There are no shows about what it;s like to cook in a restaurant. yes there are cooking shows . There are no dramas, like there are about doctors and lawyers. Until now. Hulu has produced an interesting series about chefs.
Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this new TV show in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It's called "The Bear" and it's streaming on Hulu and FX. Jeremy Allen White who was a regular on Shameless and has appeared on "Law and Order" plays the main character Carmen Berzato, a high profile chef. He comes home to Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after his brother Mikey has committed suicide. He has also left a thirty thousand dollar debt but no note.Carmen has a lot going on. He has no time to grieve as he has to retain employees along with trying to make good food. The scripts and acting are riveting. Carmen is running on a hamster wheel of tasks. He's dicing carrots, breaking up fights and peddling his vintage denim collection to buy meat. Worse he inherits hid brother's prickly crew who are loyal to his brother's memory along with his spaghetti recipe. There's also a raging , grieving manager (who's also a friend " who calls him Bobby Flay and much worse
Is this an accurate picture of the industry? It seems to be. The track record on these kind of shows isn't great according to Christopher Storer, co-showrunner of "Bear". He is no stranger to filming the food industry. His multiple documentaries were about the food business before turning to fiction with movies like Eight Grade and "Ramy".His friend, Canadian chef, Matty Matheson ho also produced and wound up with a small part said he wanted an accurate description that showed both the good and bad side of the industry. Some of the best scenes involve sharp accuracy along with reality. The show is sort of based on one of Mr/ Storer's childhood friends, Christopher Zucchero who is Italian beef royalty. His father and uncle opened Mr. Beef on Chicago's North Orleans Street in 1978 and now he's an owner. "Bear" was filmed there,a warren of small rooms complete with sharp knives, high shelves and hot pans. The actors also added authenticity to the show. Mr. White and the actor,Ayo Edebiri who plays the sous chef both went to LA's Institute of Culinary Education to learn more about the industry and to work in the kitchen,
"Bear" will be an interesting watch. The restaurant industry rarely gets seen on TV. That's about to change.
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