Movies - TV
Chef Matty Matheson Was A Major Part Of Making The Bear Believable
By MIYAKO PLEINES
For his role as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto in Hulu’s "The Bear," actor Jeremy Allen White spent about a month gaining culinary competency by working in the kitchens of real chefs. The show's creator Christopher Storer actually hired Canadian chef Matty Matheson to ensure that White and his co-stars maintained their facades as culinary aficionados once filming started.
Matheson, who served as a co-producer for the series, has done everything from opening restaurants to appearing on television and YouTube shows. Matheson also appears in the series as Neil Fak, a handyman for Carmy's restaurant — a fitting character for the man whose job is to fix how the show's actors interact in the fictional kitchen of The Original Beef.
Matheson said that he would tell the actors things like, "The way you're holding the pan is kinda wack," hoping to create a more authentic viewing experience. As Storer put it, "[Matty has] seen every peak and every valley of small business. He was prepping his new restaurant as we were shooting so we had a direct line into what the chaos of opening a restaurant can be."