Behind the scenes in the Market Kitchen
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"By the wonders of television, here's one I made earlier". These are the words you'll hear daily on Market Kitchen as a bubbling crumble or beautifully bronzed chicken is pulled out of the oven. We went to meet the team who make it all possible - the home economists.
A tiny and cluttered back kitchen is where the magic happens. While there may be 40 people on set in a day, including the cast, crew and producers, there are only three home ecs (and the real unsung hero, the washer-upper) busying away to make sure the chefs can demonstrate their recipes from start to finish in five minutes slots. Nicole, a trained chef and food stylist, and Gee, who runs her own catering business alongside work in television, spill the beans on what life is like behind the scenes.
Nicole starts the week with ordering the food for all the recipes and tastings, and tracking down any unusual ingredients (and we mean unusual - rattlesnake, zebra, peacock have all been on the menu). Her team then prepare all of the dishes to be filmed, making them as many as six times so they can be demonstrated at each stage of cooking. "People ask why we throw things away at the end of filming, but when you've been cooking and re-cooking a dish for 48 hours, you're not so hungry anymore".
They do, however, have to fend off a constant stream of people wanting a taste. "I can be quite stern," says Nicole, "the kitchen is not a place for hanging out". Apparently the cameramen are the worst culprits; if you see a glint in their back pocket it is a fork ready to attack any unattended food. "When Atul Kochar made his amazing lobster curry, everyone was in here wanting a piece." The presenters often sneak in too; Matthew Fort is always in search of an extra mid-morning snack.
Things can get stressful behind set. One day they had to cook four different stews to all the different stages in their one small oven. And don't think that peacocks come with cooking instructions; a lot of improvisation is needed. The biggest disaster was a lime curd tart of Matt Tebbutt's that hadn't set for filming. They quickly filled a spare tart case with whipped cream and spread the top with lime curd to look like the real thing. "All the customers were saying 'mmm this is creamy', while Matt was whispering it's not meant to be!"
The best part of the job is working with some of the top chefs in the UK, and learning from them. Although their have been a few tantrums (they refuse to name names), most of the chefs have been a joy to work with. Gee says every chef has taught her one thing that she didn't know before. "I've got the perfect job" she enthuses "I get to work with renowned Michelin-starred chefs cooking all different cuisines on a daily basis. Why would I change that?"
Try Gee Charman’s recipe for praline coffee cake that she uses to keep the diners happy in the Market Kitchen café.
By Eleanor Smallwood
Nicole starts the week with ordering the food for all the recipes and tastings, and tracking down any unusual ingredients (and we mean unusual - rattlesnake, zebra, peacock have all been on the menu). Her team then prepare all of the dishes to be filmed, making them as many as six times so they can be demonstrated at each stage of cooking. "People ask why we throw things away at the end of filming, but when you've been cooking and re-cooking a dish for 48 hours, you're not so hungry anymore".
They do, however, have to fend off a constant stream of people wanting a taste. "I can be quite stern," says Nicole, "the kitchen is not a place for hanging out". Apparently the cameramen are the worst culprits; if you see a glint in their back pocket it is a fork ready to attack any unattended food. "When Atul Kochar made his amazing lobster curry, everyone was in here wanting a piece." The presenters often sneak in too; Matthew Fort is always in search of an extra mid-morning snack.
Things can get stressful behind set. One day they had to cook four different stews to all the different stages in their one small oven. And don't think that peacocks come with cooking instructions; a lot of improvisation is needed. The biggest disaster was a lime curd tart of Matt Tebbutt's that hadn't set for filming. They quickly filled a spare tart case with whipped cream and spread the top with lime curd to look like the real thing. "All the customers were saying 'mmm this is creamy', while Matt was whispering it's not meant to be!"
The best part of the job is working with some of the top chefs in the UK, and learning from them. Although their have been a few tantrums (they refuse to name names), most of the chefs have been a joy to work with. Gee says every chef has taught her one thing that she didn't know before. "I've got the perfect job" she enthuses "I get to work with renowned Michelin-starred chefs cooking all different cuisines on a daily basis. Why would I change that?"
By Eleanor Smallwood
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