The Show From Mr. Wonderful’s View

Mr. Wonderful likes to go to the show with me each week.  It always makes me feel good when he’s there.  He is invaluable in helping me get my food prep set up for cooking.  If we have restaurant people there, he is great at helping them with anything they need also and talking to the owners or PR people who sit on the sidelines with him.

A couple weeks ago, I asked him to take his point and shoot camera and snap some shots from his vantage point of the show.

This was the week I was making the Maple Toast Baskets with Lance.

I decided after I did my Salsa segment, that he knew his way around the kitchen (he was telling me about his salsa recipe).  So this week, I asked him to just jump in and help, and he did so with style.

When we start the segment, they whisk the news table off the floor and pull out the table, that Mr. Wonderful and I have set up ahead of time.  The camera guy clips a mic on the back of my pants/skirt and I have to string the mic (which at times is a little awkward) up through the front of my shirt and clip it on.  Sometimes I try to brief Lance (in 20 seconds) about the recipe beforehand.

This was a good day to do so, because I almost forgot a step in the recipe on-air and Lance reminded me.  Thanks Lance for keeping me sane.

We chat a bit, and then the countdown starts.  This thing is about four feet away and pointed directly at us.

I’ve learned to tune it out…it’s a little intimidating!

We get ourselves composed, which sometimes is difficult, cuz these guys are usually cutting up about something right as the countdown starts. (If you watch the show, you know what I’m talking about.)

I like how we have our hands folded so prim and proper.

And then we start the segment.  This week we’re cooking, and it’s been a process for me to learn to view things from the cameras point of view. 

You have to make sure you place things that won’t block the cameras view, like tall bottles, or large bowls.  Lance has had to move things a few times. He also has a earpiece in listening to the director who directs him as well.  They made me one, but as of yet, all I can hear is music in mine.  That will be a whole new challenge to overcome when it gets up and running!

The segment is only 5 minutes long so the challenge is in timing the cooking process to go long enough, but not too long.

This particular week, we actually cut to commercial and then came back to taste the finished product.

And that brings up another point.  No two weeks are the same.  It’s truly a “fly by the seat of your pants” weekly experience.  This is a little hard for me as I’m a planner-type person, but I’m learning to just have fun with it.

Sometimes Lance asks me questions and you can see the genuine shock on my face.  Like this week, I think he asked “what do we have planned for next week”?

And I had no idea.

And my mouth was full of Maple Toast Baskets.

I’m telling you, I’m learning that each week you never know what to expect, and that is kind of a thrill.  This week Lance was gone and Kent Ogle filled in.  Last week I had the earpiece with music.  Next week, a mouse may run across the set.  It’s all fun and good in the land of early morning TV and it’s a joy to work with these people each week.