Above: Candidate Kitchen trailer.
PORTSMOUTH, NH — You’ve seen them sweating the small stuff in town hall meetings, and heard them on the stump dishing up canned responses to the usual flavorless questions.
Now there’s a tasteful alternative to scrutinizing politicians on the campaign trail: Candidate Kitchen is a fresh and concept, bringing presidential candidates into a top New Hampshire restaurant kitchen to cook.
The only rule: Leave politics at the door.
The first installment of this series features Democratic hopeful Julián Castro, who chops and sizzles his way through his signature breakfast tacos in the kitchen of CURE Restaurant with an assist from chef and owner Julie Cutting Kelley.
The series kicks off June 26 via YouTube to coincide with the first televised Democratic Presidential debate (9 to 11 p.m. EST on NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo) and is the brainchild of executive producer Peter Connors. His idea was a simple one: Give voters a chance to connect with 2020 hopefuls through the equalizing experience that brings us all together: good food and personal storytelling.
Connors had a hunch that the days of the drive-by diner stops are losing their appeal to NH voters, beyond the practiced sound bites and stump speeches, voters are seeking the unexpected and real.
“Like Beto’s impromptu roasting of a chicken with his wife in their home kitchen that attracted 257,000 viewers over 47 minutes on Facebook Live,” Connors says.
There are no “gotcha” moments, says Connors, just a sincere and humanizing look at the candidates that viewers won’t find anywhere else.
Sally Northrop is director and producer for the series. You can see the first episode of Candidate Kitchen below, and watch for more episodes here:
