WEBVTT - Joanna Calo

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<v Speaker 1>Though Joanna Callo and I have very different professions. She's

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<v Speaker 1>a writer, producer, director, most recently of The Bear. Am

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<v Speaker 1>a cook and founder of a restaurant, The River Cafe.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a lot in common, and most of it

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<v Speaker 1>involves drama. Hers is creatively working with actors. Mine is

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<v Speaker 1>creatively working with chefs. People always ask me, how does

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<v Speaker 1>a restaurant work? I'm the Bear. Joanna and her colleagues

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<v Speaker 1>brilliantly answer these questions. A friend of mine just told

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<v Speaker 1>me today that Joanna makes the hardest thing funny with

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<v Speaker 1>likeness and sensitivity, and that she is a great woman.

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<v Speaker 1>So here we are, here in la and I'm in London,

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<v Speaker 1>which is the first mistake of this moment. I wish

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<v Speaker 1>you were here. Are you sitting in your office?

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<v Speaker 2>I am in my office in West LA But I

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<v Speaker 2>I wish I was there more than anything. I think

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<v Speaker 2>I might just get on a plane right now, right now.

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<v Speaker 1>We could go to the River Cafe. Have you ever

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<v Speaker 1>eaten in the River Cafe?

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't. I haven't had the pleasure.

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<v Speaker 1>You've never been. Okay, well we'll do that.

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<v Speaker 2>Well we'll go.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you could bring your children. How old are your children?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? God? Don't let not yet. They're five and two.

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<v Speaker 2>She's ready. She the older one is ready, is ready

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<v Speaker 2>for restaurants. But you don't want the boy anywhere near you.

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<v Speaker 1>I would. The other day I was flying back from

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<v Speaker 1>Milan and I saw this woman with a baby and

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<v Speaker 1>I said, oh, I hope I sit next to you.

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<v Speaker 1>And she said, you're the first person who's ever said that.

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<v Speaker 1>Why would you want to sit next to a baby?

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<v Speaker 1>So I think what we could do is start with

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<v Speaker 1>the recipe, which you've chose. It's Formata d spinachi, and

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps you could read the recipe and then we can

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<v Speaker 1>carry on with our conversation.

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<v Speaker 2>So now you will see that I am the least

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<v Speaker 2>Italian Italian person. Smato d spinachi Serve six one point

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<v Speaker 2>three kilogram spinach stocks removed, two eggs, four hundred milligrams

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<v Speaker 2>double cream. Nope, millileaters, it's very British. One hundred grams fresher,

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<v Speaker 2>grated half teaspoon, grated nutmeg. Preheat the oven two three

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and seventy five fahrenheit. Beat the eggs and cream

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<v Speaker 2>together for a minute in a large bowl. Add the parmesan,

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<v Speaker 2>nutmeg and season. Blanch the spinach for one minute and

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<v Speaker 2>drain well, chop roughly and mix the egg and cream mixture.

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<v Speaker 2>Pour into a medium sized baking dish, and then place

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<v Speaker 2>in the preheated oven for thirty minutes until the top

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<v Speaker 2>is crisp and the spinach is still slightly creamy.

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<v Speaker 1>So tell me about growing up in your household with food.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell me what life was like in your family food wise.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's honestly why I chose this recipe. I had

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<v Speaker 2>an interesting childhood, which is that my parents bought a

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<v Speaker 2>house in northern California that we shared with their best friends,

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<v Speaker 2>so we had a little mini commune.

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<v Speaker 1>They shared a house. That's interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>I think we lived upstairs and they lived downstairs. It

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<v Speaker 2>was a duplex in Alameda, and it was really wonderful.

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<v Speaker 2>It was it made me one of six instead of

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<v Speaker 2>one of three, yea. And it means I had four parents.

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<v Speaker 2>And it also meant that my parents and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>my parents' best friends, they were all working, so all

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<v Speaker 2>you needed is one parent to watch all the children.

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<v Speaker 2>But I think that sort of a theme in my

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<v Speaker 2>life is that both my parents worked. My dad was

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<v Speaker 2>a journalist, my mom was a nurse who became a librarian.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like when she was in nursing school, I think

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<v Speaker 2>there was less cooking than when she was working full

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<v Speaker 2>time as a nurse. She still was getting dinner on

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<v Speaker 2>the table, but it was very regulated. It was sort

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<v Speaker 2>of like there are the four dinners that you always make,

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<v Speaker 2>and then you kind of cycle through that, and there's

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<v Speaker 2>something so charming about that, and so like, these meals

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<v Speaker 2>are completely ingrained in our lives. And it was like

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<v Speaker 2>boiled zucchini with melted cheese on it. That was one

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<v Speaker 2>of the things. We ate, Hamburger patties with Campbell's mushroom

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<v Speaker 2>soup poured over it. That's like, I think, very Midwestern,

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<v Speaker 2>you know. And then she is Spanish. She comes from

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<v Speaker 2>Mexican parents, and so she would also make enchiladas that

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<v Speaker 2>were amazing. And my dad is Italian and on the

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<v Speaker 2>weekend when he was home, he would make his sauce

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<v Speaker 2>that cooked all day, and so you know, it definitely

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<v Speaker 2>got to have that. And the family that we lived

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<v Speaker 2>with they were Hispanic also and sort of had a

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<v Speaker 2>closer connection to that Hispanic culture, and so we would

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<v Speaker 2>make Tamali's at Christmas and some of that. And so

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<v Speaker 2>this big spinach made me think about how we used

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<v Speaker 2>to get the frozen spinach, but it was like the

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<v Speaker 2>Stofer's frozen spinach, and it was exactly not exactly this,

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<v Speaker 2>not as good, but the same idea, and you would

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<v Speaker 2>just put it in the oven. And that was how

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<v Speaker 2>they gave us vegetables some nights. And my dad called

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<v Speaker 2>it princess food because it was like a spinach soux fle.

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<v Speaker 2>It was such a good memory. When I was looking

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<v Speaker 2>through the book, I was thinking about that and about

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<v Speaker 2>how you know that is so the act of a

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<v Speaker 2>parent that is trying to do their best, loves their children,

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<v Speaker 2>but also has to put a frozen, yeah, frozen meal

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<v Speaker 2>in the oven because they're because they're working, because they're busy.

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<v Speaker 2>And some of those you know, influences came from my

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<v Speaker 2>other my other family as well, and it brought me

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of joy to see this recipe.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm interested still in the commune, did you have one

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen for the two families? So did you each have

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<v Speaker 1>your separate kitchens?

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<v Speaker 2>Each had separate kitchens, and I think that there were

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<v Speaker 2>sort of different rules in each kitchen so you could

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<v Speaker 2>always have fun.

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<v Speaker 1>What were they What was the difference if it's.

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<v Speaker 2>Not your mother. You're always going to get away with

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<v Speaker 2>a little more, right, So it's like, you know, their

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<v Speaker 2>kids would come to us and we would go up there,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, we would swap around and try to

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<v Speaker 2>take advantage of the system.

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<v Speaker 1>Is this all your childhood?

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<v Speaker 2>No, not my entire childhood. Maybe when I was five

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<v Speaker 2>or six, we moved to another house. Oh, I see

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<v Speaker 2>in Oakland. And then when I was eight, we moved

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<v Speaker 2>to New Jersey and that was a sort of another

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<v Speaker 2>chunk of life.

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<v Speaker 1>What was that like? New Jersey from California.

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<v Speaker 2>I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It felt like

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<v Speaker 2>I was in a movie with fall in spring and

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<v Speaker 2>snow days, and I definitely romanticize all of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you eat differently?

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<v Speaker 2>Yes? I had all the foods that I was supposed

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<v Speaker 2>to have. I ate pizza constantly, bagels constantly.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes. Something I said to me that there was a

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<v Speaker 1>big deal about you eating in a bagel place. Is

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<v Speaker 1>that right? Yes?

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<v Speaker 2>My senior year of high school.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. Sometimes I do research for this. What

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<v Speaker 1>was it called begel Chateau? Okay, so this is Willem,

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<v Speaker 1>and I don't know what bagel chateau is.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just the place in my little town. I grew

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<v Speaker 2>up in a small town called Maplewood, but every single

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<v Speaker 2>day for my senior year of high school, I ate

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<v Speaker 2>at the bagel Chateau Good for You. Oh my god.

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<v Speaker 1>Every day, same bagel, are different bagels. You see the

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<v Speaker 1>detail we get into on this, you know, we asked

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<v Speaker 1>the questions that I really bring back the memories.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god. Okay, So here here were the things

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<v Speaker 2>I would get. I love a sesame bagel. Love. So

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<v Speaker 2>I mainly get sesame bagel toasted with tuna, and then

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<v Speaker 2>they always put pickles and chips on the side, and

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<v Speaker 2>it was just a really good deal. Pickle and the chips.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean they were probably just from a crappy bag

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<v Speaker 2>but they were spectacular, like little ruffled chips. And I

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<v Speaker 2>dream about those chips still. And then I would also

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes get sesame toasted with cream, cheese and tomato. I

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<v Speaker 2>guess it's the garden state. They were getting good produce,

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<v Speaker 2>you know. The tomatoes were great. They were good, and

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<v Speaker 2>the lettuce was great. You could get like my friends

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<v Speaker 2>would get something called a nothing sandwich, which they stupidly invented.

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<v Speaker 2>It was like a vegetarian sandwich. Just no one to

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<v Speaker 2>call it that basically, but it was just bagel, mustard, tomato, lettuce,

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<v Speaker 2>and then you know, that was it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like a bet without thecon yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Without the bacon. But it was like crisp and tasty

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<v Speaker 2>and fresh. And I think some of those things that

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<v Speaker 2>we didn't entirely know we were craving.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet you think it's still there, are still there? It's

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<v Speaker 1>still there. So your parents still live in New Jersey.

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<v Speaker 2>No, my parents actually left when I graduated high school.

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<v Speaker 2>They moved back to Oakland. My mother was I think

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<v Speaker 2>tired of the pizza and the bags. She wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>go back to the Bay Area.

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<v Speaker 1>Food was important growing up. I mean the way you

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<v Speaker 1>described the chips, it sounds like it's important.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, food was so important. I just loved it. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I I think coming from an Italian family a Mexican family,

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<v Speaker 2>that's part of the culture. But when we were living

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<v Speaker 2>in New Jersey, we were very close to where my

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<v Speaker 2>dad grew up. He's from Queen's and so we would

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<v Speaker 2>spend time with our Italian family, and so that's all food.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just about food.

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<v Speaker 1>Did your grandparents were they involved?

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<v Speaker 2>They died when I was younger, but yes, my Italian grandma.

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<v Speaker 2>The favorite thing that she made for me was the

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<v Speaker 2>egg creams, which is just very like New York. We

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<v Speaker 2>would go to her house and she would make egg

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<v Speaker 2>creams for us, and you know, we would eat pasta

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<v Speaker 2>the whole the whole cartoon.

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<v Speaker 1>And what about Mexican food, You know.

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<v Speaker 2>My grandpa would cook for us and he would make

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<v Speaker 2>churiso and eggs, but they were you know, you also

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<v Speaker 2>just sort of go and you get, you get Wendy's.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you go back to Mexico or Italy?

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<v Speaker 2>I have only been to Mexico City and then I've

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<v Speaker 2>been to I've been to Italy, but we kind of

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<v Speaker 2>there's a pilgrimage coming. I think for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>We grew up in this house, surrounded by food, and

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<v Speaker 1>when you left the comfort of this and also a community,

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that you had a house with other people,

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<v Speaker 1>which I actually we always go to Italy in the

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<v Speaker 1>summer and the house is full of families, different families,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're all together and we meet up for breakfast,

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<v Speaker 1>or we meet up for lunch or swim. We do

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<v Speaker 1>all this and then everybody's so happy. This is what

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<v Speaker 1>we love about the summer. And then we all go

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<v Speaker 1>back to our own houses and you think, hmm, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe this is another way of actually living, which we reject,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, from September to June, but then we embrace

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<v Speaker 1>in the summer. You went to college or did you

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<v Speaker 1>start working where.

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<v Speaker 2>I went to UC Santa Barbara, and I was planning

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<v Speaker 2>to study marine biology, and then when I got there,

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<v Speaker 2>there was also a film major. And I don't know,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know why I hadn't thought about it, because

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<v Speaker 2>I was obsessed with movies always, and I liked to

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<v Speaker 2>sit very close to the television so that I could

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<v Speaker 2>try to go inside. And I didn't think about it

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<v Speaker 2>as a job as a kid. I just thought about

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<v Speaker 2>it as something I loved more than anything. And then

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<v Speaker 2>I realized that my fantasy of being a marine biologist,

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<v Speaker 2>of being on a boat and you know, riding dolphins,

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<v Speaker 2>was really completely a fantasy, and many years in the future,

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<v Speaker 2>whereas I could study film and be lost in film immediately.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you remember you ate in college?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my gosh. Well, my favorite food story from college

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<v Speaker 2>is that, for whatever reason, I guess, I didn't have

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<v Speaker 2>cottage cheese as a child, or that just wasn't like common.

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<v Speaker 2>And then in the dining hall, you could just get

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<v Speaker 2>cottage cheese whenever you wanted, and so I had cottage

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<v Speaker 2>cheese for every meal. And then eventually I was like,

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<v Speaker 2>what am I doing?

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<v Speaker 1>And I could.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't eat it for probably like ten years after that,

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<v Speaker 2>because I would have it with my eggs, I would

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<v Speaker 2>have it with lunch. I was just so obsessed with it,

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<v Speaker 2>like an insane person. And I also I worked at

0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.360
<v Speaker 2>the at the dining hall, which was a very strange

0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:07.360
<v Speaker 2>and interesting experience where I worked in the kitchen. I

0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.400
<v Speaker 2>have such a strong memory of how much fun we

0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.079
<v Speaker 2>had back there in our hair nets, but also how

0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.760
<v Speaker 2>terrible the rubber mats would smell at nights, you know,

0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:16.760
<v Speaker 2>and you would have to hose them down. And I

0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.839
<v Speaker 2>was never a waitress because my brain doesn't work that way.

0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.719
<v Speaker 2>I can't. I can't handle that responsibility. But I think

0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:25.079
<v Speaker 2>I think waiters have all really hard jobs.

0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:26.880
<v Speaker 1>Don't you do too. I couldn't be a waiter.

0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.240
<v Speaker 2>But then I also in high school I worked in

0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:32.960
<v Speaker 2>an ice cream store, this wonderful ice cream store, and

0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:36.160
<v Speaker 2>I have such a I have another really strong memory

0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:38.600
<v Speaker 2>of I would hold the bowl and the person I

0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.360
<v Speaker 2>would look at the person and they would tell me

0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.760
<v Speaker 2>their order, and by the time I turned around to

0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:47.439
<v Speaker 2>the ice cream machine behind me, I had forgotten. Yeah,

0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:49.600
<v Speaker 2>I just I don't. I wasn't cut out for that life.

0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.520
<v Speaker 1>Did you know? The River Cafe has a shop. It's

0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:57.920
<v Speaker 1>full of our favorite foods and designs. We have cookbooks

0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:01.720
<v Speaker 1>and then a Napkins kitchen where toad bags with our signatures,

0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:05.440
<v Speaker 1>glasses from Venice, chocolates from Turin. You can find us

0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:08.240
<v Speaker 1>right next door to the River Cafe in London or

0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:20.360
<v Speaker 1>online at shop Therivercafe dot co dot k. Talking about food,

0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:22.720
<v Speaker 1>talking about being a waiter, talking about the ice cream,

0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.560
<v Speaker 1>talking about the chips, leads us into this idea that

0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:29.840
<v Speaker 1>you made with Chris, about food, about restaurants, about the

0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.559
<v Speaker 1>drama of a restaurant and the drama of people who

0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:33.600
<v Speaker 1>work in them, the bear.

0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.160
<v Speaker 2>It is interesting how it does feel like all these

0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.880
<v Speaker 2>things were leading up to he and I meeting in

0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.960
<v Speaker 2>order to make the show. But I'll say that one

0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.719
<v Speaker 2>of the huge things that happened to me that has

0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:47.400
<v Speaker 2>to do with food was that when I moved to

0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.520
<v Speaker 2>la in order to pursue a career in television in

0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.599
<v Speaker 2>some form, I started listening to the radio when I

0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.880
<v Speaker 2>would drive because I moved to la in nineteen ninety nine. Gosh,

0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.920
<v Speaker 2>is that true? That's true. And if there was KCRW,

0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:03.520
<v Speaker 2>there was Morning Becomes Eclectic, and there was Jonathan Gold,

0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:07.120
<v Speaker 2>and listening to him talk about food in the city

0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:11.800
<v Speaker 2>and how food created a city was just life changing

0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.640
<v Speaker 2>for me. It just became a real passion for me.

0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:19.160
<v Speaker 2>The idea of the way that a restaurant defines a

0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.320
<v Speaker 2>city has like completely stayed with me. His thing about

0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.480
<v Speaker 2>eating all the way down Pico and just being invested

0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.160
<v Speaker 2>in your town and your city really inspired me. And

0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:32.080
<v Speaker 2>I think similarly, I think Jonathan Gold led me to

0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.000
<v Speaker 2>read Ruth Rachel and I'm just so I just adored

0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.400
<v Speaker 2>her books. You know, I just love them. I love

0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:39.840
<v Speaker 2>food in books. I just I love it. The idea

0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.760
<v Speaker 2>of describing something beautifully and being able to share that

0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.600
<v Speaker 2>idea my sister and I both have, like the idea

0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:50.040
<v Speaker 2>of food is sometimes even better than actual food, you know.

0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.560
<v Speaker 2>And I think I just loved Ruth Rachel's writing, but

0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.600
<v Speaker 2>also her passion I haven't I had.

0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.160
<v Speaker 1>That we'll do something. She's a great and you know,

0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:04.480
<v Speaker 1>as you said, beautiful writer. So tell me about how

0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:05.480
<v Speaker 1>did you meet Chris?

0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:09.560
<v Speaker 2>Yes, Chris Doorer is the person who created The Bear,

0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:14.240
<v Speaker 2>and it was really came out of his experiences in

0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.679
<v Speaker 2>your world. His sister, Coco was a chef, but I think, yeah,

0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:21.080
<v Speaker 2>he also had his own love of not just all food,

0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.160
<v Speaker 2>but I think particularly he had a point of view

0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 2>on the world of fine dining, what was positive about it,

0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:29.880
<v Speaker 2>what was negative, but also that it was just amazing

0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:34.160
<v Speaker 2>that it was this secret world. And he had written

0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.320
<v Speaker 2>a movie that was sort of The Bear and then

0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.800
<v Speaker 2>decided to turn it into a TV show. And I

0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.720
<v Speaker 2>had been writing for many years. And we met in

0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 2>the most boring way, which is literally my manager was like,

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.520
<v Speaker 2>do you want to meet this guy? And I was like, oh,

0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.200
<v Speaker 2>I guess. And we zoomed during the pandemic and I

0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.680
<v Speaker 2>had read some of his scripts. I just thought, not

0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 2>only did I love the way he wrote, but I

0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.000
<v Speaker 2>mainly was like, I love this world, you know, for

0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.040
<v Speaker 2>all the reasons that we're talking about, And it was

0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:05.480
<v Speaker 2>really exciting to me. We didn't know each other, we'd

0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.160
<v Speaker 2>never met. We just met on a computer and then

0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.480
<v Speaker 2>we got on the phone and talked because I wanted

0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:13.640
<v Speaker 2>to make sure I connected with him personally and before

0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.320
<v Speaker 2>we sort of launched into this whole thing's some kind

0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.640
<v Speaker 2>of working relationship, and it just felt like I had

0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:21.600
<v Speaker 2>known him my whole life. I think it has to

0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.240
<v Speaker 2>feel that way. I've felt. I mean, I've experienced different

0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.080
<v Speaker 2>kinds of partnerships, and I think you either have this

0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.040
<v Speaker 2>like partner chemistry or you don't. And I think I

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.720
<v Speaker 2>just had this instinct that we had something in common.

0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.040
<v Speaker 1>How did you work together, how did you work how

0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:37.080
<v Speaker 1>did you write together?

0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.000
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's changed. In the beginning, we were just

0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 2>sort of trying to see if we could get FX

0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:43.840
<v Speaker 2>to let us make the pilot, so that meant that

0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:46.000
<v Speaker 2>I just gave him feedback and I was like, what

0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.280
<v Speaker 2>if we try this, or this is great, or let's

0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.320
<v Speaker 2>move this up or you know, I think not too surprisingly.

0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.120
<v Speaker 2>He had created the character of Sydney and she was

0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.760
<v Speaker 2>very much based on Cocoa, but when I first read

0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.680
<v Speaker 2>the scripts, she didn't appear until episode three, and I said,

0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.560
<v Speaker 2>I really like that girl character. Can we move her up?

0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:09.560
<v Speaker 1>Hi? Hello, Hi, I'm Sydney. I called about the suposition, and.

0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:11.600
<v Speaker 2>The fact that he was like, yeah, let's do it,

0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:14.160
<v Speaker 2>I think was sort of the beginning of just us

0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.440
<v Speaker 2>being able to push each other and change things, but

0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:20.080
<v Speaker 2>always with keeping what's special about his voice?

0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:24.240
<v Speaker 1>What's you ps? That's in Chicago or United Parcel Service?

0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 2>The one's the male?

0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you would you do for them?

0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.880
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes I'm just helping him with his scripts. Sometimes we're

0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.440
<v Speaker 2>writing together, sometimes all outline and then he'll write. Sometimes

0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.640
<v Speaker 2>we'll share. Sometimes he'll write scenes, all write scenes. Sometimes

0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:40.960
<v Speaker 2>I'll just write a script on myself.

0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:41.440
<v Speaker 1>That's the thing.

0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.480
<v Speaker 2>It's completely fluid and there is no one way, which

0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:45.560
<v Speaker 2>makes it really thrilling.

0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:49.320
<v Speaker 1>Okay, so you know the drill. We uh, you're gonna

0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.520
<v Speaker 1>make family. Just meet plus three and we weat around two.

0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:53.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, heard, dope.

0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:54.000
<v Speaker 3>Cool.

0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:58.800
<v Speaker 1>There are so many parallels between writing and cooking and

0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.880
<v Speaker 1>teaching a chef to make a sauce or working with

0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:04.679
<v Speaker 1>an actor to create a scene. And I think that

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.040
<v Speaker 1>restaurants are quite dramatic places. There's the drama between the

0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.840
<v Speaker 1>chef and the other chefs. There's a drama between the

0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:14.200
<v Speaker 1>chefs and the waiters and the waiters and the customers

0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:16.480
<v Speaker 1>and the customers and each other. You know, you see

0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:20.000
<v Speaker 1>people crying in restaurants. We've seen it in your series

0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:24.679
<v Speaker 1>We've seen the intimacy between people who are doing repetitive work.

0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.720
<v Speaker 1>You emote, it's very emotional and it's very personal. Do

0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:29.680
<v Speaker 1>you think, Oh, I couldn't agree more.

0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.280
<v Speaker 2>I don't think it had occurred to me how many

0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:36.680
<v Speaker 2>similarities there are into my business and to being a chef.

0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.480
<v Speaker 2>But they're so similar, and I think at the core

0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:45.160
<v Speaker 2>of that is just passionate people, feeling people, and also

0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:49.160
<v Speaker 2>just the humanity. Right, It's like, that's what I love

0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.480
<v Speaker 2>about the Bear, you know, especially season one, is like

0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.760
<v Speaker 2>they're all jammed into this tiny space, and so you

0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.040
<v Speaker 2>have really different kinds of people. Some are leaders, some

0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.920
<v Speaker 2>are followers, some are aggressive, some are soft, Some are

0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:04.520
<v Speaker 2>doing the repetitive stuff and that's where they feel best.

0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.879
<v Speaker 2>Some want to create, you know, and they're all within

0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:10.280
<v Speaker 2>two inches of each other. I mean, that's insane.

0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:13.600
<v Speaker 1>I have a conversation for a second. Whoa is this?

0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.720
<v Speaker 2>This is Sydney. I'm starving today.

0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.320
<v Speaker 1>You're wading today, Sydney. She's helping us out today. Cousin,

0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:21.160
<v Speaker 1>you ordered different mannais bro banana? Oh you shof?

0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.639
<v Speaker 2>Oh you shift this bif He was using them to

0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:24.600
<v Speaker 2>make a giant knuckle.

0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.600
<v Speaker 1>It's a play on a panatonia would have been beautiful

0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:30.439
<v Speaker 1>if you let me finish something. Colusene Richie Jeremovich, pleasure

0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:33.520
<v Speaker 1>to meet you, sweetheart, say sweetheart, farm you're so woof.

0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:36.680
<v Speaker 2>I mean nothing by it, Sydney sat Sweetheart's just part

0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:37.359
<v Speaker 2>of our Italian hair.

0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.920
<v Speaker 1>Okay, listen, I'm trying to talk to you. Okay, don't

0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.000
<v Speaker 1>be rude and start doing a million things like the

0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:49.240
<v Speaker 1>smartest we have in the River Cafe an open kitchen.

0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:52.919
<v Speaker 1>There's no wool between the person who's eating and ourselves.

0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.760
<v Speaker 1>And when we first opened, a friend of mine who's

0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.960
<v Speaker 1>the theater director, came and I said, doesn't it look

0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.479
<v Speaker 1>like theater and he said, no, actually looks like ballet.

0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:04.360
<v Speaker 1>Because everybody is moving, nobody can shout. We all go

0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.880
<v Speaker 1>next to each other. We you know, we move around

0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.520
<v Speaker 1>the kitchen and speak very softly. But I think that

0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.280
<v Speaker 1>it was also interesting for me to see in your

0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:19.080
<v Speaker 1>kitchens a kind of way of growing forward. You know

0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.160
<v Speaker 1>that how we move this profession of being a chef

0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:26.040
<v Speaker 1>into being like a lawyer, like a journalist, And that's

0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.239
<v Speaker 1>kind of what you want to achieve. You want that

0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.080
<v Speaker 1>energy and that drama, but you also want it to

0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:33.680
<v Speaker 1>be fair and you want it to be hope rather

0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:34.200
<v Speaker 1>than fear.

0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, yes, of course we do. And also

0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:41.000
<v Speaker 2>I am really interested in this idea that I think

0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:43.240
<v Speaker 2>we're always circling on the show, which is where do

0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:45.800
<v Speaker 2>the heart edges fit in our lives? Do we need that?

0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:50.000
<v Speaker 2>Do we need anger? Do we need release? Are we?

0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:52.800
<v Speaker 2>Are we all trying a little too hard to push

0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.600
<v Speaker 2>away the part of us that's saying that there's a

0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:59.359
<v Speaker 2>darkness too? How does the darkness benefit us? You know,

0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:02.600
<v Speaker 2>does it? You know? I just I think I don't know.

0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:04.080
<v Speaker 2>I'm interested in that for sure.

0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Tell me about one of the episodes that you directed

0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:07.959
<v Speaker 1>that you'd like to talk about.

0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:12.200
<v Speaker 2>Oh, my gosh, I mean, I'll talk about in season two,

0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.760
<v Speaker 2>I directed the episode where Sydney is going out and

0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:20.320
<v Speaker 2>eating everywhere. Yeah, because that seems the most relevant. But

0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.520
<v Speaker 2>I will say it was so hard. I mean, it

0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:27.000
<v Speaker 2>was so challenging. We shot in so many locations all

0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:31.240
<v Speaker 2>over the city, interrupting these restaurants that were just trying

0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:33.640
<v Speaker 2>to do business, but they opened their doors to us.

0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:38.040
<v Speaker 2>You know. It was such a special look into how

0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.960
<v Speaker 2>those kitchens work because it was kind of like half

0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:45.200
<v Speaker 2>documentary half, you know, fiction, and so that was such

0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:49.040
<v Speaker 2>a challenge to try to really tell honest stories about

0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.600
<v Speaker 2>the people that worked there and to use real chefs.

0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:53.399
<v Speaker 2>But also they have to act and they have to

0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:55.879
<v Speaker 2>say lines, and I had to figure out how to

0:20:55.920 --> 0:21:00.640
<v Speaker 2>direct non actors. And then you had Io eating every

0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:05.240
<v Speaker 2>single food, every single thing. And I was so proud

0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.160
<v Speaker 2>of her. I was so proud because it's hard. Yeah,

0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:10.399
<v Speaker 2>it's hard to just eat and like you know that

0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:12.200
<v Speaker 2>moment when you're eating and then it's like you take

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.480
<v Speaker 2>one too many bites and it's no longer food, it's

0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:18.880
<v Speaker 2>just like matter in your mouth. I'm always delighted by

0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:23.280
<v Speaker 2>that experience, and I pushed beyond that and really put

0:21:23.280 --> 0:21:25.480
<v Speaker 2>a beautiful performance on the screen.

0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:28.600
<v Speaker 1>We wanted to talk about the pasta, but why don't

0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:29.040
<v Speaker 1>you ask?

0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:31.280
<v Speaker 2>Well?

0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:33.480
<v Speaker 3>I love the episode because there are two scenes that

0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:35.800
<v Speaker 3>stand out to me. One is the beautiful way you

0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:38.359
<v Speaker 3>show the montage the pasta's on the plate, which is

0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:40.280
<v Speaker 3>so beautiful. It really crosses, like you say, in the

0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:43.719
<v Speaker 3>line of art and documentary and fiction in the episode.

0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:45.600
<v Speaker 3>But I also love where Carme and Sider in the

0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:49.000
<v Speaker 3>kitchen testing this past the recipe together over his kitchen table,

0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.200
<v Speaker 3>And I like the idea of when there are scenes

0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:54.199
<v Speaker 3>like that, does it is it the food that influences

0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:56.199
<v Speaker 3>the scene or is it the other way around? What

0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:58.240
<v Speaker 3>food would involve both of them?

0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:00.960
<v Speaker 2>That's such a good question. I love that scene too,

0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:04.520
<v Speaker 2>because I think, are you talking about the one where

0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:05.640
<v Speaker 2>they taste it and it's bad?

0:22:05.960 --> 0:22:06.240
<v Speaker 3>Yes?

0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:17.679
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, Oh, oh my god, chef, that's way too

0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:20.560
<v Speaker 1>much as oh my god, oh did I fuck up

0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:22.760
<v Speaker 1>your recipe? Or no? I must have just given you

0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:23.680
<v Speaker 1>the wrong account. It's fine.

0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:25.359
<v Speaker 2>Wait do you need rule it or something? Did I

0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:26.040
<v Speaker 2>give you heartburn?

0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:31.200
<v Speaker 1>Because I've no, no, no, no, no, no, it's I'm sorry.

0:22:31.400 --> 0:22:31.840
<v Speaker 1>I'm sign.

0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:32.560
<v Speaker 2>Yes.

0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:33.359
<v Speaker 1>I loved that.

0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:36.400
<v Speaker 2>I was like, oh, it's so funny to be like, yeah,

0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.200
<v Speaker 2>sometimes it's bad, right, Like we I realized we hadn't

0:22:39.200 --> 0:22:41.000
<v Speaker 2>seen that, you know what I mean, we hadn't seen

0:22:41.720 --> 0:22:44.800
<v Speaker 2>the mistake and that that's obviously such a such a

0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:48.080
<v Speaker 2>character moment too. But but I just liked the idea

0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:51.199
<v Speaker 2>that we often see in movies when they take the

0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:54.080
<v Speaker 2>bite and it's delicious, but I hadn't seen the other thing.

0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.600
<v Speaker 2>But I think for us it's really it's all connected.

0:22:57.640 --> 0:23:01.160
<v Speaker 2>Like sometimes we'll write in a script a certain food

0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:04.040
<v Speaker 2>right for that scene, a certain dish. But then when

0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:06.679
<v Speaker 2>you get into pre production, you actually sit down with

0:23:06.880 --> 0:23:10.159
<v Speaker 2>Mattie Matheson and Courtney Store, who you know are our

0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:13.800
<v Speaker 2>food consultants, and we create a whole menu, not just

0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:16.960
<v Speaker 2>for the restaurant but for the show. So we worked

0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:19.000
<v Speaker 2>backwards because we were like, Okay, at the end of

0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:21.840
<v Speaker 2>the season, she's going to have this version of this dish.

0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:24.760
<v Speaker 2>So then working backwards, what do we need that to be?

0:23:25.400 --> 0:23:27.199
<v Speaker 2>And we really we had this idea of doing this

0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:30.159
<v Speaker 2>ravioli thing you guys are talking about in sort of

0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:37.000
<v Speaker 2>the visual connections of ravioli and revoli, connection to dumplings

0:23:37.400 --> 0:23:39.800
<v Speaker 2>and to Parogi's, and sort of just this idea of

0:23:39.880 --> 0:23:43.920
<v Speaker 2>just like stuffed pasta, right, So we wanted it all

0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.080
<v Speaker 2>to be connected. So it could have honestly been anything,

0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:49.359
<v Speaker 2>but we sort of tried to make it cohesive so

0:23:49.400 --> 0:23:52.800
<v Speaker 2>that you could follow her thinking and her creative path

0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:53.679
<v Speaker 2>through the whole season.

0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:56.359
<v Speaker 1>Do you think differently about food? Do you think that

0:23:56.480 --> 0:23:59.360
<v Speaker 1>working in this way where food has become a performance,

0:23:59.400 --> 0:24:03.480
<v Speaker 1>it's become visual, it's so many people involved, has that

0:24:03.680 --> 0:24:07.200
<v Speaker 1>intimacy that you had Chateau bagel or living with your mother.

0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:10.440
<v Speaker 1>How does that translate? That's an interesting question.

0:24:10.520 --> 0:24:12.680
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I think for the most part, I still

0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:16.440
<v Speaker 2>feel like the small moments at home are the best

0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:18.959
<v Speaker 2>food moments. You know, when I cook for my kids,

0:24:19.080 --> 0:24:21.880
<v Speaker 2>my daughter wants pesto pasta, they want pretzels, they want

0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:25.439
<v Speaker 2>good pretzels, they want tasty honey pretzels. Like it's just

0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:28.720
<v Speaker 2>it's the simple things that actually make your life go around.

0:24:29.160 --> 0:24:31.040
<v Speaker 2>I do feel really lucky to have been able to

0:24:31.080 --> 0:24:33.879
<v Speaker 2>go to some really good restaurants because of the show,

0:24:34.440 --> 0:24:37.760
<v Speaker 2>and it's still so magical and so special. Thinking about

0:24:37.760 --> 0:24:41.800
<v Speaker 2>it so much, I do feel worried about food waste

0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:45.720
<v Speaker 2>and all the unpleasantries of the business of food, and

0:24:45.760 --> 0:24:49.560
<v Speaker 2>how I'm so privileged to get to go to some

0:24:49.640 --> 0:24:51.760
<v Speaker 2>of the places that I get to go, and so,

0:24:52.000 --> 0:24:54.480
<v Speaker 2>you know, I think I worry about that sometimes, but

0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:56.800
<v Speaker 2>for the most part, I still think food is spectacular

0:24:56.840 --> 0:24:58.080
<v Speaker 2>and makes world go round.

0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:00.440
<v Speaker 1>Tell me about the women chefs that you met. Let's

0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:01.200
<v Speaker 1>talk about women.

0:25:02.280 --> 0:25:04.800
<v Speaker 2>I love talking about women. I mean, I'll start with

0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:08.280
<v Speaker 2>Courtney with Coco, what a force, but also what a

0:25:08.320 --> 0:25:12.160
<v Speaker 2>beautiful connector of people she was with me when we

0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:14.879
<v Speaker 2>were shooting that episode with Sydney out in the city

0:25:14.880 --> 0:25:17.440
<v Speaker 2>and we were in this parogi place that's been there

0:25:17.440 --> 0:25:20.000
<v Speaker 2>forever in Chicago, and she said, come here, come with me,

0:25:20.520 --> 0:25:22.199
<v Speaker 2>and we walked into the back and she was like,

0:25:22.280 --> 0:25:24.359
<v Speaker 2>it's all women. Also, that idea that you could just

0:25:24.359 --> 0:25:26.480
<v Speaker 2>walk into the back of a restaurant, it's so crazy,

0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:29.040
<v Speaker 2>you know, that's so cool, But she just was. She

0:25:29.080 --> 0:25:31.000
<v Speaker 2>took my hand and we walked in the back and

0:25:31.040 --> 0:25:34.080
<v Speaker 2>it was all Polish women and it was this very

0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:36.320
<v Speaker 2>beautiful thing, and she was like, do you see. And

0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:40.320
<v Speaker 2>I think she completely opened my eyes to this thing

0:25:40.359 --> 0:25:44.280
<v Speaker 2>where there is such a tradition of male chefs, right,

0:25:44.320 --> 0:25:46.359
<v Speaker 2>and we are dealing with that in our show, and

0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:50.000
<v Speaker 2>obviously so many of our famous chefs are male. That

0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:53.800
<v Speaker 2>is just the world. But her showing me that these

0:25:53.920 --> 0:25:57.320
<v Speaker 2>kitchens are full of women and talking to me about

0:25:57.400 --> 0:25:59.920
<v Speaker 2>how does a woman communicate versus how a man communicates

0:26:00.080 --> 0:26:03.159
<v Speaker 2>the kitchen has been just so inspirational and such an

0:26:03.200 --> 0:26:05.480
<v Speaker 2>important part of the show. And so, I mean, cop

0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:08.680
<v Speaker 2>is my number one woman in food And.

0:26:08.640 --> 0:26:10.879
<v Speaker 1>Do you feel is there a parallel in television?

0:26:11.080 --> 0:26:14.320
<v Speaker 2>Oh? Yes, oh yes, oh yes, I mean I think

0:26:15.960 --> 0:26:19.480
<v Speaker 2>that idea of trying to figure out what tone of

0:26:19.560 --> 0:26:22.359
<v Speaker 2>voice to use, Like my voice is kind of low,

0:26:22.480 --> 0:26:24.520
<v Speaker 2>and then thinking about, well do I use that low

0:26:24.600 --> 0:26:26.959
<v Speaker 2>voice or do I use my little voice? You know,

0:26:27.040 --> 0:26:30.720
<v Speaker 2>those kinds of questions are things that I have had

0:26:30.760 --> 0:26:33.480
<v Speaker 2>to navigate as a director. You know, as a writer,

0:26:33.680 --> 0:26:35.920
<v Speaker 2>it's easier. You kind of just sit and you press

0:26:35.920 --> 0:26:39.679
<v Speaker 2>your little buttons, and for me, I find that really easy.

0:26:40.200 --> 0:26:44.359
<v Speaker 2>But being a director has really been in experience in

0:26:44.440 --> 0:26:46.680
<v Speaker 2>trying to figure out how to be a female on set.

0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:49.480
<v Speaker 1>Do you find it a lonely place? Yes?

0:26:49.880 --> 0:26:51.879
<v Speaker 2>I think directing is lonely in general, and Chris and

0:26:51.960 --> 0:26:54.160
<v Speaker 2>I have talked about that. Obviously, I'm still learning. Maybe

0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:57.439
<v Speaker 2>when I'm better at it, I'll feel differently. But I

0:26:57.480 --> 0:27:00.800
<v Speaker 2>think directors are also siloed from each other too, you know.

0:27:01.000 --> 0:27:03.720
<v Speaker 2>So it's because you don't direct together. You all have

0:27:03.800 --> 0:27:06.880
<v Speaker 2>these different ways of doing it. There isn't really an

0:27:06.880 --> 0:27:10.160
<v Speaker 2>easy way to compare and contrast. So even though you're

0:27:10.160 --> 0:27:13.960
<v Speaker 2>collaborating with each person on the set, ultimately you are

0:27:14.000 --> 0:27:16.280
<v Speaker 2>in your own lay and it's definitely lonely. Is being

0:27:16.280 --> 0:27:16.960
<v Speaker 2>a chef lonely?

0:27:17.080 --> 0:27:18.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? I was going to say that's a coco. When

0:27:18.920 --> 0:27:21.320
<v Speaker 1>I spoke to her today, she said, I love being

0:27:21.359 --> 0:27:23.840
<v Speaker 1>a chef and being in a restaurant is that it's

0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:27.480
<v Speaker 1>very very collaborative. You know that if someone doesn't chop

0:27:27.520 --> 0:27:30.720
<v Speaker 1>the PARSI then you can't make the sauce. If someone

0:27:30.800 --> 0:27:32.400
<v Speaker 1>is late. I would say it's a very good place

0:27:32.480 --> 0:27:34.480
<v Speaker 1>for young people to work because if you're late, you

0:27:34.480 --> 0:27:36.280
<v Speaker 1>don't get in trouble with your boss, You get in

0:27:36.320 --> 0:27:38.159
<v Speaker 1>trouble with you know, the people who are depending you

0:27:38.560 --> 0:27:42.080
<v Speaker 1>on you, and so it teaches you that collaboration. But

0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:44.399
<v Speaker 1>I think that what we're all trying to learn is

0:27:44.440 --> 0:27:47.160
<v Speaker 1>how you give feedback, how you give criticism, how you

0:27:47.200 --> 0:27:51.520
<v Speaker 1>take criticism. All that. And I started the restaurant with

0:27:51.560 --> 0:27:55.359
<v Speaker 1>another woman, with Rose Gray, and we have had a

0:27:55.520 --> 0:27:58.720
<v Speaker 1>very strong percentage of women in every role. I don't

0:27:58.720 --> 0:28:02.679
<v Speaker 1>necessarily think women cook differently than men. I don't go

0:28:02.800 --> 0:28:04.960
<v Speaker 1>for that. You know, we cook with more gentleness or

0:28:05.000 --> 0:28:07.760
<v Speaker 1>more love or more attention. But the dynamic in the

0:28:07.840 --> 0:28:11.000
<v Speaker 1>kitchen when you have women and men together as opposed

0:28:11.000 --> 0:28:13.920
<v Speaker 1>to men or just women, is really apparent.

0:28:14.080 --> 0:28:18.000
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I think you're right, and I'm excited to explore

0:28:18.040 --> 0:28:19.560
<v Speaker 2>that more. What is it like to be on a

0:28:19.600 --> 0:28:21.480
<v Speaker 2>set with more women. What is it like to be

0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:23.439
<v Speaker 2>on a set that's fifty to fifty? You know, I

0:28:23.480 --> 0:28:23.879
<v Speaker 2>just don't know.

0:28:24.119 --> 0:28:24.320
<v Speaker 3>Ye know.

0:28:24.480 --> 0:28:26.400
<v Speaker 2>I think those are things that I want to experience.

0:28:26.440 --> 0:28:27.880
<v Speaker 1>And so what are you working on now?

0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:32.159
<v Speaker 2>We are writing season three of The Bear. That's really fun.

0:28:33.240 --> 0:28:34.160
<v Speaker 2>That's the easy part.

0:28:34.400 --> 0:28:37.080
<v Speaker 1>You're not on zoom calls with Chris? Are you together

0:28:37.160 --> 0:28:38.120
<v Speaker 1>in an office?

0:28:38.200 --> 0:28:42.160
<v Speaker 2>No? We do zoom unfortunately. But I think we're going

0:28:42.200 --> 0:28:45.040
<v Speaker 2>to try to have dinner in a couple of weeks.

0:28:45.040 --> 0:28:46.560
<v Speaker 1>Where would the two of you go? Do you have

0:28:46.600 --> 0:28:47.800
<v Speaker 1>the same taste in food?

0:28:47.960 --> 0:28:49.800
<v Speaker 2>We want to go to New York. We want to

0:28:49.840 --> 0:28:52.400
<v Speaker 2>meet up in New York and go eat some good food.

0:28:52.680 --> 0:28:53.360
<v Speaker 2>That's our plan.

0:28:53.720 --> 0:28:55.440
<v Speaker 1>Do you read out much? Do you go? Can you

0:28:55.480 --> 0:28:56.160
<v Speaker 1>take the children?

0:28:56.280 --> 0:28:59.040
<v Speaker 2>Or do I ditch the children and I go out?

0:28:59.280 --> 0:28:59.480
<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

0:28:59.520 --> 0:29:01.959
<v Speaker 2>That's I mean. I love my kids so much, but

0:29:02.040 --> 0:29:05.360
<v Speaker 2>I think eating out is such a luxury and it

0:29:05.400 --> 0:29:08.520
<v Speaker 2>needs to be not about telling them to be quiet,

0:29:08.520 --> 0:29:11.240
<v Speaker 2>because they deserve to be loud.

0:29:11.400 --> 0:29:18.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Okay. If you like listening to Ruthie's Table for

0:29:19.160 --> 0:29:22.800
<v Speaker 1>would you please make sure to rate and review the

0:29:22.880 --> 0:29:28.200
<v Speaker 1>podcast on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever

0:29:28.320 --> 0:29:41.680
<v Speaker 1>you get your podcasts. Thank you. We're talking about drama,

0:29:41.800 --> 0:29:46.040
<v Speaker 1>we're talking about food. We're talking about the brilliant, beautiful

0:29:46.040 --> 0:29:48.920
<v Speaker 1>series you've given us. You know that I think you've

0:29:48.920 --> 0:29:52.080
<v Speaker 1>made people want to know about restaurants. You people wanted

0:29:52.080 --> 0:29:54.640
<v Speaker 1>to know about cooking. You've had empathy for people who

0:29:54.720 --> 0:29:58.120
<v Speaker 1>are either behind the kitchen or in front of you,

0:29:58.280 --> 0:30:01.320
<v Speaker 1>or who are grilling. Who are the curtain goes up

0:30:01.400 --> 0:30:04.480
<v Speaker 1>and everyone sits down, and I think on the path

0:30:04.560 --> 0:30:07.360
<v Speaker 1>of everyone, we thank you. It's very interesting how I

0:30:07.400 --> 0:30:09.920
<v Speaker 1>talk to the chefs about it. You know that everybody

0:30:09.960 --> 0:30:11.840
<v Speaker 1>in the River Cafe is watching it, and we talk

0:30:11.880 --> 0:30:14.240
<v Speaker 1>about it, and we relate to it, and we say

0:30:14.280 --> 0:30:17.160
<v Speaker 1>what's different about our environment to the environment we see.

0:30:17.200 --> 0:30:20.520
<v Speaker 1>But there is a real representation I think that you've

0:30:20.560 --> 0:30:21.360
<v Speaker 1>created for us.

0:30:21.520 --> 0:30:24.400
<v Speaker 2>That's so wonderful. I mean, we are so grateful that

0:30:24.440 --> 0:30:27.080
<v Speaker 2>people are watching like truly. I mean, I had no

0:30:27.200 --> 0:30:30.680
<v Speaker 2>idea that people would respond to it this way, but

0:30:30.840 --> 0:30:34.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm so glad and so grateful, and I also just

0:30:34.800 --> 0:30:37.720
<v Speaker 2>it's really nice to have something to connect over. I

0:30:37.760 --> 0:30:40.840
<v Speaker 2>do think that's something I miss about television when I

0:30:40.920 --> 0:30:43.080
<v Speaker 2>was younger was because there were less shows, you could

0:30:43.120 --> 0:30:45.760
<v Speaker 2>kind of really connect. Everyone sort of had a moment

0:30:45.800 --> 0:30:47.360
<v Speaker 2>to say, well, what does this make you feel? What

0:30:47.400 --> 0:30:49.720
<v Speaker 2>do you like about it? You know whatever, even just

0:30:49.760 --> 0:30:52.880
<v Speaker 2>saying your little catchphrases or whatever. It's like, that's a

0:30:52.880 --> 0:30:55.440
<v Speaker 2>way for us to have a community. And so it's

0:30:55.520 --> 0:30:58.560
<v Speaker 2>so lovely that people are feeling connected.

0:30:58.760 --> 0:31:02.280
<v Speaker 1>We are we are connected. Food is connection, dramas connection.

0:31:02.480 --> 0:31:06.000
<v Speaker 1>People are connection. And my last question to you is comfort.

0:31:06.080 --> 0:31:09.200
<v Speaker 1>You've described the joyousness of eating, and the joyousness of

0:31:09.200 --> 0:31:12.080
<v Speaker 1>feeding your children, and the joyousness of your parents' kitchens.

0:31:12.360 --> 0:31:15.520
<v Speaker 1>But sometimes we do need comfort in food. And I

0:31:15.560 --> 0:31:18.000
<v Speaker 1>was wondering if for my last question, the channa is

0:31:18.040 --> 0:31:20.000
<v Speaker 1>what is the food you might turn to if you

0:31:20.080 --> 0:31:22.440
<v Speaker 1>need comfort? Ruthie, I think you know what it is.

0:31:23.560 --> 0:31:26.920
<v Speaker 2>It's bagel, bag old cream cheese, and I want potato

0:31:27.040 --> 0:31:29.320
<v Speaker 2>chips on the side.

0:31:29.760 --> 0:31:31.480
<v Speaker 1>Well, we will find that when I see you in

0:31:31.520 --> 0:31:33.520
<v Speaker 1>New York or in London. We'll just go and we'll

0:31:33.560 --> 0:31:35.520
<v Speaker 1>eat at the River Cafe and I'll take you in

0:31:35.560 --> 0:31:38.440
<v Speaker 1>the kitchen. But most of all, thank you, thank you,

0:31:38.680 --> 0:31:39.520
<v Speaker 1>Thanks bye bye.

0:31:42.800 --> 0:31:46.160
<v Speaker 3>Ruthie's Table Floor is produced by Atami Studios for iHeartRadio

0:31:46.920 --> 0:31:50.080
<v Speaker 3>is hosted by Ruthie Rodgers. It's produced by William Lensky

0:31:50.640 --> 0:31:54.440
<v Speaker 3>for Executive producers are Zad Rogers and facetew Our production

0:31:54.520 --> 0:31:58.440
<v Speaker 3>manager is Caitlin Parafle. Our production coordinator is Bella Celina.

0:31:59.080 --> 0:32:00.000
<v Speaker 3>Special thanks to every

0:32:02.040 --> 0:32:02.080
<v Speaker 2>Ne