Hi everyone, welcome to pot luck food talks. Today we're going to talk about the bear. I finally saw the bear, man. Like after... am I late to the party? Is it too late or? Oh man, you're super late to the party. You're ridiculously late to the party. The fact that we're making an episode now is just kind of... it's a little bit silly. But you know the good thing about it is that if someone hasn't seen it so far, you know...
Then you can listen to the episode and have it completely spoil it for yourself. Exactly, that's exactly what we're going to do. Like if you haven't seen it, go and see the whole series. How long? Like eight, nine episodes? Something like that? Yeah, the first season. Then there's a second season also. I don't know if you saw the second season. No, no, no. I just finished the first one. I'm going to start to do the...
We can do an episode on the second one. If it's worth it, I don't know. I have to see it. It's very different to the first one. Hey, hey, hey. We're here to spoil the first one, not the second one. Okay, alright. So what are your thoughts on the bear? So I enjoyed it very much. It's always difficult with media representation of sort of like culinary... You know, this like culinary abyss that is the restaurant world.
But in there, obviously there's some things that are kind of like a little bit cringy, a little bit not so accurate, you know. A little bit overdone. Like which ones, for example? Like, you know, just like this whole in-your-face kitchen culture, like the terminology, like behind this, behind that, it's sort of like... Ah, yeah. It was a little bit overacted, I agree on that.
A little bit, yeah. But in other examples, like in other food movies and stuff that try to portray kitchen culture, it's like even more so. But that being said, I thought it was really well done. I thought the story was really cool. It was shot beautifully. The acting was really good. I think... What's his name? Jeremy Allen White? Is that his name? I thought he was perfect for the role. He did it super well. Well, in my opinion, similar to yours, I think it's super well portrayed.
Many things of the restaurant, of the social dynamics inside a restaurant. And same, like some things were a little bit not so cool. And something I missed, but I understand, is the actual cooking action scenes. You know, like when they were deep in the shit, it was like cut down next day and everybody's happy again. And I was like, man, those are actually the... But I understand that it's a TV production. And I can imagine, you know, for example, which is the epic, epic, epic episode?
Episode 7, I think. Wow! Let's not get to it too quickly. It's not too quickly. Okay, okay, okay. But yeah, that's a heavy episode. Yeah, but I agree with you, you know, the cooking parts is kind of like... I mean, you see, but that's the thing. It's so hard to get right. And I mean, they had a really good culinary consultant. It was the maintenance guy was one of them, I guess, right? Exactly. Matty Mathieson. Yeah, he was one of the chefs of Munchies and Rice, right?
Oh man, he's huge. He's got his own show, you know, I mean, he's a massive celebrity. Canadian, right? Canadian guy, yeah. And I personally, I love him. I think the food that he cooks is really cool. I love his persona. And I think it's hilarious. He was one of the producers, I think, and one of the culinary consultant.
You can really tell that there were culinary consultants because, you know, there are so many details, for example, that I've seen hundreds of times in different kitchens, you know, like, for example, when the dishwasher says, everybody listen, whoever puts this in the dishwasher machine, like, I'm going to kill him or whatever.
And everybody, yes, chef, you know, I've seen that in every single kitchen I've worked, you know, and that's sort of like a real insider, you know, you have to know to portray something like that. 100%. And there are many, many things like that, you know, it's so easy to screw a movie for not having a proper consultant. Like there was this chess movie, you know, like Bobby Fischer, the super end tournament against the Soviet Union and blah, blah, blah.
And all the actual chess scenes were crap because there was no consultant. It's terrible. How can you do something like that? Such a huge production. And how expensive can be, you know, like an average chess teacher just to get that right, you know?
No, absolutely. It's like when you people see, it's like when you see people play, like, for example, violin, you know, and they have like a violin scene where they're playing violin and it's just, even if you know just the tiniest bit about how to play the violin, you can just see like they just go like, and it just ruins the whole scene if you just, because you can't not see it.
How difficult would it have been to have somebody there just for that scene to be like, no, no, move your hands like this, kind of go wrong stroke, you know, blah. No effort at all. And it's like that in the bear, you know, like you didn't see a lot of the food. Like I feel like Matty, I don't know what the dynamics are. If it's possible, what makes it possible makes it not possible.
Matty is a real chef, right? A real, real chef, a real successful businessman also. He's got loads of restaurants. He worked himself up from nothing, you know, but like, for example, when you see the flashbacks, but Karmie is working in the, you know, the fine dining kitchen. Right. Like that scene, that reminds me a lot of experiences we lived together in this kind of restaurants when the head chef comes near to Karmie and says,
you motherfucker, I'm going to fucking kill you. Yeah, exactly. But the food that they're plating looks absolute bullshit. Like the food that they're plating in like the best restaurant in the United States, you know, it looks absolute crap. It's like a raw piece of salmon with some like carrot julienne next to it. And it's like, you're like, Jesus, what the hell. There's like gels and stuff, but it's just nobody would serve that. Yeah.
But maybe it was a creative liberty that they took to like not portray it how it would be, but to make it seem just very, very fake, you know. So let's get into the plot. What's the story about? Is this guy that he inherits his brother restaurants after his brother kills himself. His brother had like an addiction. And apparently this restaurant was something really special for the people in that neighborhood. So he wants to, you know, bring it back to life and do things properly.
And so he's this high end trained chef and arrives to this mom and pop kind of restaurant. And it's funny because I've also seen that, how to say that conflict of someone. I've been that myself, you know, like coming from a high end training place to like, let's say a tapas bar, for example. And then there's this conflict of people saying like, who do you think you are? We've done things like this always and blah, blah, blah.
You know, like you get to see that a lot. And also like the way that, uh, car me and also Sydney, they gained the loyalty of the workers or the respect, you know, out of just cooking delicious food, you know. And that's something also that I've seen that is super interesting to experience. Absolutely. It's a really, that is a really relatable, um, conflict and process.
Also, I've been in that situation many times, actually coming from really high end, really high functioning restaurants to not even like less high end restaurants, but just to work with people that don't have the same background as you. And, um, and that, I mean, there's two sides to that story, you know, also that, um, you know, maybe the attitude isn't quite right, but like also you want to keep certain standards.
And people, until people realize like why, you know, there's always, I always feel like, um, you know, if, if you like out in the position of car me and you come into a new kitchen and you set this and you have to really live it, you know, which he is trying to do. Cause you know, what I thought it was great in the show is that car me is like a real, he's a good leader in a way because he lives it. He's there, he's working, he's blind or he's cleaning.
He's not just like doing the paperwork and this being sort of like, why is this shit? Why is the tape not cut with scissors? Blah blah blah. He's like really there. Yeah. And, um, he really manages to capture, to capture people's like heart, you know, um, that he works with. And I think that's really cool, but it's, uh, yeah, it's, it's really, it's really difficult. I mean, I'm in that position now also, you know, I'm working with a team of chefs where a lot of them aren't trained.
And then when you come in and you're sort of like, Hey, let's please make sure we do it like this. They're like, why, why should I put in the extra effort? And you are like, well, it's worth it. Yeah, like that. And you really have to, you really need to have empathy to communicate things properly without being an asshole or an idiot or, you know, like just making them understand why and, and making them do it also, you know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's complicated. It's not easy. Yeah, absolutely. What about Sydney? You wanted to ask me about Sydney, right? Yeah. Well, what about Sydney? I mean, okay. So we have to plot like he's there. He's struggling to get his brother's restaurant up and out of depth, depth also, you know. Um, and so then this, um, this young woman, um, joins him and says, Hey, she wants to do a trial shift. She wants to apply as a sous chef.
And she knows about his background, um, that he was a very high end cook in New York. And she's like, well, what are you doing here now? He's like, well, I'm just making sandwiches. Because obviously the whole story is too difficult. And she's also, she's still very green and very fresh in her career.
And he kind of takes her and, um, the fact that she understands certain processes in, you know, professional kitchens, the way that he does, he kind of uses her to try to implement these in his kitchen, you know, as, as you would with the, with the sous chef.
But also, you know, Sydney is obviously struggling. She's kind of stuck in between teeth between the team that's there since like forever. And that has a really horrible way of like communicating with each other. It's just like, you know, being on a playground and, you know, high school or whatever. And obviously between Carmi, who is kind of pressuring her to be sort of like, Hey, we really need to make sure we do this. We need to make sure we do that.
Which she asked for, you know, I mean, she asked for the sous chef position. So, um, it's, uh, it's kind of what she chose. But, um, yeah, I wanted to know what you hear because I wanted to hear what you, uh, what you think of her. What's your opinion? Because a lot of people really, really like her and think that she is, um, a very positive light in this show. And I thought personally that a lot of things that she did in the show were very problematic and not okay.
Yeah. So you, you told me, uh, when I told you that I was watching the show, you asked me about her. So I really, you know, like analyze the character. And well, she's, she strikes me as an interesting character, but also the most unrealistic of them all, because you see everyone else, like the grumpy old smart ass lady, the nerdy pastry chef, the eccentric cousin, uh, that is, you know, smarter than everyone else.
Uh, I've met like 20 characters, just like them all, you know, like in different kitchens, you, you know, these guys, you see them over and over again, right. But like the, like an archetype, right. That that gets into those characters.
But for me, Sydney, for me, it was kind of unrealistic because, you know, it's not someone you meet in the real world because there is a contradiction that makes her seem unbalanced as a character. She's portrayed as this slightly nerdy girl fresh out of the CIA, the Children's Institute of America, which is a super well-known school, expensive as well.
And she carries this inexperienced vibe of just graduating yet at the same time, she exhibits, you know, leadership's qualities, akin to a Dalai Lama, real patient and this and that. And for me, that's, uh, that's not like that. When you see this kind of profiles, especially young people, especially young people, where responsibility and you could say power, they're usually abused of that responsibility and that power.
They're, they're, they don't have the tech. And actually at the end of the series, polar alert, all of these comes out, you know, like all of those bitchy qualities. And I was like, oh, okay. Now I buy it. Now I, so, so that's my, my opinion on that.
You know, there are these scenes where, for example, uh, there is no gas, right? And, and she builds like a grill with bricks and, and, and there's like a whole grilling outdoors and, and makes runs a service without breaking a sweat. Like nothing ever happened.
Like she would do that every day. And I'm like, okay, that's actually like something you celebrate, you know, like if you do something like that, it's like, Oh, look what I did. You know, like it's, it's not something like easy common sense that you just do. Like you, you have to have lots of experience and think fast and you know, and so that, that for me, that's, that's my opinion about that character.
Yeah. I mean, you know, like I, I have met characters like that a few times, um, in different scenarios. I mean, one scenario that I can think of is for example, um, uh, BCC graduates, you know, yeah.
You know, like I can see them being like that, you know, fresh out of culinary school and be like, no, listen, what we need to do is we need to implement this app that can take the orders and then you'll see, no, no, no, you'll see it's a, it'll be much better than what you've been doing for 20 years.
And, um, well, there might be a point to that, you know, there's, um, also a sort of like humbleness that these people need to learn is that even though they've studied something, um, you know, they paid money to go to a school. There's also street smarts and there's a reason why businesses be run in the way. And there needs to be a balance between those two. You know, I'm not saying one is better than the other.
That's like a super interesting topic, you know, I once had a discussion exactly about this, uh, when I was in design school. And I remember there was this other student that was fresh out of a military career, right? So the discussion was about he had this motto or mantra or whatever that apparently is something that I can understand, uh, works like that in the military world.
And for a, I couldn't get him out of that. And then it was this, you never change the running system, you know, uh, which is doing things as they've always have been done. And I've been in restaurants where, where it's super interesting to discover that things that you've been doing the same for the last, however long time, just you find a way to make it better and you change it.
And suddenly it's, oh, wow, we're saving time or we're making this easier or whatever, you know, like, and yeah, I think that's interesting because that's exactly the conflict in that specific situation. Yeah, no, totally. Uh, totally. I'm also not a fan of like, oh, you don't change the running system. I think that's absolute bullshit.
I think if you are, that's a sign of like weak stability, like being able to adapt and change something and also having an open mindset to being like, oh, sorry, like this is my way, but you found a way to make it better. Hey, amazing. Let's take that. You know, why would you stick to something if you, if you could do it better?
But, um, yeah, also, you know, like in the very end, you know, obviously the episode seven is the one that gave lots of people like, you know, massive anxiety because things just go very, very wrong. It's incredible. So epic. And basically it's all Sydney's fault. I mean, there's nobody else's fault, just Sydney, you know, she wanted to implement this like to go order system. She left the orders open. And then there's the scene where like, um,
the Cali wants to take over and she's sort of like, no, I'm like blah, blah, blah. And she's like, and he's like, step off the Expo. And she's like, no, you know, it's like start arguing, you know, she's like, no, but the thing is like, well, and he's, it doesn't matter, you know, step off the Expo.
No, but like, and he's like, step off the fucking Expo right fucking now, you know, and it's like, yeah, you know, like, okay, you caused the issue, then you like, and then it's kind of like, there's a problem. We just need to fix it. And there needs to be no blah, blah, blah here, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's just like, no, just straight. It's kind of okay. Step off the Expo.
And then there's no time for that. You know, let's just everybody get a fucking move on, you know, at that point, the chain of command hits. There's one person telling everybody what to do. You do this, you do that, you do that, you do that. So we get out of the shit, you know, and she just like, couldn't accept that, couldn't accept the fact that she is causing this.
No, no, and everything will go worse and worse, you know, like, then she, yeah, I think that scene is incredible, but I remember exactly where I was seeing it. I was in the gym and the walking machine. I was watching the bear there. And I was laughing like, I can't believe this.
But honestly, you know, it's made me so angry that people are so upset, you know, because also then the pastry guy, he comes to car me and he's been like, he's also super behind on his desserts because he's fucking around with his donuts. And they keep telling him they keep telling him, please, please get the cakes ready. We're in the shit. Please make sure the cakes are.
And he said, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, whatever, whatever. We've got nothing ready. And then he comes to car me in the middle of the shit and he's like, oh, look, I made donut. Then car me. It's like, are you fucking with me? Are you really fucking with me? And just like throws the donut to the ground. And everybody's like, oh, it's really shitty. He is like, he worked so hard on the donut. And I'm like, bitch, really?
For me, for me, it was absolutely natural and natural. It's super understandable. And I feel like we're having a very unpopular opinion here because the vast majority of the internet already has a different opinion. Yes. People are sort of like, oh, that wasn't cool. But these are people sitting on their couch watching this at home and their comfort of the home and they have never felt the adrenaline of a service.
They have never been in the shit of a service where one shit goes wrong. And they're saying, oh, he's so rude. He could have said that more politely, you know, could have said it nicely. You could have tried to donut at least, you know, but it's really, it's just sort of like this infuriation of sort of like also of like the build up because it's not like that's one thing goes wrong.
You just completely flip. It's like, man, I've been telling you for so long. Please do you have this? Can you make sure you have that? Do you have it? Yes. Okay. Yeah. Fine. Are you sure? Because I don't see you doing it. Yeah. Still. Okay. Yeah. All right.
Now is the time I really need it. And what do you give me a fucking donut? Yeah. And it's like, that's how you drive a man insane. No. And also like it's also that that's what I say when that I really saw the inside of that character is when Sydney is walking around and she doesn't say anything.
And she doesn't say is behind, which is something probably that's the reason why, why they were so emphatic with that for the whole series so that you get the point that she didn't say it and someone walks and she makes like a big mess. You know, she walks into the, the cousin and then food all over the place. And he says, you didn't say behind, you didn't say behind. And she goes like really mad about it. Yeah. And she's like, fuck you. Fuck you.
And it's like, yeah, exactly. And so I started making it personal. Like you're such a loser in this and that, you know, and I was like, okay, that's what I was expecting of someone of that profile, you know, exactly. And honestly, for me, it's like a representation of bad leadership.
It's like preaching, preaching, preaching, preaching, and then you don't do the rule that you are implementing. Exactly. Something goes wrong because of that. And you get angry at everybody else as the exact opposite of what a, what good leadership looks like.
You know, dude, it's so easy to say, sorry, my fault. You know, it's like three words and the problem is over. You just need to say that when, when that's the case, you know, and especially in that situation, like you have, you know, because, especially like, because everybody else, you're, you know, you're in a management position, your whole team is looking at you, you make a mistake going against the rule that you implemented is a really critical point of like taking action.
And the action that you should be taking is like, guys, my bad. I'm sorry. Exactly. You know, taking ownership. But then you abuse your position of power, of authority and be like, fuck you. You lost the respect of everyone straight away and nobody's going to give a shit about the rules that you're trying to implement anymore. And then also, you know, it's also just like her venting her frustration about her own mistake.
The previous mistake, which was the ordering system. And for me, this character Sydney is like the embodiment of bad behavior in a kitchen environment. Yeah. At least, at least in that episode, I wouldn't say that the, I wouldn't say that the character is like a complete flaw. No, you're right. But in that episode, it's horrible. Yeah. Yeah. Also what happens in that episode, you remember a few episodes ago, we talked about somebody getting in your station.
So she's trying to do something. And then suddenly the custom comes and starts cutting vegetables for her, you know, in their station. And I was like, you know, it was everything at the same time. But yeah, what I really missed there is they had to cook, I don't know, 300 orders of chicken sandwiches or something. And then it's cut next, next morning.
Everybody's drinking coffee and chilling. I understand that the production of that for TV has to be like an absolute mess, you know, to do a culinary action scene with hundreds of orders. You know, like that's probably like a whole week of shooting just for that, for those 10 seconds, you know. I don't know, man. I don't know. I would like if I was, if I was doing that, I would say, okay, let's get three line cooks from a nearby restaurant in.
Just put them here. Just put a ticket machine next to them. Just keep, have the ticket machine, keep printing out tickets. The whole time. Have somebody shout at them like faster, faster. And just make them like cook the same thing over and over and over again. Okay, make two of this, make three of this, make two of this, make two of this, make three of this. And then you get the shots.
Yeah, that's what I missed because that's like a key moment that you have to see that to understand why Carmen wasn't so friendly with the guy with the donut, you know. Also, like what I really like is in those moments of absolute frustration like this, like psychological moments of you know, sounds and images like sharp angles suddenly like abstract images, because it really feels like that, you know. I think that that was very well portrayed as well.
Yeah, but I agree with you. It's really, so far I've never seen a show or a film where you really feel this, you know, just this grind, this like push when you're like, when you really feel the pressure and you're like, you're trying to concentrate on something and you're making something delicate, you know. Like you're cooking a fish. Maybe Iron Chef as a show? Yeah, but that's like so dramatic. You don't see like the focused stress, you know.
And you know, and like you're trying to make something beautiful and delicate and you're cooking a fish and then the expo is like, we need two more. Okay, and then afterwards you do three more of this and then afterwards and the pressure just keeps building and building and building and your mental list is getting longer and longer and longer. And you're like, fuck, I need to get this fast, but at the same time I need to do it really, really good.
Yeah, you're like deactivating a bomb. That's how it feels like. Red cable, blue cable. I can't make any mistake, you know, and this shit is gonna explode. That's a good comparison. Yeah, I like that. Yeah, you should definitely watch season two. It's very different to season one, I won't spoil too much. There are a couple of really beautiful things in there. You know, overall I liked season one a lot better, but there are a couple of things. Richie has a really nice development in season two.
I saw the first episode, so I saw some of the premises already. Yeah, and yeah, watch it and then we'll do episode two. That's it for this week's episode of potluck food talks. If you like what we're doing, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok as potluck food talks. The show airs every Monday.