Ballpark Fun Facts — The Next Iron Chef by Sara Levine in Shows, November 9th, 2011
Behind the scenes on the Next Iron Chef, Food Network’s culinary production team is responsible for making sure that the rival chefs have everything they need to cook and present their dishes — from a stocked pantry to plenty of serving vessels. Executive culinary producer Jill Novatt shared some fun facts about what it took to pull off the ballpark challenge at San Diego’s Petco Park in episode two.
How many hours did it take to film the Petco Park baseball challenge?
Seventeen hours. We started setting up at the stadium at 4am and loaded up our truck and rolled out at 9pm to drive back to L.A.
What pantry ingredients were provided in addition to the food the chefs collected from ballpark stands?
Dried spices, fresh herbs, olive oil, canola oil, salt and pepper, and that was it.
How many concession stands were open for the chefs to shop for ingredients?
Four concession stands and three food carts. Each chef’s bag [of ingredients] weighed a ton! They were so heavy we could barely carry them.
What was provided for each chef’s cooking station?
Each chef just got salt and pepper and a cutting board and then there was a shared equipment bank that included pots, pans, bowls, fryers, food processors, stand mixers (with meat grinder/sausage attachments), meat grinders, meat slicers, ice cream machines and blenders. All equipment was communal.
More behind-the-scenes extras from Super Chefs, episode 2:
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More posts from Sara Levine.
I had to leave for work 5 minutes before this show ended and I couldn't believe the outcome! I will not be watching this show again. They should start over and get new judges as they are the loosers!
Still upset Robert Irvine was eliminated. Should have been that pompous Micheal Chiarello!
This episode is what it is, but Alton Brown when did you turn in to an a hole? The egg thing was a bit much, and I have notice your some times very rude comments on ICA, I always thought you where a nice guy…bring him back!
Just wanted to tell everyone that my original post was deleted!!!! I guess Food Network deletes comments when they hit a nerve!!! Chef Robert rocks!!!!!!
This post is weeks later, however we (my boyfriend and I) are still very upset that Chef Irvine was eliminated. The rules were clearly not followed in this challenge as are normally done with most of the programs we watch. We watch the Food Network daily and found this episode to be clearly unfair. We were outraged that Irvine had to even compete to stay, as he had followed the rules given. I will say we see the judges and network in a different light now. We believe Irvine was let go unjustly!!!
I agree Chef Irvine is my fav chef.He can go into a strange failing restaurant and whip up some beautiful dishes.I was hoping he would win.