5 Secrets to Professional Cooking Segment Video Production

Have you ever wondered how the Chefs on a cooking segment seem to cook an absolutely perfect dish – every single time? Perhaps you have questions about how the chefs manage to get all the ingredients for the dish chopped, prepped, and measured out into perfect portions in the mere minutes that it “appears” to take on the screen? Much of the magic happens behind the scenes during the cooking segment video production. In fact, there are many secrets to professional cooking segment video production that you may not be aware of. 

Beverly Boy Productions provides full-service cooking segment video production for chefs, restaurants, and business owners interested in expanding their reach with culinary content.

Give us a call at 888-462-7808 to learn more about our professional cooking show production or to find out what services we can provide for your project.

And, keep reading to learn the inside secrets to professional cooking segment video production that we use regularly in our set kitchens.

1. Cooking Segment Video Production Requires at Least 3 Camera Operators

If you thought you could get away with just one, or two, you’re wrong! The entire production, from prep to serving, is shot with at least three cameras.

This way there is a close-up shot of the food, a medium angle dolly shot that captures the action taking place in the kitsch, and a wider view too.  Ideally, we like to have 5 cameras running to provide full coverage of the kitchen including overhead shots.

2. We Probably Won’t Produce Your Cooking Segment in Your Kitchen

There are instances where a kitchen is large enough for our camera crew to do what we have to do while you cook you recipes.

Typically, cooking segment video production takes place in a studio kitchen that allows for better lighting, more room for the production crew, and ample movement of all the working bodies that are involved in both the filming of the production and the cooking of the meal.

There’s a LOT going on for sure!

3. The “End Result” Meal that You See is Probably Created by a Food Stylist

Yes, we said it — a food stylist! There are actually members of our production crew and of most production crews that specialize in cooking show segments, who specialize in arranging food and making it look pretty.

If you wonder why you can’t ever seem to get that casserole to look the way it does when Rachel Ray makes it — you’re not alone! Food is often manipulated and built up with various items like toothpicks, plastic wrap, and various other fillers or items to make it look perfect.

It doesn’t come out of the oven perfect!

4. The Food Probably Isn’t as Amazingly Vibrant Until Post-Production

Remember what we said about the “end result” food being built up, well that’s not all that takes place to make the food look delicious!

Professional cooking segment video production also means that after we capture our raw footage we’re going to then move into post-production where we’ll edit all those clips and add special effects and graphics.

We’ll also color grade the footage to make sure that everything is perfect. It’s how we prevent anything from appearing dull or unappealing — and it works!

5. The Video Takes Several Days or More to Create

Most of the time cooking segment video production results in several days of hard work for a single segment.

In fact, the cooking shows that you may recall from broadcast television, such as those on Food Network, usually take at least 12 hours of filming to create a 30-minute to 1-hour segment.

After the production is complete, the project moves into post-production editing which can take even longer but the end result is so worth it!