Plate It Sacramento
Friday August 12, 2022
Very Local, a streaming platform from Hurst Entertainment, the owners of KCRA 3 and MY58, came to Sacramento in July and August of 2022 to film eight episodes of their new Chef's competition series "Plate it." They began with 6 episodes of "Plate it Pittsburg." Second on their production list was to showcase Sacramento's chef talent with "Plate It Sacramento." One episode was partially filmed at Corti Brothers and I was enlisted as a judge in our episode as well as a second episode.
The film crew, from locally based Blackfield Management, arrived by 7am sharp to set up outside the store. The theme of "Plate it Sacramento" is a chef's cooking competition where two invited local chef's arrive at the venue to shop. They are left completely in the dark until they arrive at the shopping venue. The host, local talent Katerina Kountouris, introduces the two chefs, Polo Adamo of Adamo's Kitchen and Dennis Sydnor Jr. of Renegade Dining. She then tells them the theme of the episode, which in the Corti Brothers episode is "Going Gourmet", and that they will have 15 minutes to shop for the ingredients in order to prepare an appetizer, a main dish, and dessert. They have a budget of $150 each and must use three specific ingredients; fresh white figs, Belgian endives, and balsamic vinegar. They get more points for creative use of the three ingredients. Once the timer starts, they shop as quickly as they can. They compete for charity, bragging rights, and the "Golden Fork" trophy.
Once the introductions were shot, it was off to the races for our two chefs as they bolted for the Corti Brothers aisles to get their ingredients while planning their dishes at the same time.
Polo and Dennis were a perfect pair for this episode. They were both very animated and had a great time shopping even though the stress of planning their dishes loomed while they shopped. Once the 15 minute timer sounded, it was a quick assessment of what they bought and then on to the actual cooking competition location to prepare their dishes.
Aside from judging, I also helped the production team with chef suggestions and recommended they speak to our long time friend and life long customer Teresa Urkofsky who is a professor teaching in the Hospitality Management department at American River College for over 20 years. I knew that the kitchens at American River College would be a perfect fit for the episodes. Luckily, Teresa was able to secure the kitchens as the venue for the chefs to cook in all of the episodes.
The chefs were given 45 minutes to prepare their dishes. Once the timer started, it was a frenzy of prep and cooking. Judging our episode were our host Katerina Kountouris, local restaurateur N'Gina Saran, and me.
When the timer sounded, after the 45 minutes were up, both chef's managed to finish preparing all three of their dishes although just a few minutes prior it really didn't look like they were going to cross the finish line with all three.
It was on to the judges table where we pain strikingly tasted and deliberated. It was close, but we did end up with a winner... You will have to stream the episode to see who won. It was a great experience for all of us to showcase the talents of the Sacramento food scene!
I can't wait to watch all 8 episodes, which are a tribute to the food talent of Sacramento!
The series premieres on Thursday January 12th. All you have to do to watch for free is go to the Very Local Website and download the free app on your smart TV, streaming device, smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Support our local chefs and food community and watch all 8 episodes!
Here's a tease of the Corti Brothers episode "Going Gourmet."
