The time has come to spice up the typical cooking show. The high-drama environments of “Top Chef” and “Chopped” will have entertaining competition if shows like the Web series “Eat Our Feelings” gather steam.
Created by actor-writer Sasha Winters and freelance chef-writer Emma Gonzalez, the sitcom with a juicy cooking show center is a new way to get people into the kitchen. “We don’t just throw our beautiful food in your face,” says their website, “we show you how to make it, then we tell you all about our psychological well-being while we eat it—which is less like brunch with your mom than it sounds.”
After bonding over Sandra Lee’s cooking shows and realizing they had a mutual curiosity about what the story behind each meal was, the two decided to make a series outlining the road to some good eats and started writing “Eat Our Feelings.”
“For a lot of people eating is an emotional experience—or at least it can be—and people relate to food in a lot of different ways. We wanted to explore that,” says Winters. “There’s always a story behind what you’re eating.”
The show’s first episode shows the two sitting on a park bench with a man behind them selling grilled cheese sandwiches. When they decide that they can probably make better ones, they jump into the kitchen and bring the audience with them to show them their process. When they go back to the park to sell their creations, they realize their competition’s $40 sandwiches have an extra (and pricey) ingredient they didn’t anticipate. “We were inspired by this guy who walks around selling empanadas out of a duffel bag,” explains Gonzalez. “Who sells empanadas at a park out of a duffel bag? Where does he even make them? That’s so gross!” These were the thoughts and questions they grappled with.
Making the show was a technical challenge for its creators. “When we shot the first episode we only had one camera and we quickly realized that food television is using multiple cameras,” says Winters, “which means that we had to do everything twice in the same way.” Making sure they set down a lemon or a knife at the same angle as the first shot took concentration but the tedium inspired them to up their game.
Winters and Gonzalez recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $12,000 to film more episodes. As of Sept. 10 they met their goal but the campaign will be open until Sept. 15. “There’s no room to be like is it good? Do we believe in it?” says Winters. “We’re both really nervous people so we’ve had to build up that confidence to say, ‘We deserve your money,’ and not having that teenage insecurity of like, ‘Oh, now am I cute enough?’ ”
On advice for others thinking about making their own content, looking professional is the most important tip Winters and Gonzalez would offer. “When there’s so much stuff in the market you have to rise to the top,” says Winters. “Building a team that has the same vision, people who believe in you, and who you believe in is also important. Don’t be afraid to ask people for help all the time.”
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