Chef Franco Lania

Yesterday was the filming for the second 24-Hour Restaurant Battle I will be a part of for TV-Food Network.  The first show I was on my team was the big winner! Now I’m ready to go back and shoot for the win again. The theme that we won with on the first show was a play on a Chinese restaurant with basically grab and go foods.  The idea was to create a cool but quick downtown idea. Something like a Chinatown quick food idea for those on the go.  And, there are plenty of people on the go in downtown New York City. There is much more to this concept but it’s all I can say for now.  We are not supposed to disclose all that took place during the filming or say much about our fellow teammates.

Chinatown | New York City

What I can tell you are some overall things.  Such as once I was picked from a lineup of chefs to join my team we immediately got cooking. Unfortunately one of the contestants from the other team fell ill a few hours into the competition and the shoot was called off. The teams were dismantled and told there will definitely be a reshoot within a week or so, and we will all be called back to complete the show. That’s just what happened.

Once called back our team really got it together and got it together fast! In order to work under pressure against the clock with all sorts of rules and parameters set by the show is not an easy task.  Then to make it even more difficult you’re working with people that you literally just met and have no idea as to what their knowledge of food is or their cooking abilities.  Additionally, personalities will either clash or fit together. One never knows how all this will play out until the “ball” is put in motion.  Luckily for our team, it all clicked and clicked pretty fast. Kudos to all we wone! Also, thank you to Food Network for reaching out to me. I thoroughly enjoyed being on this show and I am looking forward to another winning chance on your 24-Hour Restaurant Battle show.