Well, a childhood dream is finally being realized - I am going to be on television. At the prompting of some friends, most notably my friend Spring, I filled out an application to be on the local public television show "Check, Please! Bay Area". I've been watching it for years - the premise is that 3 people pick their favorite restaurant, which the other two have to visit, and they meet in a round-table format to discuss their experiences. The discussion is moderated by a host, Leslie Sbrocco, who knows a little bit about each restaurant and asks specific questions about dishes, ambiance, and wine.
I filled out an application a few weeks ago, and was delighted when I got a phone call from the associate producer at KQED. We did a short phone interview, and the next day I went in for an in-person interview at the station (exciting!). I thought I would help them out by putting together a packet of information about the restaurant, my take on it (Yelp review and a blog post from a couple of years ago), and some information about me (resume). Well, the combination of things seemed to do the trick, because they called last week and said that I'd been chosen as a guest!
Now I have 2 weeks to go to the other 2 restaurants, as well as the one that I chose, and write reviews which I will submit to the program so that they can get ready for taping. We tape on Feb 23rd, which will be about a 3 hour process. All of the restaurants are visited anonymously, and then they will go back and interview the owner, film the restaurant in action, and highlight a few dishes that we discussed. When it is all finished, they will air the program and also publish it on the blog.
I am very very excited to have a chance to do something that I love - talking about food with others. I realized as I was gushing on and on during the interview that it really is my passion. I just hope that my enthusiasm translates to the small screen!
