The Chef and the Architect

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Flip through the pages of most design magazines: you'll see the kitchens of celebrity chefs and super chefs. The story that goes untold is just how their kitchens get built and the thoughts behind the designs. That's what is revealed in the upcoming Food Network special called The Chef & the Architect. That's what makes it is so fascinating to watch, as Superchefblog learned in a sneak preview this week. (The show premieres September 9, 2006 (Saturday), at 9:00 p.m on the Food Network.) Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, who have been partners since they opened City Cafe in 1981 (see Super Chef, chapter 5, pp. 131-174), take on the project of designing Mary Sue's new kitchen with Josh Schweitzer, architect and designer, husband of Mary Sue, and ex-husband of Susan. As Mary Sue told Superchefblog in an exclusive interview: It took three-and-a-half years to make this one-hour special. The kids grew a foot each. It was a labor of love, a peek at the life of me and Josh and somewhat of Susan. It is about the important parts of designing your home kitchen -- to me. The documentary's style is realistic, funny, and immediate -- very true to today's Border Girls and the Food Network's early success with Too Hot Tamales in the late 1990s. Mary Sue and Susan have always had a natural, comfortable relationship on camera, and The Chef & the Architect captures intimate, tense moments as well as their quick fingers preparing food. The special starts with Mary Sue and Josh talking about their soon-to-be old house (formerly a swimming school) and follows them as they find a new house, tear it down, and build a new home designed by Josh. Mary Sue and Josh's two boys mark the passage of time most clearly as they grow; Josh and Mary Sue struggle over what is important to them in kitchen design. Josh draws and redraws plans. They select and buy kitchen equipment, hire and fire cabinetmakers, and agonize over paint colors. Finally Susan joins Mary Sue in the new kitchen with her own remarks about its success. Do you fear this endeavor might be old hat for Josh, who designed not only Border Grill in Santa Monica and Las Vegas and Ciudad, not to mention Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton's Campanile among other restaurants -- and whose previous home has already appeared on FN sister HGTV? Think again: imagine designing your partner's home kitchen! The show wraps on a partially finished, useable kitchen, with big drawers for pots, pans and spices, lots of counterspace, and Mary Sue's top demand -- "four steps from stove to sink to refrigerator." Mary Sue told Superchefblog this week, "I love the kitchen. It's gorgeous. But with Josh everything is always in process, it's still not finished!" Susan and Mary Sue are executive producers of The Chef & the Architect, so now they can add that to their other film credits, most notably culinary design of Tortilla Soup (2001). Equally if not more impressively, then can add Linda Goldstein-Knowlton to their Media portfolio as producer of The Chef & the Architect. You may know Linda already from Whale Rider (2002) and The Shipping News (2001), or you may be about to hear of her for her upcoming direction of The World According to Sesame Street (2006), which airs on PBS around the country on October 24, 2006. Mary Sue mentioned that she and Josh are now cooking together more then before. He is even making sour dough bread with an 18-day starter, and they will be doing some promotional appearances for a new high-end Sears line of kitchenware. The Chef & the Architect shows just how good Mary Sue and Susan (and Josh!) remain on camera: how much better the Food Network would be if they returned with a new show! (Please post your comment to this article, below.) Previous articles: Iron Chef America: Milliken + Feniger v Bobby Flay In the Audience of Iron Chef America Catch the Milliken and Feniger Top Ten Profile: Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger for White House Chef Superchefblog: Catalyst for White House Woman Chef? Results of White House Chef Vote Mary Sue Milliken: California Beats Japan SOS: Baking from the Heart New York Welcomes "Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine" [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to superchefblog