Prize: After some research & discussion with Chef Jamie, found potential prize for winner.
Money: Spent a long time making financial arrangements among FLCC departments & Wegmans re payment of ingredients, arranged for special checkout with Personal Shopper department to handle logistics for cashing out contestant purchases.
Marketing: Arranged to borrow A-frame & easel for signage at film site.
Signage: Created interim Serious Heat logo for signage; sorry to disappoint Josh but printing deadlines are approaching! He can redo branding for actual film. Large sign ordered for set design, determined list of other small signs needed (eg, "Do Not Enter, Filming in Progress" door sign, etc.)
Scoring Sheets & Room Set-Up: Based on Chef Jamie input & CFA Culinary Competition Manual, drafted scoring & tally sheets for judges. Made a list of table supplies needed for judges & reviewed requirements for individual kitchen station requirements.
On-site Crew: Sent reminder emails to all class members to confirm times they'll be at Wegmans on Monday.
Miscellaneous: Certificates of Participation for contestants & of Appreciation for Judges.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Another FLCC donation!
Excellent news! FLCC's advancement office is going to donate gifts from the college to our judges & emcee for Serious Heat! Thank you, thank you, Amy!
Wednesday's panic
Panic #1 -- 5 days to find 2 more judges...yikes! Decided to reach out to old contact at catering company I used to do business with. Chef was pleased to be asked, likes to support students, but already had commitments. Will check into what he might be able to do about that and get back to me Thursday. Fingers crossed!
Panic #2 -- Need to address set design so we have an interesting "feel" for the show. That means we need logo and signage of some kind. Visited printer I do business with and brainstormed some ideas, looked at samples and sizes, got some pricing estimates. If camera-ready art delivered Thursday am, they could put a rush on doing some signage. Pestered Josh for logo. He had other homework commitments; he sent me what he had so far. I worked up a design and sent it to him for review. Will get his input tomorrow, make adjustments & get to printer. Will decide type & size tomorrow am. Can't think about this any more today.
Panic #3 -- Had not heard back from Chef Mark at Wegmans re tables & end of day extension. Need linens, especially in show's theme colors. Therefore need to know size of tables. Went back to Wegmans to measure tables. Also, they have white tablecloths but too wrinkled for camera so will need to bring iron on Monday. Cooking school was open, met Chef Mark in person, he showed me the wine he ordered, talked about a few logistics, but his class was starting & I didn't get to ask him if we could be at the school later. Chef is very pleased to be working with FLCC. He has 3 family members who are/were faculty at FLCC.
Panic #4 -- Well, not really a panic, just something else to think about. Contestants need to leave the kitchen while judges are tasting & scoring, so they need a place to go where we can do a post-cooking interview. Tried arranging tables/chairs in places in the cafe we might "cordon" off for that, then a Wegmans person showed me 2 conference rooms down the hall that can be used if no meetings scheduled. Much better option.
Hoping for less panic, more progress tomorrow.
Panic #2 -- Need to address set design so we have an interesting "feel" for the show. That means we need logo and signage of some kind. Visited printer I do business with and brainstormed some ideas, looked at samples and sizes, got some pricing estimates. If camera-ready art delivered Thursday am, they could put a rush on doing some signage. Pestered Josh for logo. He had other homework commitments; he sent me what he had so far. I worked up a design and sent it to him for review. Will get his input tomorrow, make adjustments & get to printer. Will decide type & size tomorrow am. Can't think about this any more today.
Panic #3 -- Had not heard back from Chef Mark at Wegmans re tables & end of day extension. Need linens, especially in show's theme colors. Therefore need to know size of tables. Went back to Wegmans to measure tables. Also, they have white tablecloths but too wrinkled for camera so will need to bring iron on Monday. Cooking school was open, met Chef Mark in person, he showed me the wine he ordered, talked about a few logistics, but his class was starting & I didn't get to ask him if we could be at the school later. Chef is very pleased to be working with FLCC. He has 3 family members who are/were faculty at FLCC.
Panic #4 -- Well, not really a panic, just something else to think about. Contestants need to leave the kitchen while judges are tasting & scoring, so they need a place to go where we can do a post-cooking interview. Tried arranging tables/chairs in places in the cafe we might "cordon" off for that, then a Wegmans person showed me 2 conference rooms down the hall that can be used if no meetings scheduled. Much better option.
Hoping for less panic, more progress tomorrow.
Tuesday -- long day, productive day!
Tuesday was off to a poor start, as I was running a little behind for an 8 am meeting with Jamie. Once in the car, I noticed I was on fumes & stopped for gas, then ended up behind several school buses in no passing lanes, so I finally called Jamie to apologize and reschedule for 12:30. Went back to work & left a meeting early to make it back down to Canandaigua on time. The day began to improve.
At our 1/2 hour meeting, we reviewed:
After meeting, I sent emails out to Jeff K. as follow-up and to Chef Mark at Wegmans with additional questions. Tried unsuccessfully to download class contact list from Google docs. Reviewed all notes to make separate list of tasks I needed to accomplish, plus more questions I need to ask. Tried to brainstorm ideas for more judges.
Picked Josh up at 5:10 to head over to NYWCC for 2nd day of shooting. Met with emcee Jeff M., discussed what he would wear to distinguish himself from other chefs during competition, reviewed logistics of competition with him. Zach joined us after his film shoot with Ben's group. Josh & Zach got more B-roll footage plus CUs, mid shots & interviews of 2 male contestants. Donna asked each contestant the same 7 questions off camera. Last contestant was unavailable -- we'll have to return to shoot in class after competition. All 3 contestants were very sincere & well-spoken. Only mishap was that one of the audio sources didn't appear to have recorded the final interview at the very end of the evening -- may have to be redone if secondary audio isn't good enough quality.
Josh revised the presentation of dishes with Jamie, general group discussion with Jamie & Mark re event. We left at 8:30.
At our 1/2 hour meeting, we reviewed:
- contestants (one had to cancel and he had to find a substitute)
- judges (still need 2 more, Jamie's contacts not responding to him)
- scoring sheet, table height, CFA guidelines for items required on judges' table, time allocation for judges tasting & scoring
- ingredient list to be finalized by end of week
- clock needed for contestants (Jamie to bring, Donna to bring plate holder)
- transportation to Wegmans on day of shooting (Jamie will transport all contestants, attempt to have them all at the cooking school by 1 pm, ensure they're attired properly/well-groomed, etc.)
- CFA competition requirements & Jamie's adaptations (category K-1 Hot Food Cooking)
- equipment review (most items available at Wegmans, Jamie to bring ice cream maker & additional butane burners)
- differences in timing for entree & dessert rounds
- presentation of dishes to judges
- shopping for ingredients at Wegmans process with filming logistics
- wine ordered from Wegmans for 1 dessert ingredient (Donna)
- reminder emails sent to classmates to verify times on Monday & additional equipment
- FLCC branding issues
- logistics of budget, arrangements to pick up $300 cash for purchase of ingredients (Donna/Josh)
- photo releases
- list of specific "talking points" for marketing culinary arts program
- issues, competition requirements & revised timing estimates from Jamie
- GoPro situation
- equipment needs (Zach to serve as point person) -- types & number of cameras (for similar looks, different types of shots - wide, 1 dummy for sound only, etc.), mics & audio challenges, lighting, adequate batteries and SD cards
- who can do what kind of shots, at what time of the day
- logo (Josh to start with static design, Zach to help)
- signage & other set design needs (Donna)
- drafting questions for contestants on day of competition & sending to them in advance; note specific activities per contestant during competition to ask related questions about (Donna)
- more specific walk-through of the timing, personnel & logistical needs for the whole day; determined we had to start at 7 am & move up film schedule, especially in-store filming before competition
- shooting footage of emcee for film promo (Donna to script)
After meeting, I sent emails out to Jeff K. as follow-up and to Chef Mark at Wegmans with additional questions. Tried unsuccessfully to download class contact list from Google docs. Reviewed all notes to make separate list of tasks I needed to accomplish, plus more questions I need to ask. Tried to brainstorm ideas for more judges.
Picked Josh up at 5:10 to head over to NYWCC for 2nd day of shooting. Met with emcee Jeff M., discussed what he would wear to distinguish himself from other chefs during competition, reviewed logistics of competition with him. Zach joined us after his film shoot with Ben's group. Josh & Zach got more B-roll footage plus CUs, mid shots & interviews of 2 male contestants. Donna asked each contestant the same 7 questions off camera. Last contestant was unavailable -- we'll have to return to shoot in class after competition. All 3 contestants were very sincere & well-spoken. Only mishap was that one of the audio sources didn't appear to have recorded the final interview at the very end of the evening -- may have to be redone if secondary audio isn't good enough quality.
Josh revised the presentation of dishes with Jamie, general group discussion with Jamie & Mark re event. We left at 8:30.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Great work at NYWCC today, Zach!
Zach was in true creative mode this morning, filming background at the culinary lab. We got a nice interview with Kathryn, one of the contestants who was very well-spoken, and a series of comments about the program from Chef Jamie. We tried to show student diversity, salmon deboning, basic prep work (chopping, stirring, whisking) and clean-up, plus stacks of ingredients lined up and B-roll of the New York Wine & Culinary Center, using a variety of angles - including slider shots!
We'll be back for the other contestants in tomorrow's class!
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Milestones Reached ... & Miles Yet To Go
So many details finalized ... and so many new questions. Will we have Finger Lakes wines as part of the competition? What should the emcee wear? Can we get everything filmed in time? Will we get the judges we need? The list goes on...
Whew!
Yay! We have a location! Wegmans Menu Cooking School has donated their facility for the entire day! They've even agreed to let a camera follow our contestants through the store as they pick out their ingredients (under a Wegmans staffer's supervision). Great news!
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