TRANSCRIPT
Office Ladies | Episode 266 - Office Food
Jenna [00:00:05] I'm Jenna Fischer,
Angela [00:00:05] and I'm Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [00:00:07] We were on The Office together,
Angela [00:00:08] and we're best friends.
Jenna [00:00:10] And now we're doing the ultimate Office lover's podcast, just for you.
Angela [00:00:14] Each week we will dive deeper into the world of The Office; with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details and lots of BFF stories.
Jenna [00:00:22] We're the Office Ladies 6.0.
audio cue [00:00:23] [musical sting]
Jenna [00:00:26] Hello everyone!
Angela [00:00:28] Hi!
Jenna [00:00:29] Welcome to Office Ladies 6.0. Today we are going to be discussing all things food on The Office. So, behind the scenes and in the scenes you're going to hear from some of our cast members about their food memories, plus Sergio Giacomon, our awesome caterer, is going be with us later on in the episode. He's going to tell us all about his time feeding the cast and crew of The Office!
Angela [00:00:58] Yes it was so wonderful talking with him. He has such fond memories of the show. There were some pretty epic food moments that happened at Dunder Mifflin (we're going to need to discuss those), and some unbelievable food content I found in the bonus features on the DVDs. I can't wait to share. Here's a teaser: One involves a Dunder Mifflin employee who starts a cooking show. The other are some food PSAs that John Krasinski did for NBC.
Jenna [00:01:28] Well lady, I might have found something in my digital clutter.
Angela [00:01:32] You said that and I can't believe it. First of all, that you have Digital Clutter and secondly, it's about food.
Jenna [00:01:39] Okay, I'll explain it all when we get to it. But first, we have a very special guest in the studio with us today, and also a loyal Office Ladies listener. Ange, you are smiling.
Angela [00:01:52] I am, yes!
Jenna [00:01:54] Because?
Angela [00:01:52] Yes, because today's guest is my husband and an amazing, self-taught chef and baker, Joshua Snyder! [clapping and cheering]
Jenna [00:02:00] Welcome, Josh!
Josh [00:02:01] Thank you, thank you guys so much. Oh man, it's surreal to be here because I am such a fan of you guys in the podcast. And so just to actually be here. I'm like, "Oh my gosh it's crazy, I'm really here!"
Angela [00:02:14] Woo hoo! He has listened to every single episode of Office Ladies.
Josh [00:02:18] Every episode.
Jenna [00:02:19] I know. Including our second drinks!
Josh [00:02:20] Oh, second drinks are great.
Jenna [00:02:21] Bless you.
Josh [00:02:22] I love the second drinks. I loved the top show of you guys do with the second drinks.
Angela [00:02:25] Yeah, he's very encouraging. He's like, "I like the tidbits."
Josh [00:02:28] Yeah and re-listening to it has been great. I've rediscovered how much I love your podcast all over again.
Angela [00:02:34] Oh come on!
Josh [00:02:35] It's great!
Angela [00:02:36] He should do ads for Office Ladies.
Jenna [00:02:38] I agree. Well, we thought it would be a really fun way to kick off this food episode by talking with you, Josh and Angela, because the two of you had a cookbook come out yesterday!
Angela [00:02:50] Yes.
Jenna [00:02:51] October 21st, your new cookbook called "You Can Make This."
Angela [00:02:56] It came out yesterday. It's very surreal to us. We're doing press for it. We were on the Today Show.
Josh [00:03:02] I mean, it's been a whirlwind and I'm so happy it's finally out, too. It's been such a long time coming, we've been working on this - You guys know, writing a book takes a long time. Like, a lot longer than you think it does.
Angela [00:03:16] Yeah, when we very first decided that we were going to take all of our favorite recipes, you know... We had the YouTube "Baking with Josh and Ange" show, and then Josh has been curating recipes for years on our website. And we were like, "It's time to do our cookbook." And I told him, Jenna, what you told me, you're like, "You're going pitch this book and in three years, you'll hold it in your hand."
Josh [00:03:40] It's so accurate, too. I mean, I was like, "Seriously, it's going to take that long? I can't imagine it taking that long." I have the recipes ready to go. Like, what else is there? You know, what's the hold up?
Jenna [00:03:52] This is amazing. Angela, you were me in the cookbook. The way I was with our book. I was like, "Oh, gosh. Buckle in, lady."
Angela [00:03:59] Buckle in. There's going to be revisions, photography, a lot of people are going to weigh in on things you never even imagined you'd be talking about like font size and color and... Yeah.
Jenna [00:04:10] This cookbook is such a lovely reflection of the two of you. I have said this before, but my kids always get so excited to come to your house for dinner (or when you come to our house and they know you're going to bring something ) because the food's always so great. Also, your home is just so welcoming and I really felt that in the cookbook. Can you guys share a little bit about how you started this food journey? I mean, my memory of you two dating and hearing from Angela was that you were always kind of in the kitchen.
Angela [00:04:43] Oh yeah. Here's the thing. Josh was always whipping up some dessert that all the moms at the school were talking about. He would bring these sugar cookies for events and they looked like works of art, but they also tasted really good. So I was like, "Who's this guy?"
Josh [00:05:00] Yeah, I mean, I started making the cookies and cakes when the kids were small. I think mostly I was a dad on a budget. So I wanted to be able to give them what they wanted for their birthday, and they wanted a "Ninjago" cake, or some sort of themed character cake. I wanted be able do that for them. Cakes are expensive at the store. So I really thought that I could just make it myself.
Angela [00:05:26] This is very much him being also just like his family. They just do it themselves, you know? They're in Kansas and Colorado, and they're just gonna figure it out. They're not gonna pay someone to do it for them.
Josh [00:05:37] Well, very Midwest, right?
Jenna [00:05:39] Yes, yes.
Josh [00:05:39] I mean, all of your stories about St. Louis, I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's Kansas. That's the same thing." So yeah, but it started out as just a hobby, really. As I got more into it, I got some more gear and then all of a sudden, I'm the person with two drawers of different icing tips. I'm, like, "What happened to me?" I don't know.
Jenna [00:06:02] Well, you made those cakes and cookies for my kids' birthdays. You made some for Mindy's daughter. You started then and people were like, "Hold on," because a lot of times (like you said, Ange) they look good, but they don't taste good. Josh's stuff is both.
Angela [00:06:19] Yeah, and I think for you too, Josh, baking is kind of like your zen garden.
Josh [00:06:24] Absolutely.
Angela [00:06:25] It's where you go to relax.
Josh [00:06:26] Absolutely, and actually it's funny because this cookbook, I did so much of this cook book listening to Office Ladies. Because I'm a huge audio book person, a podcast person, and I would say the majority of these recipes I was listening to an Office Ladies episode or two, yeah.
Jenna [00:06:43] Wow. You're welcome.
Angela [00:06:45] Thank you.
Josh [00:06:46] So Office Ladies is a huge part of this book.
Jenna [00:06:47] We're in the book.
Angela [00:06:49] We're in the book.
Jenna [00:06:49] I like it.
Angela [00:06:50] And here's the other thing, too. Not only is Josh a great baker, but he's also a great chef. We have a busy household. We have lots of kids. They always have friends over. So we're big on easy dinners and great snacks and breakfast and lunches. So there's really everything in here and we wanted it to feel like you were just coming home with us and hanging out.
Josh [00:07:11] Yeah, and Angie did such a great job with the personal stories, because every recipe does have a story because it means something to us. It's either something that we make all the time in our house, or it was my grandma's recipe or her grandma's recipes. Ange just had a way of writing the book to make it feel like you're part of our kitchen and part of family, which you are.
Angela [00:07:34] Exactly. And I did take a nod to our book, Jenna, because I love that we had a back and forth. So we did that with our cookbook. If there was a recipe that was special to Josh, he would write a little thing or I would write a little things. So you have this back and fourth, but I'm just so excited, also, for our kids to have this book. It really feels like our home to me. I hope everyone likes it. There's beautiful food photography (I want to give a shout out to Victoria Harris and her whole team) but then there's also these candid pictures of us and our life and our home.
Josh [00:08:04] Yeah, our kids grew up in the kitchen, too, and these are the recipes that they grew up with. So I'm so happy that we have this keepsake for them. Besides putting it out for everyone else, this was really important for us to have these are recipes that we grew up with, for our kids.
Angela [00:08:20] Well, just to wrap up, one of the reasons we named the cookbook, "You Can Make This" is because I am not a natural in the kitchen. I'm pretty much a hot mess in the kitchen, and Josh would always say to me, "you can make this." And he would also say that to our kids. Like, they would try a recipe and you'd be like, "Guys, you could make this." So when it came time to name the book, I was like, "Babe, we have to call it 'You Can Make This' because that's what you say to us all the time."
Josh [00:08:44] It's true.
Jenna [00:08:45] Well, I would also like to call your cookbook, "You Can Eat This," because this is true about your recipes and your cooking, Josh: for example, you have your one sheet fajitas. That is a family favorite of ours. Is that in the cookbook?
Josh [00:09:00] Absolutely.
Jenna [00:09:02] Yay! Okay and the spice mix on that it's not too spicy for the kids but it's still complex for the adults. So it's mild but complex and something that I think is true of all your cooking is that can I would tell my kids, "You can eat this, Josh made it." And they'd be like, "Okay then I'll try it" and it got them to try new things. So you can make this and your kids can eat this. This is a cookbook for the whole family. Josh, please tell me that you brought something in for us today. Because I see a box next to you.
Josh [00:09:35] You know I did, all right. So I brought in the granola.
Angela [00:09:39] Josh's homemade granola, it's my favorite granola. If you love granola y'all, this is for you. The recipe is in the cookbook.
Josh [00:09:46] I spent years perfecting this granola recipe, and I can say it's one of the best recipes in the.
Jenna [00:09:53] I'm a little surprised that you included it in the cookbook.
Angela [00:09:55] I said he shouldn't. I was like, "Babe, you need to sell this at the grocery store."
Jenna [00:10:00] I agree.
Angela [00:10:01] But he wanted to share it. He wanted you guys to be able to make it, too.
Josh [00:10:04] I do. I'll still make it for you, too. Whenever.
Angela [00:10:08] I know, but we sort of joke that when we grow old, we're gonna live in some little town and he's gonna make granola and we're going to put it in little brown paper bags and sell it at the corner little coffee shop.
Jenna [00:10:19] Yes, and you should also do spice mixes. Josh's fajita spice mix, Josh's taco spice mix. You're good with the spices.
Josh [00:10:29] Thank you, thank you so much.
Jenna [00:10:31] "Spicy and Granola," it's your autobiography.
Josh [00:10:34] I also did bring some snickerdoodles.
Jenna [00:10:36] Oh, yeah!
Josh [00:10:37] And these were these were probably the first cookie that I actually I think perfected to where I was like, "Okay, this is just a great cookie" and I'm super confident with it. So I brought one for Cassi and Sam, too.
Jenna [00:10:54] Getting some cheers from the booth.
Angela [00:10:56] Well, we're so happy to have you here. We're so excited for our cookbook. You guys, go out and get it if you haven't. It's called "You Can Make This." We really just made this with a lot of love in our hearts and we hope you like it.
Jenna [00:11:08] Help Josh and Ange get on the best seller list. Y'all, get this cookbook! All right, we will take a break. When we come back, we're gonna start talking about all the food on The Office.
Angela [00:11:18] Yep.
audio cue [00:11:18] [musical sting]
Angela [00:11:28] Well we are back. That was so fun for me.
Jenna [00:11:31] I know!
Angela [00:11:32] He was really nervous and I was like, "Josh, it's just me and Jenna. You know..." But he just wanted to do a good job and he's so earnest, as a person. I was so delighted to have him on the podcast.
Jenna [00:11:47] You guys are so cute together. Alright, well I think it's time to dig into some of the most fun food moments, both on and off set of The Office. Let's start with on set.
Angela [00:11:57] Okay.
Jenna [00:11:58] You know, there are so many ways that food served as a plot point in episodes. Like a lot, starting with the pilot, with the stapler in the jello.
Angela [00:12:09] Oh I actually looked up how many times we put things in jello on the show. Are you ready for this?
Jenna [00:12:15] Is it more than two?
Angela [00:12:17] It is. Well if you count a simulation, that's a hint. So you have Dwight's stapler, that's in the pilot. You have Michael's "World's Best Boss" mug, also in the pilot. You have Andy's calculator in "Gay Witch Hunt."
Jenna [00:12:34] Oh wow I forgot about that.
Angela [00:12:36] That's right. Then you have Dwight's rocket launcher in "Local Ad." So remember in that episode, Dwight is playing that online game "Second Life?"
Jenna [00:12:48] [laughing] Oh, yes.
Angela [00:12:49] And Jim has a character in it too. And Dwight finds his rocket launcher in jello. And then lastly, Dwights phone in "Manager and Salesman."
Jenna [00:12:58] Oh, yeah.
Angela [00:13:00] So that was definitely a running food gag.
Jenna [00:13:03] Well, there are so many more. I was going down memory lane and I thought of just Michael's love of bacon, which then leads him to burning his foot.
Angela [00:13:13] Classic.
Jenna [00:13:13] And then you know there's those scenes that were deleted that have been added back to the super fan episode for "The Injury" of all the food that Ryan brings Michael from the gas station. It's pretty incredible. Then I thought of the peanut butter that Dwight has to put in Michael's hair to get the gum out. Or the store-bought potato salad that Michael brings to David Wallace's party. How about Phyllis' microwave popcorn that interrupts the Finer Things Club meeting?
Angela [00:13:41] So good.
Jenna [00:13:42] These are all ways that food is used as a plot point. I mean, Kevin's chili, Angela's brownies, Andy making cherries jubilee, and of course, Ryan's cheese pita that started the fire. There are so many, but I think maybe my favorite food plotline is the one that led us to meet Sconesy Cider.
Angela [00:14:06] [wistfully] Oh, Sconesy Cider.
Jenna [00:14:07] And you know, lady, I went to the super fan episode for "Christening" when I was prepping this episode of all about food. I was just hoping there was more Sconesy Cider. There's not. That's it.
Angela [00:14:21] You get what you get.
Jenna [00:14:22] You get what you get.
Angela [00:14:24] Well, I too was thinking about just all of the Christmas parties, all the parties, the food, so much. Then of course, there are all the things that we actually had to eat, like Meredith's ice cream cake, pretzels on pretzel day, Nellie had to eat all those tacos, Kevin ate a stock of raw broccoli, Creed's mung beans, Creed's raw potato, Michael's mayo and olives Michael's fettuccine alfredo. Ugh. Dwight eating a hard-boiled egg that made everyone sick, and then, of course, we all got to eat pie in "Work Bus."
Jenna [00:15:05] Oh, yeah, that pie was so good. Yeah, I was thinking back to some of my favorite Office food scenes, and the pie is definitely one of them. Like, I'll never forget that pie.
Angela [00:15:17] I'll ever forget that pie because of what we went through to get it.
Jenna [00:15:19] I know! But you know what else I'll I'll never forget is the grilled cheese on the roof, Jim and Pam's grilled cheese date. It was so good.
Angela [00:15:28] You've talked about that grilled cheese.
Jenna [00:15:30] I know.
Angela [00:15:31] I feel like you're chasing that one particular grilled cheese. Have you ever had anything come close to it?
Jenna [00:15:36] That's a good question. Like, since? Have I had a grilled cheese like that grilled cheese? I don't know if I have.
Angela [00:15:46] I'm gonna tell you one my mom made that was so good. She had her skillet, she put a little pat of butter in there. She got that thick Texas toast and just American cheddar cheese and she made me a grilled cheese and that bread got a little crispy and crunchy. And then the cheese was gooey and she did it in the skillet.
Jenna [00:16:07] You know my son has a friend, and whenever he goes to his friend's house, the mom makes them grilled cheese, and it kinda sounds like that. I'm going to shout her out: Stephanie, I'm talking about your grilled cheese on Office Ladies because it is legend in our house. Like, Stephanie's grilled cheese is to my son, what Jim and Pam's rooftop grilled cheese is to me.
Angela [00:16:32] I wonder who made it for you that day.
Jenna [00:16:34] I'd love to know. It might have just been Phil Shea.
Angela [00:16:40] Probably. He would whip up stuff for us.
Jenna [00:16:42] Yeah, for those scenes. Because I know that Phil Shea made the French toast that I ate in "Dream Team," at Michael's condo and it was, likewise, delicious.
Angela [00:16:52] Phil Shea made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When I would have to eat something in the background and I needed a sandwich, he would make me the best dang PBJ.
Jenna [00:17:01] What was so good about it?
Angela [00:17:03] You know, I feel like it was the bread.
Jenna [00:17:05] He just got great bread. Was it white bread or wheat bread? Was it, like, thicker bread? Describe it to me.
Angela [00:17:12] He asked me,
Jenna [00:17:12] You guys, this is turning into, like... This is the food porn episode. But tell me, please.
Angela [00:17:19] He listed all the breads I could possibly want and I was like, "Phil I just like a basic white bread." The one he got (I don't know what it was) was kind of squishy, a little, not damp squishy. Like, the good bouncy kind of squishy and it was so yummy.
Jenna [00:17:38] You know what one of my other favorite onset food memories is? Is the cheese puffs.
Angela [00:17:43] Were they good?
Jenna [00:17:45] No. I'm sorry. I should say it's what the cheese puffs brought to my life.
Angela [00:17:51] It was a lot of fun.
Jenna [00:17:52] They were kind of stale.
Angela [00:17:55] I think you guys... Like, everything was stained orange. Like, your fingertips.
Jenna [00:17:59] Yeah, but we had so much fun shooting that. Well, I have a question for you, Angela. Did you ever have a scene where you had to eat something that you hated?
Angela [00:18:10] It wasn't so much that I hate it, it's when it turned on me. OK, here's the thing. I've talked about this before, but when we have that ice cream cake in "The Alliance" for Meredith's birthday (who didn't even want dairy) we started filming that at 7 AM. 7 AM, someone hands you a plate of a big slice of ice cream cake. You haven't eaten anything else, because you're not a breakfast person. So the first thing you eat is a big honking piece of ice cream cake. Then you eat that piece of cake for three more hours.
Jenna [00:18:44] Yeah.
Angela [00:18:45] By the end of it, you don't ever want another piece of ice cream cake again in your life. For years, lady, I could not eat ice cream, anything like ice-cream related, after that episode. It really turned on me. They had to get me a bucket.
Jenna [00:19:00] Oh, Lady. Same!
Angela [00:19:03] That was really tough. And then, do you remember, I was trying to figure out the episode where the party planning committee (I think it was a Christmas episode) had all the chocolates and chocolate boxes.
Jenna [00:19:16] Oh yeah.
Angela [00:19:17] And Ed Helms and Mindy, who were notorious for eating prop food, started digging into the chocolates and one had maggots in it.
Jenna [00:19:25] [emphatically] Oh, yes! I remember this, because they did not intend for us to eat them.
Angela [00:19:30] Yes, it was supposed to be set decoration. And Mindy and Ed started going into them. And oh my God, we freaked out. We were like, "Aaaaah!" Oh, it was so disgusting.
Jenna [00:19:43] Well, now that's bringing up a memory for me where I can't remember what it was. I feel like, because it was me and BJ, BJ also loved to eat prop food. And there was a big buffet of food. Gosh, it might've been...
Angela [00:19:58] Was it Diwali?
Jenna [00:19:59] No, no, no. It was in the conference room. Oh, I wish I could remember, but it was a conference room scene and there's tons of food, but the storyline is that we're actually not wanting to eat it. I can't remember why, what this is, someone out there is probably shouting it out right now. But because that food was gonna stay out for a long period of time, they had kind of sprayed something on it to keep it safe under the lights so it wouldn't get super nasty and smell.
Angela [00:20:28] Yes.
Jenna [00:20:28] But you were not supposed to eat it and BJ and I (between takes) were picking at the buffet and they had to run over and be like, "No, no, do not eat that! That is, it's not even prop food. It's decorative food."
Angela [00:20:46] Yeah.
Jenna [00:20:46] They're like, "Don't eat the decorative food."
Angela [00:20:48] And they had shellacked it with something.
Jenna [00:20:49] Yes, which is what those chocolates were. Those were decoration.
Angela [00:20:54] Mm-hmm. Mm-hm.
Jenna [00:20:56] Well, I feel like for the most part, I was really spared from having to eat anything gross. I think about you guys and those hot dogs on "Beach Games."
Angela [00:21:06] My character was the vegetarian when she needed to be. I mean, we've discussed that. Sometimes she is, sometimes she isn't. But so, I did not eat the hot dogs.
Jenna [00:21:16] I didn't either because I was taking my diligent notes.
Angela [00:21:20] A bunch of people did and they got real grossed out.
Jenna [00:21:22] I remember when it turned on them.
Angela [00:21:24] Mm-hmm
Jenna [00:21:25] A hot dog turning on you?
Angela [00:21:26] Outside, and it was hot out there, eating all those hot dogs in the hot sun.
Jenna [00:21:32] Well, one of the people who had to do the most eating on our show was Rainn Wilson.
Angela [00:21:36] Wait, can I just stop you right there?
Jenna [00:21:38] What is it?
Angela [00:21:38] Had to do a lot of eating or chose to do a lot eating?
Jenna [00:21:42] Both. I think both.
Angela [00:21:44] Definitely both. Cause when he commits, he goes all out and he didn't have to eat as much as he did.
Jenna [00:21:49] Well, before I left town, I had lunch with Rainn. And after our lunch, we sat in my car and he shared his on and off set food memories with me. It was really sweet. I want you guys to hear it.
Angela [00:22:02] Okay.
Rainn [00:22:04] Hey, Office Ladies people, listeners. This is Rainn.
Jenna [00:22:09] Hi Rainn, it's Jenna.
Rainn [00:22:11] Jenna Fischer.
Jenna [00:22:12] I'm with you. We just had lunch!
Rainn [00:22:17] Jenna brought her sound recording equipment, this very fancy Tascam recorder with lots of fancy cables and a big mic attached to it, and then she forgot to put, uh...
Jenna [00:22:29] Like, I guess the SIM card thing in it?
Rainn [00:22:31] The card in it. So we're recording it on my phone. And this is pathetic.
Jenna [00:22:37] Yes, well we just ate food and I said we're doing an episode about office food and you have some good stories because you had the very unique position of having both insane food storylines written for you where you had to eat crazy things but then also, you made some choices that you maybe... Had to deal with.
Rainn [00:22:59] I did, I did. Um, but first of all, I want to say that you had breakfast for lunch today.
Jenna [00:23:05] I did. Yeah.
Rainn [00:23:06] Yeah. So we had lunch and then Jenna had the avocado toast with poached eggs and bacon.
Jenna [00:23:11] I wanted both eggs and bacon on my avocado toast at 1:30 p.m.
Rainn [00:23:16] She went for it, and it was glorious to see. I love a woman with an appetite.
Jenna [00:23:23] I have, yes, I've never denied my appetite. I can't do it. I like it.
Rainn [00:23:30] Too much. And Dwight has his appetites.
Jenna [00:23:33] Yes, he certainly does.
Rainn [00:23:34] Yeah, no, your question was right on because here's the thing, one of the things that really bugs me about actors is when you're watching a movie and you can see that the actors aren't really eating in a meal scene. They're pushing the food around on their plates, they're pushing the peas around or whatever. Because when you are shooting a scene, you have to shoot 12 different takes and lots of different versions and I get it, people don't wanna be eating enormous mouthfuls of food. Because if you do 12 takes, then that's 12 times however many mouthfuls of food, but that's one thing that's always bugged me. So I've always kind of, as an actor, prided myself on committing to eating.
Jenna [00:24:14] Well, I appreciate it. I mean, how fun is it to watch all of those great actors in "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather" just devour their big Italian meals and their steak.
Rainn [00:24:28] Just putting it away.
Jenna [00:24:28] It's so satisfying to watch.
Rainn [00:24:31] And they were always trying to think of ways to have Dwight eating, because I think they saw that I fully committed (kind of ravenously) to the enterprise. I think my favorite food memory was the breakfast that I had with Jan when I was planning (in the Crentist episode) to overthrow Michael. I had pancakes and eggs and toast and waffles, and then I cover the whole thing with syrup.
Jenna [00:25:00] Now, that was your choice. That was not in the script, that you covered it all with syrup for a long time, right? Or was it? We don't remember.
Rainn [00:25:09] I think it was in the script, and I remember Paul Lieberstein talking to me about it, about the idea of locking eyes with her and then just pouring syrup for far too long. But I don't think he insisted that I eat as much as I actually ate in the course of the scene. I did dig in to those pancakes. I'll never forget that flavor. I'm so glad I did. It was so much fun. I think Melora, I think it kind of blew her mind, exactly how many pounds of pancakes I ate during that scene.
Jenna [00:25:47] But what about the scene where Dwight is eating all of his about-to-spoil food? All of his-
Rainn [00:25:55] Right, from the fallout shelter or his survival shelter. Yeah, there were big cans, and I think they were supposed to be canned beets or something. But I think that they put peaches in them. I just remember I was eating syrupy canned goods.
Jenna [00:26:08] Okay.
Rainn [00:26:10] I ate a lot of syrupy canned goods. And one of my favorite Dwight lines is like, "I'm ravenous after a night of lovemaking." I forget what was on the table. I think in the scene, you don't really see what I was eating, but I was just pounding French fries and hamburgers and I don't even know what. But I love that about Dwight's character that he did not shirk committing to having full plates of food.
Jenna [00:26:39] And then what about off set? Did you have a breakfast order from Sergio? Did you have a go-to breakfast? Did you eat breakfast in the morning? Would you order breakfast?
Rainn [00:26:48] Oh, yeah, I had breakfast. Sergio, in his food truck, they were just otherworldly. They were magnificent. The food we got on The Office set was kind of ridiculous. The food that is on the set of a successful TV show... Season one of a TV show, it's some old tuna sandwiches and some hard-boiled eggs and stuff like that. But then when you get to, like, season four or five and it's really profitable, it's lobster rolls. All I know is that it involved turkey bacon, black beans, avocado... Yeah, I think that was it. And some eggs, I don't remember how I had the eggs, but I remember that I really truly, over the course of that show, ate a hell of a lot of turkey bacon.
Jenna [00:27:41] I ate a lot of turkey bacon. It's where I discovered turkey bacon. I don't know who ordered it first, but it was so good.
Rainn [00:27:49] Almost as good as bacon. And that's how they should advertise it.
Jenna [00:27:54] I had real bacon today.
Rainn [00:27:56] It looked good!
Jenna [00:27:57] It was good.
Rainn [00:27:58] Did you offer me any of your real bacon?
Jenna [00:28:00] No.
Rainn [00:28:00] Nope, not even one bite, not even one nibble.
Jenna [00:28:04] Well, thank you, Rainn!
Rainn [00:28:05] I had a salad because I'm chubby and I need to-
Jenna [00:28:11] Rainn Wilson, you are not chubby!
Rainn [00:28:12] I'm a chubby guy, it's okay, I'm middle-aged man and this is the cross that I bear.
Jenna [00:28:18] Your metabolism is slowing, it's just age. It's happening to all of us.
Rainn [00:28:24] Nothing we can do. Alright, good luck with the episode. Love you, Jenna.
Jenna [00:28:28] Love you!
Jenna [00:28:30] [to Angela, back in the studio] That was so fun!
Angela [00:28:32] You guys were just in your car?
Jenna [00:28:33] In the back of my car.
Angela [00:28:35] What if someone... I mean, that's the paparazzi moment that didn't happen where it's you and Rainn in the backseat of your car. Like, what are they doing?
Jenna [00:28:42] We're just talking in a microphone.
Angela [00:28:45] That's awesome.
Jenna [00:28:46] Well, what's funny about that, Angela, is that I recorded that with him two days before that crazy Jumbotron Coldplay moment.
Angela [00:28:58] Yes.
Jenna [00:28:59] And then did you see after that happened, people started sending me pictures where they had made it into Pam and Dwight. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, Rainn and I were just in the back of a car two days ago."
Angela [00:29:13] I'm telling you, people went off because they made so many, whatever, meme things. There's the one where Phyllis discovers Dwight and Angela.
Jenna [00:29:23] Yes, I saw that one. Did you see the Game of Thrones one, with the Lannister brother and sister?
Angela [00:29:31] Yes. There was a lot. Oh, and you know what? Speaking of Rainn's share about breakfast, I'm pretty sure the turkey bacon started with Rashida.
Jenna [00:29:40] Oh, see, that's funny, because I thought maybe it started with John. That's where I got the idea, but we had similar call times and I saw it on his plate, and I was like, "Oh, I want that."
Angela [00:29:50] Well, that would make sense.
Jenna [00:29:52] Well, I don't know, lady, because you would be in at the same time as Rashida in the mornings.
Angela [00:29:57] Yes.
Jenna [00:29:58] So maybe Rashida started it.
Angela [00:30:00] It was either Rashida or John.
Jenna [00:30:02] Okay.
Angela [00:30:02] Well, we got to the bottom of that.
Jenna [00:30:04] Wow, we're good.
Angela [00:30:05] Here's the thing when Rainn was talking about our food and how lucky we were, I couldn't help but think of my dad and the time he came to set. My sisters asked him what was it like, to be on the set of The Office. All he could talk about was the food.
Jenna [00:30:22] It was kind of legendary, which is why we're doing a whole episode about it today.
Angela [00:30:26] Well, you guys, I reached out to Creed Bratton and asked him his memories about food on the set, and here's what he had to say:
Creed [00:30:35] Yes, there was the scene where everyone was throwing up in the office and I was eating a bowl of noodles, I believe with chopsticks, and just enjoying the whole process but didn't make me sick at all. Sergio was great. Toward the end, I basically ate at lunch, just a piece of chicken and some broccoli. In the morning I'd have egg whites and sausage and a piece of toast. I think John was a big fan of just the chicken and the broccoli, too. You'd have to ask him, but I recall a few times noticing that he was eating the same thing. Dueling chickens, as it were. [laughing] Alright, love you girls. Bye.
Jenna [00:31:33] That's very funny. John would put broccoli in his egg whites in the morning, and it was stinky.
Angela [00:31:40] So stinky. He would stink up the whole trailer.
Jenna [00:31:43] But this is also reminding me of all the egg whites people ate. We had a big egg white trend in the mornings. What did they do with all the yolks? Where'd all the eggs yolks go?
Angela [00:31:55] I don't know.
Jenna [00:31:56] Did we just have a giant bucket of yolks?
Angela [00:31:58] I don't know. We should ask Sergio that.
Jenna [00:32:00] I wish we would have asked him.
Angela [00:32:02] I know.
Jenna [00:32:03] "What do you do with the yolks, Sergio?"
Angela [00:32:06] Well, you know-
Jenna [00:32:07] Spoiler alert! We already spoke to Sergio and we failed to ask him about the yolks. Maybe next time.
Angela [00:32:13] Well, you know, Creed's favorite food memory from his time on The Office,
Jenna [00:32:18] The noodles?
Angela [00:32:19] The noodles one. And he's talking about that famous barfing scene in Niagara, you know? But lady, did you know that that scene has a name online?
Jenna [00:32:29] What's it called?
Angela [00:32:30] The boiled egg vomiting chain.
Jenna [00:32:37] [laughing] What?
Angela [00:32:37] Isn't that so funny?
Jenna [00:32:38] Yes.
Angela [00:32:41] But I love that Creed shared that one and that's the one that stood out to him. So we've got something fun coming up next in this food episode. It's the real gem that I found in the bonus content. For those of you that have the DVDs, it is disk two, season three. Lady, do you wanna guess who had a cooking show at Dunder Mifflin? Or who tried to have a cooking Show?
Jenna [00:33:03] If I had to guess, I would say maybe Michael?
Angela [00:33:09] Good guess.
Jenna [00:33:11] Or maybe Kevin.
Angela [00:33:12] Ding, ding, ding. Kevin. It is Kevin. Are you ready for the name of his cooking show?
Jenna [00:33:17] Okay.
Angela [00:33:17] It's simple, it's to the point. His show is called "Kevin Cooks Stuff."
Jenna [00:33:23] Okay.
Angela [00:33:25] I'm watching that show!
Jenna [00:33:26] I'm dying to know what he cooked.
Angela [00:33:29] So this whole bit is about five minutes. I'm gonna share a little bit of it. It starts in the kitchen and he keeps getting interrupted. Let's hear it.
Kevin [00:33:39] Welcome to Kevin Cook's Stuff in the Office. I am your host, Kevin. Okay. So sometimes my fiancee, Stacey, she forgets to pack me lunch. What do I do? I have to cook things in the office. And trust me, it is not as bad as it... Hey.
Stanley [00:33:59] What?
Kevin [00:33:59] I'm doing my cooking show thingy.
Stanley [00:34:01] And I'm going to the bathroom.
Kevin [00:34:07] Okay, so this is our main cooking area. We have a toaster and a microwave. We used to have a blender as well, but we're pretty sure that Meredith stole it. And hey, Stanley.
Stanley [00:34:21] What am I supposed to do?
Kevin [00:34:22] You're supposed to wait until I'm finished.
Stanley [00:34:24] I don't think so.
Kevin [00:34:26] Did you wash your hands, Stanley? I bet you didn't. Okay, we will gather ingredients at the vending machines, or as I like to call them, "The supermarket that only takes quarters."
Angela [00:34:43] Okay, so now he goes to the break room, to the supermarket.
Jenna [00:34:48] Yes.
Angela [00:34:49] And he is going to gather ingredients to make some recipes.
Jenna [00:34:53] Out of stuff from the vending machine?
Angela [00:34:55] Yeah, quesadillas and creme brulee. Lady, I brought in stuff to make Kevin's quesadillas. You're going to hear the recipe, okay?
Jenna [00:35:02] Okay.
Angela [00:35:03] We're going make it on our break.
Jenna [00:35:06] [mystified] What is it?
Angela [00:35:09] Well.
Jenna [00:35:09] I just wanna eat Josh's granola.
Angela [00:35:11] Well, sorry, you're also gonna have Kevin's quesadillas. Let's hear how he makes them.
Kevin [00:35:17] First, for the quesadillas. All you need is chips and squeezy cheese. This, I usually, I keep in my desk drawer so nobody steals it. It's very important that you get a lot of cheese on there. You can make designs if you wish. Circles, flowers, and then you take another chip. And bam: Quesadilla a la Kevin. Take the plate and you put it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds and take them out when they look melty. [microwave running and beeping once complete] Hot, hot, oh it's so good.
Jenna [00:36:18] Oh my gosh, he ate it in real time.
Angela [00:36:21] Yes, so Brian, as Kevin, ate it. I mean, there's no cutaway.
Jenna [00:36:26] I was fine. I used to eat Cheez Whiz on top of Triscuits. This was one of my go-to college snacks. Like, I couldn't get enough of it. I've never heated it.
Angela [00:36:39] I brought them and we're gonna try it.
Jenna [00:36:40] Oh dear God.
Angela [00:36:41] So I got just sort of the big waffle chip and then I got cheese whiz and we are gonna put it in the microwave but we're not gonna do it on mic. But we are going to try it, we have to try it.
Jenna [00:36:51] [defeated] Alright.
Angela [00:36:52] Well next up is Kevin's dessert. As he said, he's gonna make creme brulee. What he does is he takes a pudding and it's in a metal can.
Jenna [00:37:01] Uh huh.
Angela [00:37:02] And then he opens that.
Jenna [00:37:03] Metal?
Angela [00:37:04] Yeah. It's in a metal can. I don't know. He said it's pudding in a can. I've never seen it in a can.
Jenna [00:37:10] Okay, go ahead.
Angela [00:37:11] And then he opens a bunch of sugar packets and he just dumps them all on top of that pudding. Then he's very careful to tell you to take the label off the metal can, because then you're gonna put the metal can in the toaster oven and let it bake. And he says he's gonna leave it there for a bit and he'll check back in. And then, he goes over to his desk in accounting. So we've already learned that he keeps cheese whiz in his desk drawer. But lady, you know that cabinet that's next to Kevin's desk? So if you're Kevin, sitting at the desk, to the left of you by the window, there's always been a big cabinet there. We've never opened it, we've never shown what's in it. Well, Kevin's gonna share with you what's that cabinet, for the first time. Let's hear it.
Kevin [00:37:58] Another thing that I make for myself at the office is beer. The rules specifically say that you cannot bring beer into work, but it says nothing about making beer at work. Genius, huh?
Oscar [00:38:15] That's disgusting. Put that away.
Kevin [00:38:17] You're just jealous of my beer.
Oscar [00:38:19] Of your bacteria filled the yeast water? I don't think so.
Kevin [00:38:23] Well, then Oscar, you may not have any.
Oscar [00:38:25] I don't want any. Is something burning?
Jenna [00:38:30] Oh, it's the creme brulee!
Angela [00:38:32] Yes. So, yep, he has burned the creme brule, but he says, "You know what? It's okay. I can just make it again." And then he ends his cooking video with his sign off message, and I think you should hear it.
Kevin [00:38:45] See you next time on "Kevin Cooks Stuff in the Office," where I will show you how to use ramen seasoning packets to make instant mashed potatoes even yummier.
Angela [00:38:58] Huh, how about that? Ramen noodle seasoning in your mashed potatoes? I'm curious. I did not bring that in.
Jenna [00:39:06] Well, let's go eat some weird quesadilla and then we'll be back in a moment.
audio cue [00:39:21] [musical sting]
Jenna [00:39:21] Well, we're back and we ate Kevin's quesadilla.
Angela [00:39:25] We did, we filmed it, we'll put it in stories. Cassi, smartly, opted not to try Kevin's quesadilla. But Sam, me and Jenna did.
Jenna [00:39:37] Wow.
Angela [00:39:37] Sam, you went first. What were your thoughts?
Sam [00:39:40] It took a minute for that cheese taste to kick in, but once it did, it was there. It is strong.
Jenna [00:39:45] [laughing] "It was there." Yeah. Mine had cooled a little and so I bit into what really felt like kind of a... It did not have the texture of food. It was very, sort of like a plastic. Because I think the cheese had warmed and then congealed in some way. Congealed a little bit.
Angela [00:40:07] Mine was at first salty, and I'm like, "Hey, I like a little salty snack" and then the cheese came at me hard, and it kind of made my eyes water.
Jenna [00:40:19] I do not recommend.
Angela [00:40:20] Not a fan.
Jenna [00:40:21] Not a snack I would encourage others to eat.
Angela [00:40:23] I'm not a fan, Kevin. I do want to tell you guys when I was at the grocery store looking for Cheez Whiz, I asked this young gal that worked there, and she had no idea what I was talking about.
Jenna [00:40:34] Oh!
Angela [00:40:34] Had never heard of Cheez Whiz.
Jenna [00:40:35] I think that's good. Well, I think it's good for our youth.
Angela [00:40:39] I also want you to know the Cheez Wiz I bought was made, it said, with real cheese.
Jenna [00:40:45] Okay.
Angela [00:40:45] So you're welcome.
Jenna [00:40:47] Thank you. Alright.
Angela [00:40:51] Well thank you, everyone, for participating in Kevin Cooks Stuff and today's recipe; quesadillas.
Jenna [00:40:58] I would like to request that we not ever try the creme brulee. If that's okay with you.
Angela [00:41:04] That's fine with me.
Jenna [00:41:06] Well, are you ready now to hear the episode that was never produced, but that was titled "Lunch/The Nooner?"
Angela [00:41:18] [gasps] What?
Jenna [00:41:18] Do you know what a nooner is?
Angela [00:41:19] I do know what a nooner is. Please tell me it's Bob and Phyllis.
Jenna [00:41:25] It is not. But a good guess. This was a really fun pitch because it is Jan and Michael.
Angela [00:41:34] Oh.
Jenna [00:41:34] Having a nooner.
Angela [00:41:36] Not at work?
Jenna [00:41:37] Not at Work.
Angela [00:41:38] Okay.
Jenna [00:41:38] So this is an episode that would have happened in season three.
Angela [00:41:43] Okay.
Jenna [00:41:44] And it would have all started when Michael announces that he's leaving for an important lunch meeting with Jan. And he says, he announces, "So everyone's on their own for lunch." And then someone remarks, "We are always on our own for lunch."
Angela [00:41:59] Right. What's the big announcement for? What are you up to?
Jenna [00:42:03] But nonetheless, people start making lunch plans, and it would have been a really cool episode because we would have seen little lunch routines and little stories coming up. So for example: Pam, Karen, Phyllis, and Kelly were all gonna sit around in the break room and have lunch. Kelly was gonna be on a cleanse and she won't stop talking about it.
Angela [00:42:23] Okay.
Jenna [00:42:25] So then in our next lunch pairing, we find out that Oscar owes Kevin a lunch.
Angela [00:42:29] Okay.
Jenna [00:42:30] And Kevin gets to decide where he wants to go. And he wants go to this new place that he heard about that's supposed to have awesome pastrami sandwiches. So they head out together. And in their storyline, what would have happened was when they get to this place, it's actually a romantic restaurant.
Angela [00:42:48] So it's not just ye olde sandwich shop?
Jenna [00:42:52] No, and it's cloth tablecloths and cloth napkins.
Angela [00:42:57] Oooh.
Jenna [00:42:58] A very formal lunch, and they're a little uncomfortable, but they end up bonding. So it's a happy story. Guess what Stanley does for lunch? Stanley-
Angela [00:43:08] Takes a nap.
Jenna [00:43:09] Yes, lady! He drives around the corner, parks his car, eats a sandwich, and then falls asleep. You're so right. Dwight and Angela have a lunch date.
Angela [00:43:22] Aw.
Jenna [00:43:23] But then,
Angela [00:43:26] Uh oh.
Jenna [00:43:27] Dwight's friends were gonna come to work and surprise him and take him to lunch. But the real surprise is that they have brought along his girlfriend who is back from her 18-month tour of Kuwait. Do you remember? This was a very early season storyline, that Dwight had this girlfriend who was active duty military in Kuwait. Well, she's back.
Angela [00:43:52] Whoa.
Jenna [00:43:53] I know, and apparently Dwight has not spoken to her since she left.
Angela [00:43:59] And hasn't told Angela that they're still dating.
Jenna [00:44:03] I mean, that's the thing. Are they still dating? We don't know. So Dwight goes off to lunch at Cooper's and Angela has to stay behind. So now Angela folds into the group of women.
Angela [00:44:17] I see.
Jenna [00:44:18] In the break room.
Angela [00:44:19] Probably not in a great mood.
Jenna [00:44:20] Mm-hmm. So next up, we have Karen, who the pitch says is trying to be more like Pam and be more fun with Jim. So she's going to suggest that she and Jim go out to the same restaurant and spy on Dwight and his date. So they do. They go to the restaurant, and they try to very discreetly sit at a different table and eavesdrop. But this gal sees them and is like, "Oh my gosh, Why don't you come join us?" So now, Karen and Jim are having a double date with Dwight and his -
Angela [00:44:56] Military girlfriend.
Jenna [00:44:57] Yes. Exactly. Listen to how she was described, Angela. This was going to be a lot of drama for Dwight and Angela. She's described as being outgoing, athletic, outdoorsy, a little off beat, but still normal. Tough, but still feminine. She's telling Dwight war stories, and he is in awe of her. Jim and Karen can't believe what a great match it is.
Angela [00:45:23] I mean, it sounds perfect.
Jenna [00:45:27] The ladies are gonna go to the bathroom and Dwight is gonna turn to Jim and ask for relationship advice. Because you know who Dwight really wants to be with is Angela. So this was gonna kind of start a runner where Jim was gonna be counseling Dwight on relationships. Meanwhile, back at the office, the rest of the women continue to have lunch, but they have not included Meredith.
Angela [00:45:51] Why not?
Jenna [00:45:52] She's not invited to eat with them.
Angela [00:45:54] Oh.
Jenna [00:45:55] Yes. She is forced to eat alone with Andy.
Angela [00:46:00] I will say, it doesn't sound like Angela was invited either. She just showed up.
Jenna [00:46:04] Yeah, she shows up at the table and it says she's distracted and grouchy. But guess what? Andy and Meredith start to bond. They realize they both have problems that they're trying to get over. They both feel like outcasts. They start giving each other life advice.
Angela [00:46:25] That I would have wanted to see.
Jenna [00:46:27] I love this pairing of Andy and Merideth, right? Well, during all of this, remember, this all started because Michael was going to go have lunch with Jan. There were gonna be spy shots where we see that Michael actually drives to meet Jan at a Howard Johnson's.
Angela [00:46:47] A motel in the afternoon.
Jenna [00:46:49] That's the nooner and they are going to come down from the hotel room. They're in a great mood. They actually do have lunch at the little attached diner. Through a series of spy shots, we were going to see their conversation and it's not great. It said there's a sampling of Jan's "increasing craziness." And for a long, long beat, there's no conversation at all. They just eat in silence. Michael was gonna float the idea of breaking up, but Jan distracts him by suggesting they go back up to the hotel room for another quickie. Ultimately, Michael's gonna come back to the office and say he and Jan are doing great. It was a great meeting.
Angela [00:47:32] This makes me sad.
Jenna [00:47:34] I know, this is sort of foreshadowing for "Dinner Party."
Angela [00:47:38] So much foreshadowing.
Jenna [00:47:40] Well, that was the pitch for "Lunch/the Nooner." Can you guess what the tag was going to be for this episode? You guessed Stanley sleeping in his car. There's gonna be another moment in a car.
Angela [00:47:58] Oh Lord, is it!Andy getting a hand job from Meredith?
Jenna [00:48:03] Yes!
Angela [00:48:04] What?!
Jenna [00:48:05] It was that Andy and Meredith have sex in her car! That was the tag.
Angela [00:48:12] I had no idea. I just completely threw that out there. Wow. Well, a lunch episode would have packed some surprises.
Jenna [00:48:22] Pretty fun. Well, speaking of lunch...
Angela [00:48:27] I want to hear this segue.
Jenna [00:48:29] Before the break, we talked a lot about the food in the world of The Office, the stuff we had to eat in scenes, but there was a whole other world behind the scenes: our amazing catering and craft service.
Angela [00:48:39] Yes, they were wonderful. There's part of our book, "The Office BFFs," where we share about craft service and catering and what meals looked like on the set and I'm so glad it's there. Craft services and Peter, Vartan, Sergio, and catering and his team were such a big part of our community on The Office. We wrote about it in our book and we both have really special memories, as does the whole cast and crew, of mealtime on The Office.
Jenna [00:49:10] I just can't say enough about how these two teams kept our set going. You know, we were stuck. We can't go out for food or snacks. We're totally dependent on these teams. I was thinking back on all the ways that they would take care of us. Like, the little things. If we were shooting someplace outside and we were cold, Peter and Vartan would put out hot soup to warm us up, you know? And all the care that Sergio took in our meals.
Angela [00:49:42] Even making special meals when our kids came to set. Jenna, I don't know how we would have gotten through our pregnancies without Peter and Vartan.
Jenna [00:49:52] I know.
Angela [00:49:53] They really fed us and nurtured us. I found a journal entry where I wrote about Peter and Vartan.
Jenna [00:50:01] Oh, are you going to read it?
Angela [00:50:03] Yeah, I'm going to read it.
Jenna [00:50:03] OK, great.
Angela [00:50:04] It's a real short little entry, but it just speaks to how they took care of us. So at the top, it says, "July 21, 2011, 4:02 PM." I always say what time it is. I wrote, "I had the day off from work today. But I had to go in for a wardrobe fitting. I brought Isabelle with me. After my fitting, we had lunch on set and Peter and Vartan were so sweet. They brought Isabell a special snack: cupcakes and a smoothie."
Jenna [00:50:36] Aww.
Angela [00:50:36] "We had such a fun day."
Jenna [00:50:38] I love that, lady!
Angela [00:50:39] Isn't that so cute?
Jenna [00:50:42] Well, lady, I don't think there is anyone on our set who loved our food more than BJ Novak.
Angela [00:50:48] BJ is a foodie. Like, for real, he's a foody. He has a whole business now called "Eat A Chain."
Jenna [00:50:53] I know, right? And it's Michelin star chefs turning your fast food favorites into these elevated meals.
Angela [00:51:03] And they're delicious.
Jenna [00:51:05] I went to the Chili's one.
Angela [00:51:06] I've been to two now: one I took the kids with, they had a pop-up of all these different types of food chains, delicious.
Jenna [00:51:13] So good.
Angela [00:51:14] So good!
Jenna [00:51:15] Well, he invited our catering craft service teams to be on the DVD commentary track for season five, "Business Ethics."
Angela [00:51:22] I remember.
Jenna [00:51:23] So I reached out to him and, Lady, I don't know if he's ever responded to me faster.
Angela [00:51:28] He is so excited about food. I remember when I came across that commentary, years ago, and I texted him, he was like, "No way, where can I find it?" He was so excited that it still lived somewhere.
Jenna [00:51:40] Well, he sent in an audio clip. He has some advice for people who might be new to a set.
Angela [00:51:46] Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
Jenna [00:51:48] On how to get the best stuff.
BJ Novak [00:51:50] If I have any advice in show business, I have one piece of advice that I'm 100% sure of that I tell everyone: which is that if you want coffee on a set, get it from craft services and not from catering. When you arrive in the morning, there's gonna be a truck that has all types of great food and they're gonna have coffee on that truck. Do not get the coffee from the truck because they make coffee as an afterthought. Then there's craft services, which make snacks and all that stuff, but coffee is what they do. That's what they're judged on. Go the extra 20 feet, get your coffee from craft services. Catering is great, but coffee is not their thing. It's not their focus. Nor should it be.
Jenna [00:52:36] Lady, do you hear the passion in his voice? He is literally telling people where to get coffee on a set the way I beg people to go get their cancer screenings. That cracked me up.
Angela [00:52:52] The absolute seriousness. And he's right.
Jenna [00:52:56] He is right.
Angela [00:52:57] I don't drink coffee, as you know, but I know craft services are sort of connoisseurs of beverages. They do smoothies, they do coffee, they do hot cocoa. I mean, they have a gazillion types of teas. They are where you go for beverages.
Jenna [00:53:16] Correct. He also talked a little bit about the food in the writer's room, which is not provided by craft services or catering.
Angela [00:53:24] That's right.
Jenna [00:53:25] They have their own writer's assistant who has to manage food for the writers. This is because their hours would sometimes didn't coordinate with our hours. They would be there writing until, like, 10 p.m. or midnight.
Angela [00:53:38] And then they also don't come in till 10 a.m. sometimes.
Jenna [00:53:42] Yes. So they kind of had their own food situation, and here's what he had to say about that.
BJ Novak [00:53:48] Snacks are, it's like when you're a babysitter: it's all about what the people's cabinets have, what snacks they have. Same for a writer's room. It's what snacks are there, and we went through periods where we had every snack in the world. It was turkey jerky from Trader Joe's, was the favorite snack. But it was all of these terribly salty Trader Joes snacks, and then every now and then we get disgusted with ourselves, we'd gain a lot of weight, and we would ban all unhealthy foods from the writer's rooms and put them in the fridge and freezer by set. So you could get an ice cream cone, but you had to walk to the freezer in the other trailer, and then we would slip, it would just be a cycle.
Angela [00:54:30] So this is exactly how I remember the writer's room snacks too, because I remember they had this back stairwell that went up to their kitchen and sometimes we went up that way. It would be either feast or famine in there. It would either be seriously, every type of little Debbie cupcake or whatever to then just nothing. Nothing or just a rice cake.
Jenna [00:54:56] Yes, they did go through a whole rice cake phase.
Angela [00:55:00] Yeah, and then when they were going through that phase that's when they got a treadmill, remember? But yeah, there was a real yo-yo effect with their snacks.
Jenna [00:55:12] Our first AD, Kelly Cantley, I was texting with her and I said, "Hey, we're gonna talk to Sergio for this food episode. I'm curious what's your breakfast order?" Well, lady, she gave me the scoop on her breakfast order and also, Sergio's doing something new. She said that on The Office, her breakfast was either a baby burrito with bacon and no salsa, or one scrambled egg with a side of black beans and avocado. Black beans and avocado is big on our set. She said on "The Paper," Sergio has updated all the things that she likes and now serves breakfast as a mini taco. He takes one tater tot and he smashes it in the bottom of each mini taco and then he'll put whatever your breakfast order is inside. She said it's genius.
Angela [00:56:10] Sign me up. You had me at smashed tater tot.
Jenna [00:56:13] She said if he had a taco stand or a restaurant, she would go every day.
Angela [00:56:18] Oh my gosh, that sounds so good. Well, you know, I was trading texts with Sergio about being on the podcast. Talk about someone who responded right away with such enthusiasm, much like BJ. He could not wait to talk to us. He's such a lovely person and we had so much fun going down memory lane with him.
Jenna [00:56:39] We did, we zoomed with him the other day and we can't wait for you to hear our chat with him. So here is our chat, with Sergio.
audio cue [00:56:45] [musical sting]
Angela [00:56:49] Hello, Sergio!
Jenna [00:56:50] Hi there!
Sergio [00:56:51] Hi, ladies! This is nice.
Angela [00:56:53] This is so wonderful!
Jenna [00:56:53] Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Sergio [00:56:55] Oh, I love the podcast, by the way. Y'all have nice voices, so it's soothing to the ear and funny. And there's a lot of fun.
Angela [00:57:04] Oh, thanks, Sergio.
Jenna [00:57:06] It was so nice seeing you when we visited The Paper.
Sergio [00:57:10] I know, I liked that. That was such a surprise. We were slammed for breakfast, but it was nice seeing you guys. Then also being on that show, having some of the crew members from The Office and Oscar. It was awesome doing that show too. It just brings a lot of memories of what we had in The Office, you know?
Angela [00:57:33] Well, Sergio, you are so loved. I have noticed pretty much every time I'm on a set where Mindy's running the show, you're there. The Office family loves you and they always want to work with you.
Sergio [00:57:45] Yeah, no, I appreciate that. It's been amazing being part of The Office, cause we had a lot of great times, right? It was such an amazing time. And for me as a cook and cooking for y'all, it was special.
Angela [00:58:01] You know, you mentioned breakfast and Kelly shared with us that you have started doing mini tacos for breakfast. She said you took her breakfast order and put it in a tiny taco and she said she can't get enough of it.
Sergio [00:58:17] Yeah, Kelly, it was awesome working with Kelly. And yeah, she has little orders, small orders. Kind of like Angela, when Angela used to order her little Angela sized breakfast.
Angela [00:58:26] Yeah, Angie sized.
Sergio [00:58:28] Yeah, that was fun.
Angela [00:58:31] So Sergio, you have been in this food business for so long. How do you keep coming up with new ideas and new recipes? We're so curious how you put a menu together for the week.
Sergio [00:58:42] Well, when I started The Office it was hard because there was no iPhone, right? And I had to go through the cookbooks and just get the ideas from there. And the feedback from the crew, that's kind of what you work with, like, "Oh, they like this, so we're going that direction." But yeah, it got easier when the iPhone came around, you know? So it was just a lot easier. But yeah it was through crew members, what they like and all that.
Angela [00:59:11] So I have to ask you, you're using word of mouth about what's a hit, what's not. Was there a recipe you ever did that people were like, "Don't do that one again?" Or was there one where everyone was like, "You have to do that again?" Like, what are your hits and your misses?
Sergio [00:59:28] They never really tell you like, "Oh, that wasn't good." I only got that once. And that was the Teamsters in New York, you know, one time. But only like as a friendly thing. They liked me a lot and they told me, "Hey, we love you. But that last meal..." That's the only time, but it was the teamsters in New York, you know? But other than that, with The Office and all that, everybody was so nice. It was beautiful.
Angela [00:59:56] Well, your food is amazing. That's why I couldn't believe anyone would ever tell you "this was a miss." But you know, Jenna and I both had so many meals that we loved. What was your most requested meal?
Sergio [01:00:08] Um, most requested meal, it's the action stations, you know? Like the pasta bars, the taco bars, the crew always loved that. So every time we had a fun station. Especially the pasta bar and the taco bar, those are always a hit.
Angela [01:00:29] Well, I remember your pasta bar. I was a fan and you would have all the different pastas and all the different ingredients and then different sauces. And it was kind of an omelet bar. You just walk up and point to all the things you wanted and you guys would make it right there on the spot. It was so great.
Sergio [01:00:48] It was fun. I try and have it. So also when Isabella, when she was young, she used to just eat plain pasta, right?
Angela [01:00:57] Yeah.
Sergio [01:00:57] That was her go-to, so it reminds me of that, too, when Isabella was young coming to set.
Angela [01:01:05] You were so sweet with her. You would always set aside a little buttered noodles dish for her. You took such good care of all of us in that way.
Sergio [01:01:14] Yeah, you know, we grew into a family there and there's nothing like that's ever gonna happen again, I don't think. Once in a lifetime.
Jenna [01:01:22] Another thing, Sergio, is that you were able to make a meal that was good for the people who were dairy free and gluten free and vegetarian and you would have a meat option, but then you would also have a fish option. How do you do it? Also at breakfast, I never heard anybody order breakfast and you didn't have whatever the thing was. Like, this is a silly question, but where do you keep all this food? And who does the grocery shopping? How do you do this?
Sergio [01:01:51] Yeah, so when it started, season one, the mise en place for breakfast was a little bit small. But as the show grew into the years, like by the third season, same crew members, the cast, and so everybody had their little... You know, little specialty. So I had to make sure I had this and that: had to make sure I had goat cheese because you were gonna get a couple orders. And it grew, the mise en place for breakfast. It grew more and more as the years went on. By the ninth season, I had a lot of stuff in the fridge.
Angela [01:02:31] I bet you did.
Jenna [01:02:33] I mean, I feel like there were people who were like, "I want my breakfast order, but will you throw some hot peppers on it today?" And you'd say, "Sure."
Sergio [01:02:41] Yeah, especially I had to have the Rashida special that one was a hit, right? Remember the special? That one was such a hit. So I had to have black beans and turkey bacon every day. Every day I know that I need corn tortillas and green salsa.
Angela [01:03:00] Yeah, that one really took off.
Sergio [01:03:01] Yeah, that took off. That took off for a while too, but yeah.
Angela [01:03:07] Sergio, I was so curious. I've always wanted to ask you this. How did you start as a chef? What was your journey to doing this?
Sergio [01:03:15] So I started in this catering company, as a dishwasher, at 18. Then I moved up the ranks and then they gave me a shot, the catering company I was at, they gave a shot as a chef. Kind of young, at 24 and I was like, cheffing commercials. That's all I was doing. So I had five day recipes, that's all needed for commercials. Then I got the call to do The Office. So The Office was my first show, full on five days, a week, months, you know? So I was real nervous. I was nervous on the first day.
[01:03:55] Then the second day, the craft service then, it wasn't Peter and Roxanne, but that craft service told me on the second they said, "They were talking about you," and I was real horrified that they were something bad. It was good news. He says they were talking good about your food and that gave me the confidence to try hard and all that. It was such a nice crew that it was easy to do. But I learned a lot through The Office, through the cast and crew I learned a lot. Through the cooking and took it with me to the other shows but, yeah, Office was my school.
Angela [01:04:34] How much did you coordinate with Michael and Vartan? Because they would bring out a certain hot snack every day at 10 o'clock. Did you guys talk? Like, were you sure to be like, "Okay, if they're doing a hot dog bar, I'm not gonna do hot dogs at lunch."
Sergio [01:04:52] We did. We tried, but for some reason, we still always ended up doing the same thing. It's kinda like, "Oh, you're doing that?"
Jenna [01:05:03] Oh, that's so funny. I don't have that memory at all. Somehow you guys never managed to double up in my mind.
Sergio [01:05:10] Okay, that's good, because yeah, Peter and Vartan, like, we come up with something and I'd say, "Oh, I'm doing that today." But yeah, they were so much fun, those two guys, man. I love them and I miss them.
Angela [01:05:27] You know, Sergio, I'm so curious too, because you are planning meals all the time, and huge meals too. Do you plan any meals at home? Or are you just like once you're home, you're done meal planning?
Sergio [01:05:41] No, I actually cook for my boys on the weekend. I see them my friends on the weekends, so every weekend I do a dinner and we watch movies. At home, I like to cook here too. It's a lot funner and I get to experience new stuff. I like cooking at home, except when I'm working. If I'm workin', then only that Saturday is the only day I'll cook.
Angela [01:06:09] Oh, that's fair, I think.
Sergio [01:06:10] Yeah. Yeah.
Jenna [01:06:12] Well, you know, I love your food so much that when I worked on The Office, I would go through the lunch line and I would pick something for lunch. And then I would wait for everybody to eat. Then as y'all would start to kind of pack up stuff, like, lunch was over, I would through and I would get one of your to-go containers and I would pick something and that's what I would eat for dinner.
Angela [01:06:36] Yeah.
Sergio [01:06:37] Aw. That's nice.
Jenna [01:06:37] So I would eat your food twice a day, for all those years on The Office. Thank you so much.
Sergio [01:06:44] Wow, I appreciate that, Jenna. Thank you. Yeah that's awesome.
Angela [01:06:48] There were many times where we were taking food home.
Jenna [01:06:50] Oh yeah.
Angela [01:06:52] Sergio, do you have a favorite food memory from The Office? Or a behind the scenes memory? It doesn't have to be food related, just from your time on the show.
Sergio [01:07:00] Um, yeah, it's my most memorable one. It was kind of a sad one, but it was Steve Carell's last day. We went to the warehouse and he did that beautiful speech and then he took the time to talk to every department. I'll never forget it. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, everybody... It was the most memorable, one that I'll never forget.
Jenna [01:07:30] Have you run into Steve since The Office wrap?
Sergio [01:07:33] Yes, yes. So when Vartan passed away, I found out about it through Debbie. Me, Alan, and Debbie went and we were right there at the funeral. It was us three and in walks Steve Carell and then it was like, it was us four, right there. That's a beautiful moment. We got to talk with Steve Carell about The Office and that was the last time I saw him. I also saw him on "Space Force" but the last was for Vartan, I believe.
Angela [01:08:12] Yeah, I know several people have always asked us about the different menus on the show and what our favorite meal was. And you know, Sergio, my favorite was anything with your salsa. We've talked about that a lot. But Sergio, do you actually have a favorite dish for yourself? Like, what is your favorite go to snack?
Sergio [01:08:36] For a snack, I like the Chick o Stick.
Angela [01:08:39] Oh yeah?
Sergio [01:08:40] Yeah, that's the one I like. I just can't resist it. When I see that, cause it's not everywhere, but when it's there, I grab one, you know? But for food, it's tacos. I gotta say tacos with salsa and all that stuff. I love tacos.
Angela [01:08:58] I also remember your dessert bar. You talk about action stations, but one time you had like a make your own Sunday bar and it was amazing.
Sergio [01:09:08] Yeah.
Angela [01:09:09] And it was one of the more summer months. I just remember how good that bowl of ice cream was, and I got to put all my toppings on it. But was there a standout dessert that people loved?
Sergio [01:09:19] The cookie cake.
Jenna [01:09:21] Yes.
Sergio [01:09:21] The hot cookie cake, that one that one was a must. Every day, actually, with ice cream. So it was on a hot chaffer so it's nice and soft.
Angela [01:09:35] Oh, yeah.
Sergio [01:09:36] Yeah, that one's still a hit. It wasn't there at the beginning. It got there around, I think, season five or something. Once it got there, we couldn't take it out no more.
Jenna [01:09:51] It had this crusty... I always wanted an edge piece because it would get nice and crispy around the edge. That was Steve's favorite dessert. Steve and I would often meet at the warm chocolate chip cookie dish at the end of lunch and we would kind of laugh. We'd be like, "Here we are again. So we meet again, over a warm chocolate cookie dessert." I loved it.
Sergio [01:10:18] No, yeah. And also, right there in stage three, right? That was so special because all the cast was all there. Steve ate there, everybody ate there. The crew and then decisions were made there, birthday parties celebrated there. I mean, I love that stage and I'll never forget it.
Angela [01:10:41] Yeah, I loved it when they would (for people listening, picture a big aircraft hangar) open this giant door and then they would have these long tables. Sergio would be set up right outside that door and we'd be going through the food line and you'd have your food stations and there were open air long tables, very communal eating and gathering. You would see people from different departments, you didn't feel isolated like, "Oh, we just do this one thing and we don't interact." Everybody was mixing and mingling and talking and asking about each other's kids, or do you have a trip planned? And it was just a wonderful big gathering every day.
Jenna [01:11:27] It was also a great time to meet crew members' families because families would come up during lunch and visit. It was that way that food brings you together, you know?
Sergio [01:11:39] Yes, and it doesn't happen anymore like that in any crew. I mean, it really doesn't. People eat in their trailers now, and it doesn't happen anymore. I mean where everybody: the writers, actors, everybody is there and is just mingling. That's my favorite moment, there at stage three, you know? Just seeing everybody there. Family members, kids, all that stuff. Yeah, that was cool.
Angela [01:12:10] I think I didn't realize how special that was till I went to work on other projects. It is sort of people just kind of grabbing their food and going.
Sergio [01:12:18] Yeah.
Angela [01:12:19] I'm so thankful we had that. It kind of felt like a Thanksgiving gathering every day.
Sergio [01:12:26] Every day, yes.
Jenna [01:12:26] It did. Sergio, this was so wonderful.
Sergio [01:12:29] Yeah, this was awesome. Sorry I'm a little nervous, but yeah.
Angela [01:12:33] Oh, you're doing great.
Sergio [01:12:35] Thank you, thank you.
Jenna [01:12:36] You didn't seem nervous at all.
Angela [01:12:37] No, not at all.
Sergio [01:12:37] Oh wow.
Angela [01:12:38] Was there anything we missed, Sergio? Anything you want to share that we didn't cover?
Sergio [01:12:43] It's nice going back to memory lane. Like, last night I saw the last episode and I cried because we were talking about it and I said, "Let me watch the last episode." I hadn't watched in a minute and it was nice cuz it was so real. Like, the real reactions and everything. [choking up] I just saw it last night that's why. It's nice to come back to memory lane.
Jenna [01:13:12] Would you watch the show when it was on, Sergio? Did you guys watch it each week?
Sergio [01:13:16] I started watching it around season three, during when we were working. Then I'm about to do a re-watch too, though, with you guys soon. Because seeing yesterday's episode made me wanna start this up again, you know? I own them all. It'd be nice, and doing that through the Office Ladies would be awesome.
Angela [01:13:39] Oh, thanks Sergio! We've really loved re-watching the show. It's been so much fun, and plus just the joy of us getting to reach out and reconnect with so many people who are so special to us, like you.
Sergio [01:13:53] No, thank you. Thank you. You're special to me too. Everybody is from The Office.
Jenna [01:13:58] Thank you, Sergio. Love you.
Sergio [01:14:00] Thank you. Thank you so much. Love you too.
Angela [01:14:06] I think you can just hear in Sergio's voice, how special The Office was to him, and cooking and caring for people.
Jenna [01:14:13] Yeah, we were such a community. When the three of us were talking, I feel like you can see how there were not these distinct cliques of people. We all blended together. Like he said, looking out on all of us eating: cast, crew, family.
Angela [01:14:31] Producers, writers, yeah. Well, I thought before we go, you guys, we should hear two of these fakey PSAs that NBC had you guys do. They live on the DVDs and bonus content. John did two that were food related. One is titled "Jelly Beans" and the other is titled "Saltines." Let's hear them.
John [01:14:52] After a well-balanced meal, or for a well deserved snack after school, you might want to grab a handful of jelly beans. Don't eat the black jelly beans, they taste disgusting. It's just my opinion, but it's true.
Angela [01:15:08] Do you like dark licorice?
Jenna [01:15:09] I do not. I like red licorice. My mom calls it "licqish."
Angela [01:15:14] Does she really?
Jenna [01:15:15] Yeah.
Angela [01:15:15] That's so cute.
Jenna [01:15:16] She says, "Do you want some liquish?"
Angela [01:15:19] That's adorable. That's like when my mom calls and says, "do you want a Facebook?" But she means FaceTime. Alright, and here's the other one titled "Saltine."
John [01:15:32] When you're sitting around with a group of friends, just looking for a way to fit in, eating six saltines in under a minute may sound like a lot of fun. But it's also really dangerous. So please, eat crackers responsibly.
Jenna [01:15:45] These are great. So cute.
Angela [01:15:48] And he's so sincere. Well you guys that was "All Things Food" on The Office we can't thank you enough for listening and of course a huge thank you to Creed and Rainn and BJ and Sergio.
Jenna [01:16:03] And to Josh, for coming in and kicking this episode off with us. Everyone, go get Josh and Angela's cookbook, "You can make this." It is on shelves right now.
Angela [01:16:13] Aw, thanks you guys. Have a good one.
audio cue [01:16:18] [outro music]
Jenna [01:16:18] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Angela [01:16:20] Office Ladies is a presentation of Audacy and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
Jenna [01:16:25] Our executive producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kieffer and our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico.
Angela [01:16:33] Audacy's executive producer is Leah Reis-Dennis.
Jenna [01:16:36] Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.
Angela [01:16:39] Our theme song is "Rubber Tree" by Creed Bratton.