We Put the “Family” in Top Chef Family Style
Last February, my mom sent my son Taylor a screenshot of a Facebook post about a Casting Call for young chefs to compete on an upcoming season of a TV show called Top Chef Jr. Interested applicants were to submit answers to questions such as, “What is your signature dish?” and, “Who is your culinary mentor?” There was also a submission of photos of food prepared by the junior chef. Taylor loves to cook and he immediately went to work on the application. Since he had a break from school the following week and we had no plans (thanks COVID), I told him we could work on the application as a project for his week off of school.
Taylor and I planned an entire week of meals to capture the necessary photos, and we spent a part of each day answering and editing the questions in the application. We submitted the application on the fourth day of his week-long break, and headed to the bike park to celebrate the accomplishment. A few hours later, an unknown call with a Los Angeles area code lit my phone screen. “Hi, this is Sena,” the voice said, “are you with Taylor?” I called Taylor into the room and put the phone on speaker. “Taylor! We loved your application and would like to invite you to interview with our producers. Would Monday after school work to schedule a zoom interview?” After exchanging silent screams of excitement, Taylor cooly answered, “Yes, I can make that work.”
In order to prepare for the Producers’ questions, I scheduled a few practice interviews with friends and family. Monday after school, I propped Taylor on some pillows so he could see the screen on my office desk and listened through the door as he answered trivia questions on the meaning of culinary terms and spoke to the producers about his favorite parts of cooking. After the interview, the producer invited me to rejoin the meeting. At that point, the producer disclosed that Taylor had advanced to the second round of the application process AND that because of COVID, this season of the show would feature junior chefs AND their culinary mentors. In other words, if selected, Taylor and I would be competing as a team!
The next round of the application was more complex and had a much quicker deadline. Instead of answering questions on a form, we had to produce additional food photos and film a cooking demonstration as well as an introductory video highlighting Taylor’s interests and personality. We spent the weekend cooking and filming Taylor doing his favorite things: walking the dogs, fishing, riding his four wheeler, riding bikes and playing soccer with his brother. I became “editor mom” and learned to use imovie and vimeo to edit and upload the videos to submit to the Top Chef casting team.
After we submitted the second round of the application, we didn’t hear anything for several weeks. Since Taylor was only nine, and the age limit for participation was 9-13, I assumed Taylor’s youth made him less likely to be selected. As we prepared to visit friends in Florida for Spring Break in April, I received a call from the Casting crew. They wanted Taylor and I to participate in a live interview with one of the producers during spring break. We agreed on a time and date and the producer gave us two dishes to prepare on camera during the interview: pancakes and zucchini. After procuring the necessary ingredients and equipment, Taylor and I produced the required dishes with no problem. “Work on your plating before you get here,” the Producer said. “Does that mean we have been accepted?” We wondered after the call, but received no further communication. Two weeks later, we received the “official” notice--in six days, we would check into the Residence Inn in Burbank, California where we would begin our quarantine for Top Chef Family Style! Before we left, we had SO much to do. Taylor had to apply for a child work permit, we both had to get physicals, the school had to approve his alternate education plan and we had to pack (and plan to be gone for up to 14 weeks!). I had to make arrangements to be gone from work and cancel upcoming meetings, speaking engagements and postpone quarterly goals.
After a mad dash to knock out all of our necessary to-do items, Taylor and I hit the road to drive to Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, May 5th. We both held back tears as we said goodbye to Chris and Wyatt, thinking about all of the things we would miss if we truly didn’t see the other two members of our family unit until July! (Taylor would turn ten, the last day of school, the last lacrosse game, horseback riding, our wedding anniversary, planned vacations, a hunting trip). We got to Burbank and checked in with the Cast Wranglers (production assistants) to begin our mandatory five day COVID quarantine in the hotel room.
More than once during the five day quarantine and then subsequently, during the filming of the show, I asked myself, “WHY did I even agree to DO this, let alone support Taylor in the application process?” It was difficult: the days were long, the isolation was real, the stress was intense, the lack of outdoor time depressing and the lack of control over my own life and schedule was maddening.
At the end of the day, however, I realized it was EXACTLY the adventure Taylor and I needed after living through a COVID lockdown and a year of homeschooling in a foreign language (Taylor attends a French immersion school and his parents do not speak French). More than that, the opportunity to support Taylor and compete alongside him as his teammate as he challenged himself and explored the world is the best example I’ve been able to find of living our family’s mission statement: The World is Your Oyster. Taylor pushed himself — he was the youngest kid in the competition by three years, and he was unaccustomed to the level of focus and concentration that accompanies nine hour days on set. And, I had the incredible opportunity to be Taylor’s cheerleader, sous chef and advocate as we both entered uncharted waters of television and film.
As it turned out, participating in Top Chef Family Style wasn’t just what Taylor needed---it was something that fed me too. I learned to let go of some control (because I didn’t have a choice) and to be vulnerable in my excitement for the opportunity to compete and meet some amazing chefs and people! Typically in my role, I’m expected to have all the answers so I learned to relish the opportunity to simply learn and try my hardest without studying or preparing. When I reminded myself that no one expected me to be a professional chef, I was able to have fun and enjoy the creativity that comes with cooking. I left the competition inspired to learn more to expand my culinary knowledge and I was BEYOND impressed with the way Taylor carried himself in the competition. When I was fearful, Taylor was confident. When I questioned our approach, Taylor kept me grounded. We made a great team and I will cherish the memories we created cooking together for the rest of my life...even though Taylor revealed to the world that my hands were sweaty in the first trailer for the show!
Now you can see what we cooked up in the kitchen — Top Chef Family Style is streaming on Peacock!