‘America’s Test Kitchen’ headed to Gallo Center

Christopher Kimball thinks cooking shouldn’t be such a trial and error and an “oh no, there goes the smoke alarm again” experience.

So the host of the No. 1 cooking show on PBS, “America’s Test Kitchen,” is taking his show on the road for an onstage re-enactment of the popular series. “America’s Test Kitchen Live” comes to the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto on Tuesday.

Kimball joked that audiences should expect to see him “humiliate myself for a couple of hours,” but also give tips and behind-the-scenes looks at the show and what works best at home.

“We give you a tour inside the kitchen with video and photography, do science experiments on stage and, of course, do cooking,” he said. “Audience members get to taste test and we talk a lot with them back and forth. Then we show embarrassing clips of trying to burn down the ‘Today’ show kitchen and talk a lot about why things go wrong – which is my favorite topic.”

The cooking show has been running since 2001 on PBS and has withstood the onslaught of food-related programming across the TV dial. Kimball said its nuts-and-bolts approach to what works and what doesn’t in the kitchen has set it apart from the myriad other cooking and food-related programming.

“I think that food and cooking has become entertainment because at least one generation has not seen that much of it at home,” he said. “They never saw much of it, so it’s a little like ‘Wild Kingdom’ – something a bit unusual and exotic. And then the Food Network figured out how to turn it into reality shows, which often don’t have that much to do with cooking, really.”

While Food Network and Cooking Channel shows often rely on big personalities and celebrity chefs, Kimball said his series is more concerned with the process of making meals. On the show, recipes are tested, issues are troubleshot and products are reviewed each week.

“We wouldn’t know how else to do, honestly. It’s not a strategic session, it is just our kitchen and our people,” he said. “What we try to do on the show and in the live event is to be honest about the realities of the home kitchen. We always start with bad food on the show. We make fun of a recipe that doesn’t work. Our approach is don’t blame yourself, blame the recipe.”

Indeed, Kimball said the proliferation of recipes, especially the terrible ones, has made it even more challenging for home cooks.

“I’ve said for 10 years now that all the Web is going to do is give you an aching desire for a good editor,” he said. “What do you do with 500 lousy cheesecake recipes? There are probably really only four good ones out there.”

Kimball, who is also the editor in chief of the series’ accompanying magazine, Cook’s Illustrated, said home cooks often have similar problems. People are afraid of using too much heat or too much salt. Still one of the biggest no-nos for amateur chefs is simply not following a recipe that works.

“People substitute ingredients, don’t read the recipes. They see it as a vague suggestion of how they make something if they had the time with the right ingredients,” he said. “Americans feel they’re too good to follow recipes; they want to improvise. The creative chefs have made the same recipe 1,000 times. They earned the right to improvise.”

Still, with a little practice and close attention to the right recipes, Kimball said anyone can turn out a great meal at home.

“You’re not born to be a good cook. It’s not an art, I am sorry. On some level with some chefs, it can be. But for home cooks, it’s just experience,” he said. “Be willing to follow the recipe and take your time. Anyone can become a good cook.”

But first, any good home chef needs to start with good equipment. He said every kitchen should be stocked with a sharp knife, a 12-inch skillet, 10-inch nonstick skillet, 4-quart sauce pan and big pot for boiling water. A food thermometer, Dutch oven and food processor help, too.

Kimball said the live touring events, which started last year, have been a great way to reach out and hear from viewers of the show. An $85 VIP ticket to the Gallo Center event includes the purchase and shipping of “The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2014.” Dan Souza, senior editor for Cook’s Illustrated and a test cook for “America’s Test Kitchen,” will join Kimball for this show.

Kimball said at each event, the public’s passion about cooking is self-evident.

“When people come to our events, so many tell us they are so grateful that they went from a bad cook to a good cook,” he said. “They didn’t think they could be good cooks. Being a good cook is a big deal for people.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 1:00 AM with the headline "‘America’s Test Kitchen’ headed to Gallo Center."