it is art to conceal art

or “ars est celare artem” in the original Latin as written by Ovid

Terry and I enjoy the spontaneous interaction among the hosts on Food Network’s The Kitchen. Well, the scripted spontaneous interaction. They all make appear it so simple, easy, and straightforward. Turns out, unsurprisingly, that it’s not.

I have gained some behind-the-scenes insight into the production process of The Kitchen by following the hosts on Instagram. First, Marcela (@chefmarcela) posted a photo of a sit-down read-through with a room full of hosts, producers, and staff. Really. Just like a scripted prime-time drama or situation comedy. (Do they still make those?) Then Sunny (@sunnyanderson) posted a 360° video view of The Kitchen soundstage. Two of the cameras had big teleprompters attached.

They do a great job of engaging their audience and making everything look unscripted and spontaneous, but the art is in hiding the art.