So, people on my street wonder what the heck is going on at my house every month when they see a news truck parked in my driveway. “No,” I say to them, “you won’t be seeing me on COPS or Americas Most Wanted or anything like that.” I tell them that I cook on our local cable news station here in the Triangle, News 14 Carolina.

I have been doing this for little over 2 years now and am still wondering how I came to land this tiny, little spot on TV. The segments are a whopping 3 minutes, if that, but you would be surprised to know that it actually takes a good hour to film just one. We also shoot 3 at a time, and as far out as a month and a half. So any upcoming holiday food needs to be set up as if it were that holiday. I start prepping everything about an hour before the shoot so that it is all set up, ingredients chopped, measured and sometimes prepared before hand.

There is one Photog (camera guy) named Mo who has worked with me since the beginning. He is AWESOME! We have had 2 producers and they were amazing to work with , but as it stands now, Mo and I are doing it ourselves…and I think we are doing a great job and that Scott and Jason (the previous producers) would be proud.

Below are some pics of what my kitchen looks like with a 6 feet something tall camera man, 2 hot lights and a stove full of Peruvian potatoes. One of the shoots we did was for St. Patty’s day so I made Colcannon, a traditional Irish dish of potatoes and cabbage, where I replaced the usual white potatoes with purple Peruvian potatoes and switched out the typical green cabbage for red cabbage…the leprechauns will be after me for sure!

Bright Lights-Big Camera Guy.

Mo making sure he is getting those Tacos best side.

My “cheat sheet” - It’s the recipe I wrote and any notes or changes that need to be adjusted before I send it off to the producer. (Look in the recipe section of RTS to get the recipe or click on the Colcannon link above.)

Having way too much fun!