Behind The Scenes at America's Test Kitchen

During the recent ATK Eats event we were invited to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitchens and studios in their new digs at the Innovation And Design Building in the Seaport District.  We had taken a tour of the original building in Brookline a few years back and it was quite obvious at that time that they had already outgrown the space.  It had a cramped feeling and dusty look.  Well, not any more.

The new kitchens and studios are absolutely beautiful, bright, airy and spotless with plenty of room for test cooking and taping shows.

Look at all that shiny equipment.  If you watch the show you know that all recipes and equipment are painstakingly tested and retested hundreds of times before ever making it on the air. 

We especially liked the photo studio.  There are loads of props and lots of stylists at work here every day.  And there is plenty of natural light, too, as a strong flood of window light is always the best for food photos.

Even on the elevator ride down we noticed that no design detail was overlooked.  The elevator walls were strewn with commercial mixing machine paddles.  Nice touch, ATK!

ATK Eats 2018 Celebration

Bridget, Julia, Adam, Dan - they were all there.  And then, of course, the food.  The second annual ATK Eats event was recently held at the Innovation And Design Center, home to their new digs, and it was just fantastic. 

There were tons of local restaurants representing dishes, desserts and, yes, there was plenty to drink as well.

Future Chefs were on hand to help prep the dishes for the hundreds of visitors who made their way over to the Seaport District for the event. 

There were lots of great tastes here but our prize went to these Peanut Butter And Foie Mousse With Grand Mariner Jelly And Smoked Almond Flour Macarons by Chef Aaron Lahmon of The Ghost Walks.  Incredible!

I am not quite sure how we missed this event last year but there is no doubt that we will be there next year!

Socials:
@TheBostonFoodie
@testkitchen
@FutureChefs
@tgwboston

We attended this event as supporters of Future Chefs.

Happy 25TH To Cooks Illustrated



 

Chef Will Gilson of Puritan And Company.  Chef also confirmed that we will be seeing him again next Friday at Wine And Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island.

 

Will Gilson of Puritan And Company was there.  And so were many more chefs, restaurants and guests as we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Cooks Illustrated magazine.  It was the only place to be last Friday night and a very fun night of celebrating and talking about, what else, food. 

There were not any cooking demos or anything like that.  It was a time to celebrate and celebrate we did chatting with many of the cooks who bring America's Test Kitchen to life.

One of the most interesting attendees was Chefsteps.  Their goal is to bring sous vide cooking to the masses and we think that's a good thing.

And, of course, the hard-working young people from Future Chefs, our favorite foodie non-profit were there to help out and serve up a delicious codcake.

Happy Anniversary to Cooks Illustrated!

Socials:
@TheBostonFoodie
@FutureChefs
@TestKitchen
@cooksillustrated
@puritanco

We were invited to this event as members of the media without promise of any editorial consideration.

 



America's Test Kitchen Behind The Scenes

We recently had the great opportunity to go behind the scenes at America's Test Kitchen and we're more than happy to share the highlights of what proved to be a really fun and interesting tour.  ATK produces two PBS-TV cooking shows and a number of publications aimed at home cooks. This was a particular thrill for me as I am not only a big fan of their shows but also of their entire research-based, scientific approach to recipe testing.  They test both products and recipes.  We arrived in the morning where, each day, the interns gather to sort and store that day's grocery delivery. 

Since America's Test Kitchen is geared toward the home cook, all of the products used must be readily available in the very same grocery stores that you and I shop at.  So, pretty much everything that you see in the storage pantry and on the shelves is very familiar and probably exactly what you have in your own cupboard.

It didn't take long for us to realize that there are pretty much two sets of everything here.  One, of course, is the working set, the other the presentation set.  Even some of the pots and pans and freezers are reserved for items that will be used for TV or photo shoots only.  The other stuff is more for everyday use.

I just had to stop and ask what this "abuse" sign was for.  Here's the scoop.  In order to find the very best utensils, equipment and tools for the kitchen the staff will test many products for ease of use, cost and durability.  Once the very best product is selected that will be the product they will use as part of their kitchen equipment.  The "abuse" equipment will be used the very most to see how it stands up over months, even years, of constant use.  It will then be reevaluated to see how it survives.

Next, it was onto the cooking.  Recipes undergo extremely rigorous tests.  The process can takes months to refine a recipe to it's absolute perfect taste.  Check out this link for the details.  Believe me, it is exhaustive but fascinating.

This is the tasting table, where any member of the staff is free to sample the latest tested recipe and provide feedback.   This morning it was brioche and I have to say it was fantastic.  (Right before we walked in we did happen to catch Chris Kimball having a little nibble himself.)

Of course, once the food is prepared it must be presented.  Any food blogger who has ever styled a dish would be envious of all of the beautiful trays, platters, plates and table settings on hand for their photo shoots.  ATK has some of the most mouth watering photos I've ever seen.  They are total pros at food styling, no doubt from years of experience and thousands of photo shoots.

Some of the hundreds of  place mats available for styling photo shoots.

A peek at the hundreds of color coordinated plates used for presentations on the TV shows and for photos.  All of the plates are wrapped in heavy plastic to prevent chips.

Then it's on to the actual photography.  This was really great to see as a large part of the fun of food blogging, to me, is producing beautiful shots of food.  What a dream job!

We then moved right on and into the test kitchen.  All of the ATK TV shows for an entire year are shot in one month in the spring.  It's non-stop work with all hands on deck, as you can imagine.  After a grueling month of cooking and taping constantly they will have a year's worth of shows to edit and be done until next year.  Then, for another month in the fall they will pack up the entire operation and staff and head to Vermont where they will produce a year's worth of shows for Cook's Country, their other PBS-TV show.  In between it's all of the magazine work.

And there it is!  That is the very cooking station you see on the TV show where all of the dishes are prepared and taste-tested. 

Last but not least is the overflowing cookbook library featuring over 4,000 volumes on cooking from every region and era.  And it's still growing.  A treasure trove of research for the staff and cooks to rely on as they take classic American food and make it the best that it can possibly be.

Thanks America's Test Kitchen for an informative, interesting and entertainingly delicious peek into your amazing (and incredibly well-organized) operation!





America's Test Kitchen

Chris Kimball and the cast of America's Test Kitchen.

It is the most watched food show on Public Television in America. It's been going strong for ten years now. It's part science, heavy research and ultimately results in absolutely delicious food. I have always found it to be the most informative food show in a vapid sea of useless reality TV and chef food competition shows. It is America's Test Kitchen.

To promote their new book featuring every, single recipe from the past ten years, the cast gave a brief talk and took questions from the audience last night at The Brattle Theater in Cambridge, sponsored by Harvard Book Store. It was a really fun event, full of laughter and insight.

The audience questions resulted in some pearls of wisdom that we all can learn from.

On favorite gadgets: a good food thermometer, the microplaner, an egg slicer (great for cutting cheeses and tomatoes).

On advice for beginner cooks: have sharp knives, master five dishes first then branch out, don't be afraid to use salt, make a clean, organized work space to cook.

On testing recipes: it can take anywhere from five to hundreds of tests before a recipe is perfected. Then the recipe is sent to home testers and must achieve an 80% positive rating before being featured on the show. The longest tested recipe of all time was fudge. The most requested recipe is green bean casserole!

On gossip: Yes the ATK iphone app is due in February 2010.

Congratulations ATK. We wish you many more years of success.