Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Make it work!

Ok, 1st ... one of my fave shows is back tonight!!!! Tim Gunn and Frau Heidi are back for Project Runway on Bravo!!! Hence the title of this post, but ... I'm makin' it work too :-) ... Here are some pics from the road last week, then I'll drop a post with a brief description of the commercial shoot I did this weekend ... gonna say jusssssst enough to not get in trouble with any Food Network suits lol!!! Ok, so first last week I went to Rochester, NY to find out how tomatoes get into Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauce ... here it is coming off the line ...


And post water, oil, seasonings and PRE-Tomato ...


Now lemme tell ya about the hosts ... they were THE BEST!!! We as a team are on the road plenty trying to get the shows taped in time to meet the schedule given to us by the network. So, there are plenty of long days, long flights and long drives. It really is a bonus when we get somewhere and the people we are there to interview are just kind. The people at this factory, were way more than just kind. The crew felt like family. They made a huge Italian family style lunch for us and constantly asked if we needed anything. Usually we fend for ourselves, hunting down lunch and bringing our own water bottles to the set. This is actually totally ok with us, we are all adults and actually sometimes get excited to find a local spot to grab a bite. So, hospitality is not expected, but surely appreciated. And oh, wow, was it HOT in that factory!!! Consider the fact that the bottles in the above pic come off the line at almost 200 degrees ... imagine the temperature of the room ... crazy!!! So, here we are eating lunch and finishing up with espresso .. yes, I'm telling you they had a full on meal for us ready at lunch time ... we are all chillin' and in walks Erinn!!! She was the daughter of one of the people we worked with that day and we actually called her to say hi earlier because her dad said she was a fan of Food Network. She wasn't there though when we called, she was at work. So, I thought awww shux, we miss a chance to say thanks for watching and in she walks from her job at lunch with some treats ... ICE CREAM SUNDAES for everyone!!! Helped she worked at an ice cream spot ... So thanks to her, with the heat we were enduring in the factory, the Ice Cream hit the spot!!!

Then next day I hopped a flight to Portland, Oregon to pick some cherries ... these are my first two ...


It was hot here too ... and the host farmer's were again very kind and took us to lunch ... turns out the restaurant owner wanted to meet some foodies ... and there we were!! Romul's was the place, in The Dalles, OR ... we all piled in and ate like kings n queens on some yummy food and then headed back to work. I can't wait for you to see the cherry episode of How'd That Get On My Plate? They way maraschino cherries are made is verrrrrrry interesting. Here's some pics and hopefully video later ... enjoy!!!

This is me and Bob, he's talkin cherry pickin' and I'm listenin'!


Ok, now I'm pickin', but in order for you to see it on TV, there's (from left): A producer holdin' her clipboard making sure we do everything right; a production assistant (hidden) holding a sun reflector making sure even though it's sunny and hot out, I get an extra dose of light; a cameraman catching the memories, me picking cherries and trying to not sweat off the make-up artists' work; a makeup artist holding a tree limb down for the camera man; and a sound man making sure you hear the "snap" when i pull the cherry from the tree. Behind the still camera??? The p.r. dude Eric, he was there to make sure we got our facts right!! Thanks for the pics Eric!!!





After I picked 'em, time to dump 'em ... uhhh and I must admit to stuffing my bin with some cherries I didn't pick lol!!! It was hot out there!


Here I am at the processing plant, about to sort through cherries to weed out the bad ones ... I am now a terror at my local fruit stand ... it took me waaaay too long day before yesterday picking out cherries! One little trip to an orchard and now I think I'm a pro at my local spot ... coincidentally called "The Orchard" lol. That's Brenda next to me, her family has been in the cherry biz for generations.


That's it, I hope to get that video up so you can see some behind the scenes stuff from the shoot ... then I'm also gonna post about the commercial shoot I had with Aida this past weekend ... it'll start popping up soon, so I wanna give ya some scoop before everyone sees it. Check in a bit later, for now ... I have a pineapple upside-down cake to make for a new show, more on that later as well!

10 comments:

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

Hey Sunny! Yeah, girl, you've been makin' it work very hard these past few weeks. Flying here, going there; being here, being there...whew! Just reading about it makes me sweat, nevermind this North Carolina heat!
I am exicted to see how marischino cherries are made. I went cherry picking at an orchard in Southwest VA a few weeks ago and it was grueling work. If I weren't with some friends, I think I would have cried.

I made cherry soy ice cream, cherry cloufouti, and I'm about to make a black peppercorn cherry pie, but I've been cooking all morning, so I need a nap 1st!

Darius T. Williams said...

Great pics...so, behind the scenes is a lot of work, huh? And it looks like a lot of people. Seems like fun though.

I have a question though. How much can a TV host make - do you know? Like what's a range? I'm just curious - and nah, i dont wanna know what YOU make...just curious about industry. Any info you can share? You can also e-mail it to me too.

Sunny Anderson said...

nikki, i'm tryin! watching the marathon for proj.runway now while i develop recipes! and omgoooooodness it's hot here too!!! i thouroughly expect an "egg fried on the concrete" news story soon teeheehee ...

dtdub, yup, lot's of people to get it done, so i dunno why everyone gives the host all the credit ... u see all those ppl??? they r workin too!!! lol ... and for the salary ... i think it's like radio ... many people are broke, some are ok, and few are rich ... just like life. as for specifics, i don't think there is a low or a high ...

The CDM said...

Man, I can't believe for one second that you and the crew don't get fawned over soon as you show up. That's just not good P.R. if you don't. As a marketing major, I can tell you that your red carpet treatment would start before your feet hit the ground from the car you arrived in. The Rinaldi's must have a very good understanding of this. I can't have a Food Network star leaving my place with the possibility of her throwin' down a culinary punk card for not being a proper host.

I can tell you first hand that the drive between The Dalles and Portland is PHENOMENAL! The scenery when you catch it just when Fall rolls around just makes you want to get misty. The Pacific Northwest is awesome!

Sunny Anderson said...

complaint dept. mgr, you know what? we do get treated very nicely, but "fawned" ... teeheehee, i dunno. rinaldi's ppl were really just great though, very professional and friendly as well, the guys down in atlanta were cool too and they didn't do anything fancy, but smile. so, really i'm easy to please ... now, let's talk about tha dalles to portland view!!!!!! the waterfall was soooo spectacular in it's simplicity! you hit the nail on the head there ... i shoulda blogged about that! didn't have any pic though, i was too captivated the 1st time i saw it and on the way back i held the steering wheel for the driver so she could look! really a great drive ... i'ma look into one of those solar homes on the river for vacation. u r on the money with that!! now tell me what's up with the straw for hot coffe at the drive thru spot???

The CDM said...

"now tell me what's up with the straw for hot coffe at the drive thru spot???"

When you live in a state with no sales tax, it gives you a sense rollin' like that...then again, they probably got it from some of those crazy Canucks.

Now that I'm thinkin' of it, I haven't seen "blue" water in a river or lake for a long time, I miss it(I KNOW you know what I'm talkin' about). If you think that drive was sumshin' you gotta check out the drive(all I-90) from Spokane, WA. to Sheridan, WY. Mind you there are a few bad spots here and there, but for the most part, some serious Zen goin' on. I should know.

The CDM said...

Oh, I forgot. You mentioned the "waterfall". You mean all you saw was 1? Hmmmm, last time I was through there I seem to recall at least 2. I also believe I have a picture of one of those waterfalls you saw somewhere in the stash. It was one of my most favorite pictoral moments catching a waterfall, with the one in Ouray, CO. coming extremely close to the top.

Anonymous said...

You better work Sunny.

I was watching a rerun of your show "Cooking For Real" last week, and it was absolutely rejoujed. I believe the new season has already begun. I love the new, fresh set up. Everything looks totally different from last season. It seems as if you have become more comfortable, there is no more nervousness or anything.

Anyhow, I love the show, and again, I wish you MORE success.

VegasLive! said...

Hello Sunny and company!
I'm new to your spot and a bit older... so bear with me for not fitting right in with your cool lingo. Anyway, thanks for helping me cheer up today. You've got a new fan in Vegas.

Sunny Anderson said...

gemma, thanks! i know, right ... the new digs aren't bad at all!! i like the fridge and the blue tiles! thanks for catchin' the rerun too! thank you thank you thank you!

vegaslive!, welcome to the area! we are all friendly over here, so if i use lingo or a word you don't get ... just ask away. i'm here regularly to explain stuff. stay cool in vegas! thanks so much for the support and viewership!