It’s not often that a producer is the subject of a documentary, instead of its author. Yes, I agreed to the project, but I hadn’t thought how it would feel not to be in control.
My partner, Michael, and I were invited to take over a Paris restaurant for a night to serve a British menu. For us it was a challenge to persuade the sceptical French that English food could be delicious, and a new experience to cook in a restaurant kitchen. A radio producer colleague asked if she could pitch it as an idea to Radio 4. We agreed, little thinking it would get commissioned.
Of course, as an experienced producer I had the final programme worked out in my head. The initial meeting with the exec, Alison, and the producer, Fiona, was really positive; we felt we were being listened to and that there was a meeting of minds.
However, the first recorded interview went less well. And it was completely my fault. My director instincts were so deeply ingrained that I was answering Fiona’s questions with a checklist of the points I wanted to get across. Stilted? Boring? Yes. Take Two, with lots of coaxing about to be natural. How embarrassing to be coached, just as I had coached my own contributors. But I got the hang of being myself, rather than putting across an image.
Michael, a sound recordist, was more suspicious. He worried that we might be stitched up, knowing how directors manipulate contributors, both during filming and in the edit. We thought that, up to a point, we’d be all right for the recorded set-ups in London. But once we got into the Paris kitchen, with the stresses of getting the food out, we’d lose control of the recording. BBC Radio 4 doesn’t go in for the wilder excesses of reality TV…or does it?
We asked Fiona what she wanted from the Paris recording. She was honest – ‘drama, of course’. And, jokingly, ‘tears, tantrums and a breakdown, if possible!’ Well, that’s not our style, and as a cooking teacher I certainly didn’t want to come across as unprofessional. But Michael and I also understood her editorial needs.
The Paris kitchen was tiny and hot. Producers Fiona and Neil, and presenter Jane Garvey, all shoving microphones in our faces, made working conditions even more stressful. However Michael and I were so concerned about the cooking that we forgot we were being recorded. As it turned out, there was sufficient radio drama – misunderstandings with the patronne, running out of mashed potato, sticky toffee puddings stuck in their moulds...
Knowing that I couldn’t help craft the material in the edit, much less intervene editorially, was really frustrating. I kept re-running in my head all the stupid things I’d said and done and prayed that Fiona and Neil would edit them out.
So, how is the finished programme? Well, it’s much more about the events of the evening – no surprise there – and what the French think of English food, very lively and funny. I would have liked more about the food itself, but that probably wouldn’t have made such good radio. I was reminded of one really important aspect of being a series producer or exec – just because you wouldn’t have made the programme like that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I was also reminded that the more honest you can be with your contributors about your editorial needs, the better.
Were we stitched up? That’s for you to decide.
‘To Paris with Parsnips’, TX BBC Radio 4, July 23 at 11am with Clare Brigstocke and Michael Whitehouse.
Produced by Alfimedia, www.alfimedia.com
Clare Brigstocke is an executive coaching, specialising in working with TV professionals. Skillset bursaries are available for her coaching programme. She also teaches cookery – www.theculinarycoach.co.uk
