No matter how much we prepare and practice, things don’t go exactly as planned when it comes to media interviews! As life-long learners and media trainers, we’re always looking for ways to improve, learn and share our secrets of success with you! In the next few newsletters, we’ll share some our TV interview fumbles – and how to fix them!

Media Interview Fumble #3: Picking a sensitive recipe

Gina’s story: I usually pre-tape 3-4 television segments at a time– all at my house. I spend time on the weekend getting all of my food props ready in advance to save time the morning of the taping. I like to be organized and have as much of my food display as possible mise en place and camera-ready. I take care and use sticky notes to label every dish and ingredient according to the recipe or segment.

I recently taped a segment with a recipe that required avocados. I bought extra avocados the night before the taping, and planned to cut them up an hour before the camera crew / show host arrived at my home kitchen to for the taping. I also had lemon juice on hand to help stop the avocados from browning, but to my dismay the avocados I bought the night before were all brown inside. That meant I had to dash out early in the morning of the taping and source additional fresh avocados. This added extra stress, into an already busy morning!

The Fix: I always have lots of extra food and ingredients but this time, I just got unlucky with the avocados. I am very lucky that I happen to live close to a grocery store that opens at 7 am! When selecting recipes for segments, carefully consider the ingredients and their availability.

Also, consider how ingredients will stand up to being on display for a period of time, or under hot studio lighting. For example, tender, fresh herbs, such as cilantro, (also and ingredient in this recipe) wilt quickly. Consider using herbs with better “staying-power” such as flat leaf parsley, that looks like cilantro on camera, but holds up better in a food display. Also consider keeping fresh herbs wrapped in a piece of damp paper towel until a few minutes before the camera is rolling.

Always have extra food ingredients / props on hand. I usually buy enough ingredients to make my recipe three times – one for the hero (the displayed, completed recipe), one for the recipe demo, and one to account for any oopsies!

Next Month: Watch how Chef Jamie Oliver deals with a surprise kitchen fumble!