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Local chefs
collect TV tips
from a pro
If you get nervous, reach out
and touch your host,
Curtis Aikens saysJosselin scores Beard nomination
By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-BulletinCurtis Aikens can get 25 words in by the time the average chef speaks two. It's a high-energy style that suits the Food Network celebrity, who treats the camera like a good friend.
Others may see that staring eye as a scary beast -- a definite handicap when you're trying to cook on camera. And so Aikens spent a day last week in a room full of local chefs, bombarding them with tips for gaining TV ease.
To take charge of a restaurant kitchen nowadays is to court celebrity, and more and more chefs are discovering the need for on-camera skills. Many are now traveling with the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, selling the state as a fine-dining destination, and must appear on mainland TV shows with hosts who aren't the usual friendly faces.
It's not just about the food anymore.
"When we go on TV we go to promote something; the food is almost secondary," said Göran Streng, executive chef of the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. "If you don't get your point across, you wasted your time."
Starwood Hotels and Resorts sponsored the teaching session for its affiliated hotel chefs -- from W Honolulu, and the Sheraton and Prince hotels.
Fourteen chefs took turns preparing dishes before a video camera, as Aikens acted as TV host and tried both to help them along and trip them up.
Main point, Aikens advised: A TV appearance is the perfect opportunity to sell yourself. "Whenever you have a chance to mention your restaurant -- your restaurant -- bring it home."
While slicing tomatoes, talk about the great produce served at your restaurant; while sauteing shrimp, talk about the great seafood specialties at your restaurant.
Come prepared with a few key points -- upcoming events, special features of your restaurant or hotel, whatever -- and stick to them, no matter where the host tries to lead the conversation. "You are the master of your domain," Aikens said.
Make eye contact not just with the host, but with the audience, through the camera. "If you're feeling uncomfortable, reach out to touch your host. Ground yourself; it'll calm you down."
Otherwise, keep the hands moving assembling the dish and keep the patter coming. "One-word answers aren't good for TV."
Rodman Machado of the Diamond Head Grill is one of those newcomers to the medium, with just one TV show under his belt. "I guess it takes maybe 50 times to get used to it," he said.
But Machado sees this all as key to establishing himself. "Everybody wants to get their name out there. You want to get yourself out in the public eye."
As a matter of style, though, not everyone can be an Aikens.
"If we do that, they're going to think we're acting up," Streng said. "I think most chefs are pretty serious."
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