Chocolate and Zucchini?
Posted: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 1:35 PM by Jaclyn Levin
(From Alexandra Pournaras, TODAY Producer)
If you’ve been reading the TODAY blog you’ve heard lots of stories of what it’s like to work at the Today Show. Of course, I think it’s great. And one of the reasons I’ve stayed here for over 10 years is the range of stories I can work on in a month, week and even day. Everyday is different and the only way to keep track of what’s next is to check my calendar which gets updated daily. Today I thought I’d give you an insider’s look at how one of those spots goes from an idea to being on the air.
About a month ago, I was assigned a cookbook spot. (Yes… sometimes we are assigned segments and other times we come up with the story idea ourselves – a question I’m often asked.) Food blogger, Clotilde Dusoulier has written her first cookbook, Chocolate and Zucchini, which is also the name of her own blog. I checked out her website and felt I had been whisked away to a Paris café. I couldn’t wait to speak with her directly. After a series of emails (there is a 6 hour time difference between Paris and New York) we spoke.
After asking her about her blog and life (she spent 2 years in the San Francisco Bay area working in the dot com world.), we got down to business and discussed which recipe she would demo. For cooking spots, we usually demo one recipe and then have a few ‘beauty’ dishes (recipes that are prepared in advance) to give viewers a sense of what they can find in the book..
She wanted to demo a savory French toast – her “Two Tomatoes and Cheese French Toast” recipe which is perfect for a summer meal or appetizer. Since cooking segments are usually under 5 minutes long we had to come up with a plan to make this 40+ minute recipe demo fit into our allotted time. It wasn’t as hard as it sounds since the French toast bakes for about 20-30 minutes. After the plan had been set, I put her in touch with our food stylist who would prepare all the food – since Clotilde lives in Paris it would have been difficult to prepare 5 dishes in NY without any help. (FYI -- when we book NY based chefs/guests, they will often prepare their own recipes and our food stylist will help make everything TV-ready.
Fast-forward a couple of weeks to the afternoon before the segment when Clotilde Dusoulier came to the studio. We set up the cooking equipment and blocked out how the segment could work. What sounded possible over the phone didn’t quite work when we blocked it out. We realized certain elements would take longer than planned while other steps were a bit awkward. Add to the mix that both Ann and Natalie would be part of the segment and that this was Clotilde’s first US television appearance, setup took some time. Not to get into too much detail that will bore you to tears but…. Examples of a few small changes we made included having the tomatoes already prepped (both types of tomatoes, fresh and slow roasted, would be chopped or sliced) and finding jobs to include both Natalie and Ann in the segment. As simple as it sounds just moving the location of the baking pan was a huge help to ease the flow.
Clotilde, the food stylist, the book publicist and I went through the segment a few more times to make sure everything was set and that she had the right spoons, tongs, bowls, knives etc. Keep in mind, English isn’t her first language, this was her first time on the show and the segment would be LIVE. There are no do-overs. You can’t stop cameras and start again! The more we practiced the better the segment would be.
Even with all the practice runs, I told Clotilde that since the segment was live, there were no guarantees it would go as we prepared. Both Ann and Natalie bring their own knowledge and personalities to the segment. And you can’t forget that this is the last segment of the show – if one of the other segments went long, the time for the segment could be cut.
Before leaving for the evening I gave her my last piece of advice… the key to a successful segment is to go with the flow, have fun and the all important rule of thumb… Breath.
In the morning Clotilde arrived and ventured back into the kitchen. By then our set designer had added a few more items to the table to make everything look pretty…. some fresh tomatoes, herbs, and of course, chunks of chocolate and fresh zucchini!
The segment went on without a hitch – though they did cut our time. WATCH VIDEO Ann and Natalie were pros and kept the segment moving. And once we were off the air, the staff rushed the set to try out all the food. Everything was delicious! After checking out the savory French toast, (RECIPE HERE) try the ‘Very Chocolate Cookies.’ They were amazing!
