Lexington, KY - Over six years ago, a Louisville video production company set out to change the scope of local television. And they had a delicious recipe in mind: keep it positive, feature good food and the local chefs making it.
Convinced that locally produced television programs (local news broadcasts in particular) were inundating viewers with bad news, and bad news only, Michael Lattin knew that there were positive stories out there begging to be told. Buttressed by the success he'd experienced as an executive producer for all-day television coverage for events like Thunder Over Louisville, the Breeders Cup and the Kentucky Derby, which have garnered him an Eclipse Award and an Emmy, Lattin heeded the call and started BMB Productions -
an acronym that gives a nod to the good stories that need to be told, Broadcast Me Baby.
In 2003, "Secrets of Louisville Chefs" first aired, profiling upscale Louisville restaurants and their chefs in the kitchen. Two years later, BMB Productions added "Secrets of Louisville Chefs Live" to their lineup, which was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Sullivan University.
"We started out on a shoestring and a vision and just continued to keep our nose to the grindstone looking for these great stories -
there's no real shortage of them out
there," Lattin said. "We all have two things in common with the program: we all live in Kentucky and we all love food. If you can hit two interests of all potential viewers, you've got a pretty good head start on building a new brand of local TV."
This past summer, BMB Productions rolled out "Secrets of the Bluegrass Chefs" here in the local television market (as well as in Louisville). The show profiles the eclectic assortment of chefs who run the kitchens and make the menus in Lexington and the surrounding Bluegrass region, and shares some of their tips and recipes with viewers. The show airs at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday on WTVQ-2, as well as twice a month at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays on WTVQ.
With a new episode airing every Friday, there are already over 20 shows in rotation or waiting to be aired. "We like to say our season is every week," said Dan Davidsaver, an associate producer with BMB Productions. Because a single episode will be shown about six times in one year, the producers try to make sure each episode has timeless qualities to it. "We don't talk about dates or particular seasons, so they'll air well in the winter time or the summer time," he said.
Other than timelessness, there aren't many other stipulations the crew adheres to when investigating which restaurant or chef to feature for future shows. Unlike the Louisville version of the show, which tends to focus more on formal, upscale dining options, "Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs" will feature anything from a sandwich shop, such as Wallace Station in Midway, to five-star meals in places like Azur or Malone's. "We sit down and decide the best restaurants that we'd like to go after, whether it's the story or the food or the location," Davidsaver said.
Once a location has been scouted and contact with a chef and restaurant owner has been made with the BMB crew, filming is a rather low-key affair. Lattin, Davidsaver and the show's host, Tim Laird, pack into the "Secrets of the Bluegrass Chefs" RV, truck it into Lexington or the surrounding area, and set up shop in the restaurant's kitchen with minimal lighting and camera gear in tow.
For efficiency, Lattin mans the video camera, a job he wasn't very proficient with toward the beginning of the venture. As time went on, he became much more accomplished and the editing process was expedited. "It's part of our efficiency, I'm shooting it and writing it at the same time, doing what we want, knowing what we need. Sometimes it's hard to communicate what you're envisioning with a hired cameraman," Lattin said. "Now, I know what the producer is thinking because I am the producer, and I can catch what we're looking for because I'm the photographer."
After the initial setup, all eyes are on the chef, who walks the crew through the kitchen and then prepares a meal while the cameras are rolling - explaining the thought process and interjecting insights as they go. This is also where Laird gets his chance to shine. As a "CEO" with Brown-Forman in Louisville ("Chief Entertainment Officer. We're one of the only companies with two CEOs - one has a lot of fun and one makes a lot more money"), he's had a lot of experience with radio and television. He's lively and adept at steering tight-lipped chefs into familiar territory: the food.
"That's a subject they know intimately," he said. "If you can get them talking about the food or their background, it's good for the chef and it's good for the viewer. It's interesting."
Laird is also the co-host of "Secrets of Louisville Chefs Live," but he doesn't have any formal background in culinary arts, which is a positive aspect, since he has to operate as a liaison between the chef and the viewer at times.
"A lot of times they'll use 'chef terms,' so when that happens I'll actually ask about it - 'Now, what do you mean by that? A beurre blanc sauce, what's a beurre blanc sauce?' When they go into 'chef speak,' that's when we go, 'Hey, wait a minute. Can you explain that for us?' That way, (the viewers) at home can learn these chef terms and understand what they're doing," Laird said.
The crew typically spends about two hours on location, but it's back in the editing studio where the real magic occurs. Those two hours are diluted down into about eight to 10 minutes segments, with voiceovers, music and quick transitions. The turnaround time is about 30 days, according to Davidsaver.
And there is no shortage of restaurants and chefs that the crew at BMB would like to get out and film. Initially, the producers wondered if there would be enough fodder outside of Louisville to carry a new episode every week, and they were delightfully surprised.
"There's a lot more going on in Lexington than one may think when it comes to the culinary end of it," Davidsaver said. "I think a lot of people aren't aware of the talented chefs that are in Lexington and the surrounding areas. Top culinary chefs doing things that you'll find up in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago - doing it right here in Lexington."
For more information on "Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs" or to see video clips or recipes from past episodes, visit www.newlocaltv.com. The site also provides links for other BMB Productions television shows.