WALL OF CHEFS

I can best describe being a contestant on FoodNetwork’s “Wall of Chefs” as a dish best served with humility and a sprinkle of Nausea!

I loved it, I feared it, but ultimately I conquered it and walked off with a new found aura of confidence in my cooking and my ability to face my fears. All this was accomplished in front of a beloved food show host and world renowned chefs judging my cooking.

Most people don’t know how long it takes to shoot content for a 1 hour television show. I’m most people, I had no idea.
Let me explain the nausea part of the experience. There is no way to prepare for cooking in front of world renowned chefs that you’ve looked up to plus a famous tv host standing feet away from you. All I could think about was his show Carnival Eats.

Nausea. I love the show but the thought of all that food in a moment of such anxiety made my stomach weak.

Then a break, where I contemplated if eating the muffins was a good idea. If they came back up it would not be a good look. Then wardrobe, choosing which outfit to wear. I had chosen comfortable shoes to run around the kitchen that now seemed perfect to run out into the street.

Make up.

Pictures for promotion.

I felt better. A bit pampered. A bit glamorous.
Yes, I’d stay for the pictures and head out.
Break.
Hours later, we were ready to get the ovens on.
I was now prepared. I had given myself a major pep talk and gotten into different state of mind.
Camera. Lights. Action!
We were on set.

Dark shadows facing us at our allotted cooking stations. We had moments to consider who the chefs in the dark could be. They were going to be our judges.

Then a loud click and there they were. Chefs Massimo Capra, Mark McEwan, Dale Mackay, Alida Solomon, Hugh Acheson... I could go on. I reacted with a scream.
I was not ready for the cream of the crop of Canadian cuisine to be looking at me.
How could they expect us to cook. We were all star struck.

Tall, mechanical cameras, producers at the side, and a very kind and friendly camera man following me. I wished he could have helped me out a bit more. I mean, “put the camera down man and chop an onion!”

One of the best chapters in my life story went by so fast but the day crept by, long and slow. Confusing right? Oh, it doesn’t stop there. Walking onto the set of the “Wall of Chefs” was daunting for me, to say the least. I honestly had a moment I hoped I would faint and be taken away, never to compete.

We were shown the refrigerators, the pantry, all a cook’s dream. Then we were trained on how the stoves work, the pots of water ready to go and where to place our dirty pots and plates. It was a lot of information and I was sleep deprived. I had been up early for the flight they booked for me from across the country. In my head I kept saying you can do it, but my eyes kept darting around for the exit doors.

The runaway cook.

I was not sure I had retained any information I had been given. My mind was so numb that I was mentally incapable of processing that I was in an Ontario television studio ready to compete on a major network that would air all across the country.

Nausea.

Four contestants. All lovely people. We bonded so much we shared tequila shots in the hotel bar when we were done.

Anyway, before we were doing shots we had to compete.

Being told I had made the best rapini he’d ever tasted by Chef Mark McEwan was a highlight for me !

I made it to the first round and in the second round I felt more relaxed. I was ready to go to the end, but did I?
You’ll find out when I post the edited video.

The day that had started at the crack of dawn ended late at night. The exhaustion and exhilaration did not subside until the next day. I woke up to get ready to fly back home but I’d never go back to being the same person. I was changed. I’d done something I never thought I was capable of doing and I had pushed myself further than I thought I could go. I felt invincible. Then I arrived back home, My girls were so proud me and I felt that I had given them such a gift by showing them that challenging yourself and facing your fears strengthens you !

Then I gave them grilled cheese for dinner. “ I just cooked for famous chefs.” I told them.

“I no longer just cook for just anyone !”

Now where is my wardrobe person??