) industry.”

According to Christopher, both Courtney and Matheson have the authority to “call out if something’s messed up or if something looks wrong.” Well, there wasn’t much crap in the final Season 1 product, which is probably why it’s winning this year’s awards season.

“The Bear” Season 2 begins production in late January in Chicago. The series returns this summer with 10 new episodes. The eight-episode first season is available on Hulu.

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