Coach in the kitchen: cooking up cinematic delights with Courtney Storer on 'The Bear'
The art of translating the kitchen's atmosphere and its chain of command to actors on set is "just like coaching a soccer team," says the culinary producer
Courtney Storer is a Chicago native who started in the restaurant industry at 15 and progressed to being a high-end chef in famous kitchens such as Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles and Verjus in Paris.
She now lives full-time in L.A. to be closer to her brother Chris, producer and creator of the show The Bear. Storer takes charge and mentors the actors by “talking with them about their comfort zones” and how to portray the restaurant world of culinary arts on screen.
It begins with her seeing how the actors respond to working with different recipes and challenges. “I can kinda get a feel for what we can highlight on screen regarding their skill set,” she told Cinema Cuisine Chronicles in a recent interview. She is the heart and soul of the cooking on set, and she helps the actors “execute the cooking element and feel comfortable because that is what makes the show feel really authentic.”
Go check out her Italian Ice and Catering business @cocostogogo in Los Angeles!!
The following are portions of our conversation, edited for length and clarity:
Cinema Cuisine Chronicles: How is creating food for TV different from in the restaurant?
Storer: What makes it so different is that we are building out a restaurant from the ground up, so it’s expedited, which feels very true to what you feel in a kitchen. There is a lot of pressure. You have to move quickly and think on your feet.
It felt very real on set. We used all real ingredients and didn’t wanna cut any corners that way because you would be able to tell. Whenever I watch food television, and I see something that’s a real ingredient and then something that’s not, it totally takes me out of it. Part of the magic of it is that we had a production that was real, the ovens were real, we had real cutting boards and knives, and everything was designated for station just like you would in a regular restaurant.
The actors had to do that, too. They had to make pasta in a line, grill steaks, and break down fish.
I think we brought the kitchen to life in a very real way.
CCC: What are some techniques you use to make food look more appetizing on television, even under studio lighting and long shoot days?
Storer: It’s such a village.
The set decorators, the props department, and the crew, everybody’s on the same page, and we are using real food, so that means I have a culinary team.
We do eight to 20 resets of the food because we do not want it sitting there for hours and you see that in The Bear the cast is eating a lot! They’re tasting things and putting their spoon in things. So I have to make everything taste delicious, and I want them to have a real response. You can see when something tastes bad, the actors have a very visceral response.
In season two, when Carmy and Syd are in the apartment, the dish they make looks crazy, and that is on purpose. It doesn’t look good, and it shouldn’t, so we made it look wacky and weird.
If Chris says we are shooting something three times, then we will have multiple of whatever food ready to go because everything moves so fast. The camera team is counting on us to be prepared.
We are not one of those fake commercials where they use hairspray on fake food. This is real.
CCC: Any tips for when I recreate the omelet from The Bear?
Storer: Sydney, in the show, uses the fork to strain the egg mixture, and the reason you do that is because you are homogenizing the egg proteins between the yolk and the white. So you break all the protein up in it, and it makes it that nice yellow color without any of the protein whiteness.
I like to use a nice non-stick pan because it does make a difference in how the egg folds on itself. It’s all about heat control for an omelet, so make sure it’s on medium-low.
Low and slow! You don’t ever need to go higher.
We wanted Ayo (Sydney) to do it on her own, so she practiced a lot, and I was right there cheering her on. She’s such a natural cook, so it was fun to watch her face the challenge and do it. I believe anyone can do it, really.
This was a famous technique that chef Ludo Lefebvre makes a delicious omelet in his restaurant here in L.A., so I was kinda paying homage to him because Chris and I love him. We wanted to put something we learned from him on the screen and make it our own by adding the potato chips.
Also, I don’t use pepper until after, and on the show, we use sour cream and onion chips for the garnish.
CCC: How do you show the energy and atmosphere of being a chef in a kitchen to the actors on set?
Storer: We set the actors up with people they could shadow in the kitchen, and they also did a culinary program. On the line in the kitchen, they are watching me move, and I also coach them, but they do a lot of observation.
I would say things like hey, maybe this would look a little differently if you were in an urgent situation.
I taught Ayo to carry trays using her shoulder instead of on her hips because that’s a technique I use.
Each character moves through the kitchen differently based on their role. For example, a sous chef moves differently than a savory or pastry chef. Carmy is dealing with the macro, and then Ebraheim, played by Edwin Lee Gibson, is dealing with his station, which is the micro.
Movement is such a big part of it, and if we didn’t have the actors pay attention to that, you would have been able to see it in the show.
CCC: How would you recommend someone get involved in the food industry?
Storer: I would love to talk to and mentor more high school and college kids and encourage them to go into the food space.
A great place to start is to have a passion for food production and food for television and say yes to as many opportunities as possible. Just get your hands on food, whether it’s working with farming, restaurants, or culinary schools.
There are a lot of different worlds in food, and something like food journalism or food magazines is a great place to start.
I went the traditional chef route, and look at where I ended up!
You never know where food will take you. I think that being malleable is super important, and never in a million years did I think I would be working on a TV show about a restaurant I grew up with in Chicago.
Also, reaching out to people you admire and learning about hospitality is a great way to get involved in this world.
Chip Chip Hooray! The elevated omelet from The Bear
The Bear, a comedy-drama written in 2022, follows Carmen Berzatto, played by Jeremy Allen White, a budding chef known as "Carmy." He abandons his career at a prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant following his older brother's tragic suicide. Carmy then decides to take over and manage his family's Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. Carmy faces many challenges in his quest to run the restaurant, including his brother's lingering debts, a deteriorating kitchen, and a difficult staff. All the while, he grapples with his grief and the family's painful past. Where to watch.
To watch the sequence of Sydney making the omelet click here!
Now, let’s set the scene for the iconic dish featured in the episode "Omelette" in season two. Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, makes an omelet for the pregnant character Natalie, played by Abby Elliott. Natalie is swamped with restaurant administrative work. She hasn't had a chance to eat. She asks for an omelet and certainly doesn’t expect the level of care and beauty that Sydney puts into the dish. She meticulously crafts the omelet in two minutes, giving the viewer a magical ASMR cooking experience.
The significance of this delightful scene is that Carmy's absence leaves Sydney’s confidence in the kitchen a bit shot. We see her disgusted at the taste of all the fancy dishes she comes up with. The omelet is a redemption moment for Sydney to ground herself and rediscover her passion for cooking.
Interestingly, using an omelet is often a chef’s test in many kitchens, proving this dish to be a perfect yet elevated way to re-inspire Sydney. Using her expertise and personality, Sydney spices up a basic omelet, which Natalie adores. Providing someone with a dish that makes them feel satisfied and happy reminds her of why she loves her profession in the first place.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons salted butter and more for serving
2 tablespoons Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese (half a circle)
Fresh chives, thinly chopped
Sour cream and onion (the superior chip flavor) ruffled potato chips, gently crushed
Black pepper to taste
Recipe
Place a fine strainer over a small bowl.
Crack eggs into the strainers, then whisk with a fork until all the egg has strained through.
Put the Boursin cheese in a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag and cut a ½-inch hole off the tip end or corner of the Ziploc bag. This is to easily pipe a line of Boursin down the center of the omelet.
Heat butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until melted. Pour in the whisked eggs and lightly scramble with a spatula. This will make for a fluffy omelet.
Cook, without touching, until the top of the omelet looks almost entirely set.
Run the spatula along the sides of the omelet and jiggle the pan back and forth to prevent it from sticking. Remove from the heat.
Pipe a generous line of Boursin down the middle of the omelet from one end to the other.
Using the spatula, gently begin to roll the omelet into a cylinder.
Transfer the omelet seem-side down onto a plate, letting it roll off the pan.
Spread some more butter over the warm omelet, then garnish with chopped chives, black pepper, and crushed potato chips.
Cinema Cuisine Chronicles is an occasional newsletter and a delectable gateway to the world of iconic food in television and film. My mission is to bring the magic of the silver screen to your dining table, one mouthwatering recipe at a time. Who Am I?
Hi welcome to my newsletter! My name is Julia Decker and I’m a Colorado College sophomore currently studying English literature, business, and journalism.
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