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I'm Jenna Fisher.
And I'm Angela Kinsey.
We were on The Office together, and we're best friends.
And now we're doing the ultimate office lovers podcast just for you.
Each week, we will dive deeper into the world of The Office, with exclusive interviews behind the scenes, details and lots of BFF stories.
We're the Office Lady 6.0.
Hello, everyone.
Hi.
Welcome to Office Lady 6.0.
Today, we are going to be discussing all things food on the office.
So behind the scenes.
In the scenes, you're going to hear from some of our cast members about their food memories.
Plus...
Sergio Giacomen, our awesome caterer, is gonna be with us later on in the episode.
He's gonna tell us all about his time feeding the cast and crew of The Office.
Yes, it was so wonderful talking with him.
He has such fond memories of the show.
And, you know, 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.
And the other are some food PSAs that John Krasinski did for NBC.
Well, lady, I might have found something in my digital clutter.
You said that and I can't believe it.
Like you have digital... First of all, you have digital clutter.
And secondly, it's about food.
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, And you are smiling.
I am.
Yes, because today's guest is my husband and an amazing self-taught chef and baker, Joshua Snyder.
Welcome, Josh.
Thank you.
Thank you guys so much.
Oh, man.
It's...
It's surreal to be here because I am such a fan of you guys in the podcast.
And so it's just like to actually be here.
I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's crazy.
He has listened to every single episode of Office. ladies every episode including our second drink oh second drinks are great i love the second drinks i love the top show you guys do with the second drinks he's very encouraging he's like i like the tidbits Yeah.
And re-listening to it has been great.
I've like rediscovered how much I love your podcast.
Oh, come on.
It's great.
You should do ads for office.
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.
Yes.
October 21st, your new cookbook called You Can Make This.
It came out yesterday.
It's very surreal to us.
We're like doing press for it.
We're on the Today Show.
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.
You know, 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, you know?
Yeah.
No, when we very first decided, okay, we're going to take all of our favorite recipes.
You know, we had the YouTube baking with Josh and Ann 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 was like, babe.
And I told him, Jenna, what you told me.
You're like, you're going to pitch this book.
In three years, you'll hold it in your hand.
It's just so accurate too.
I mean, I was like, seriously, it's going to take that?
I can't imagine it taking that long.
You know, it's like I have the recipes ready to go.
Like what?
What else is there?
What's the hold on?
This is amazing.
Angela, you were me in the cookbook.
Yes.
The way I was with our book.
I was like, Oh, gosh.
Buckle in, lady.
Buckle in.
There's going to be revisions, photography.
So many revisions.
A lot of people are going to weigh in on things you never even imagined you'd be talking about.
Font size and color and...
Yeah.
Well, 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.
And 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.
Well, yeah, I mean, I 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 who's this guy?
Yeah, I mean, I started like making the cookies and cakes, you know, when the kids were small.
And I think mostly I was a dad on a budget, you know, so I wanted to be able to give them what they wanted for their birthday, you know, and you know they want to like a Ninjago cake or like some sort of like themed character cake.
I want to be able to do that for them.
So.
And cakes are expensive at the store.
So I really thought that I could just make it myself.
This is very much him being also just like his family.
They just do it themselves.
They're Kansas and Colorado, and they're just going to figure it out.
They're not going to pay someone to do it for them. well, very Midwest, right?
I mean, all of your stories about St.
Louis, I'm like, oh yeah, that's, that's, that's Kansas.
That's the same, it's the same thing.
So yeah, but I, I, um, It started out like it's just a hobby, really.
And then as I got more into it, I got more gear.
And then all of a sudden I'm the person with, you know, two drawers of different icing tips.
I'm like, what happened to me?
I don't know.
You made those cakes and cookies then for my kids' birthdays.
You made some for Mindy's daughter.
Like you started then 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.
Yeah.
And you know, I, I think for you too, Josh, like baking is kind of like your Zen garden.
Absolutely.
It's like where you go to relax.
Absolutely.
And actually it's.
It's funny because this cookbook I did so much of this cookbook listening to office ladies.
And because I'm a huge audio book person, a podcast person.
And I would say, I mean, majority of these recipes, I was listening to an Office Ladies episode.
Oh.
Wow.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Obviously, this is a huge part of this book.
We're in the book.
We're in the book.
I like it.
And here's the other thing, too, is not only is Josh a great baker, but he's also a great chef.
One of the things, 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 breakfasts 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.
Yeah.
And Ange did such a great job with the personal stories.
You know, because every, every recipe does have a story, because it means something to us.
It's either something that we've, you know we make all the time in our house, or was you know my grandma's recipe or her grandma's recipe.
And Anne just had a way of, like you know, writing the book to make it feel like you're part of our kitchen and part of our family.
Well, you know, or.
Yes, 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 thing.
So you have this back and forth.
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.
Yeah.
Our kids grew up in the kitchen too.
And these are the recipes. that they grew up with.
And so I'm so happy that we have this keepsake for them.
Besides, you know putting it out for everyone else this, for our kids, was really important for us to have these.
You know, these are the recipes we grew up with.
Yeah.
Well, and, you know, 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 he'd be like guys, you can 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.
It's true.
Well, I would also like to call your cookbook.
You can eat this because.
This is true about your recipes and your cooking.
Josh is, for example, you have your one sheet fajitas.
That is a family favorite of ours.
Is that in the cookbook?
Absolutely.
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 like mild but complex.
And something that I think is true of all your cooking is you really can.
I would tell my kids, you can eat this.
Josh made it.
I'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.
And Josh, please tell me that you brought something in for us today.
Oh, you know, I see a box next to you.
You know, I did.
All right.
So I brought in the granola.
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.
I spent years perfecting this granola recipe.
And I can say it's one of the best recipes in the book.
I'm a little surprised you included it in the cookbook.
I said he shouldn't.
I was like, babe, you need to sell this at the grocery store.
I agree.
But he wanted to share it.
He wanted you guys to be able to make it too.
I do.
I do.
I want, and you know, I'll still make it for you too, you know.
I know, I know.
But we sort of joke that when we grow old we're going to like live in some little town and he's going to make granola and we're going to put it in little brown paper bags and sell it at the corner little coffee shop.
Yes.
And you should also do like spice mixes.
Josh's fajita spice mix.
Josh's taco spice mix.
You're good with the spices.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Spicy and granola.
It's your autobiography.
And then lastly, you made cookies.
I also did bring some snickerdoodles.
Oh, yay!
And these were probably the first cookie that I actually, I think... perfected too.
Like where I was like okay, this is like, this is just a great cookie and I'm super confident with it.
So I brought one for Cassie and Sam too.
Well, cheers from the booth.
Yay.
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 like a lot of love in our hearts.
We hope you like it.
Help Josh and Ange get on the bestseller list.
All right.
We will take a break.
And when we come back, we're going to start talking about all the food on the office.
Yep.
You know, those school mornings are always so busy.
Everyone's kind of bustling around.
And one thing, though, that makes it so much better are Eggo waffles.
Yes.
And now we have the new Eggo protein waffles and pancakes.
They taste great.
They're made with wholesome ingredients and 20% of your daily protein.
So look, the new Eggo protein waffles taste amazing.
It provides the same great taste of Eggo waffles that your family has known and loved, plus the protein they need.
And you can make them part of your complete breakfast.
Well, this is something that both of my kids can agree on.
And I appreciate that, because you know, what I don't need to do each morning is make different breakfasts.
I'm not a diner.
Oh, no, you don't have time for that.
You're not a short order chef.
I'm not.
I'm actually not.
That's a hard job.
I know.
So I really appreciate that my kids can agree on the Eggo buttermilk vanilla protein waffles.
Now they like different toppings.
Fine, fair.
My daughter likes a little bit of syrup.
My son really likes strawberries and a little bit of whipped cream. which I'm fine with.
Yeah, same here.
We all eat them differently.
I just grab one and eat it just plain because I just like it like that.
Let me ask you this question though. do you like your super toasty or a little toasty?
Cause I like them super toasty.
Like I want to like crunch into it.
That's my favorite.
I like it middle toasty.
Middle toasty.
So I like them just because the buttermilk And vanilla is so flavorful.
I don't need anything on top of it.
So I just like it super toasty.
And what I can do is I can just eat that like while I'm walking around the kitchen packing up a backpack.
And guess what?
While you're walking around eating that, you're getting 10 grams of complete protein per serving.
How about that?
Look at that.
Now look, my family eats these in the morning, but I like them as a snack as well.
Just going to throw that out there. a little afternoon snack with a cup of tea.
I always want something like this at about three o'clock.
I think what we're learning here is that there are a lot of ways to eat these waffles.
Yes.
Really, you can put lots of stuff on top of them or nothing on top of them.
And you can have them in the morning or you can have them in the afternoon.
This is making me hungry.
And we haven't even mentioned that there's a chocolate chip brownie version.
Oh, my gosh.
Yes.
And I had it.
I had the chocolate chip brownie version and guess what I did?
What did you do?
I sprinkled powder sugar on top of it.
That's kind of genius.
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We are back.
That was so fun for me.
I know.
He was really nervous.
And I was like, Josh is just being Jenna, you know?
But he just wanted to do a good job.
And he's so earnest, you know, as a person.
I was so delighted to have him on the podcast.
You guys are so cute together.
All right.
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.
Okay.
You know, there are so many ways that food served as a plot point in episodes.
Yeah.
Like a lot.
Starting with the pilot with the stapler and Jell-O.
Oh, I actually looked up how many times we put things in Jell-O on the show.
Are you ready for this?
Is it more than two?
It is.
Well, if you count a simulation, that's a hint.
So you have Dwight's stapler, right?
That's in the pilot.
You have Michael's world's best boss mug.
Also in the pilot.
Also in the pilot.
You have Andy's calculator in Gay Witch Hunt.
Oh, wow.
I forgot about that.
That's right.
And then you have Dwight's rocket launcher in local ad.
So remember in that episode, Dwight is playing that online game Second Life.
And Jim has a character in it too.
And Dwight finds his rocket launcher in Jell-O.
And then lastly, Dwight's phone and manager and salesman.
Oh, yeah.
So that was definitely a running food gag.
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.
Classic.
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.
And 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's microwave popcorn that interrupts the Finer Things Club meeting?
So good.
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 plot line is the one that led us to meet sconesy cider.
Oh, sconesy cider.
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.
Oh, that's it.
You get what you get, what you get.
Well, I was thinking about, too, just all of the Christmas parties, all the parties, the food.
Yeah.
So much.
And 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, and Fun Run.
Dwight eating a hard-boiled egg that made everyone sick.
And then, of course, we all got to eat pie in work bus.
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.
I'll never forget that pie because of what we went through to get it.
I know.
But you know what else I'll never forget is the grilled cheese on the roof.
Jim and Pam's grilled cheese date.
It was so good.
You've talked about that grilled cheese.
I know.
I feel like you're chasing that one particular grilled cheese.
Have you ever had anything come close to it?
That's a good question.
Like since?
Yeah.
Have I had a grilled cheese like that grilled cheese?
I don't know if I have.
I'm going to 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 like 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.
You know, my son has a friend and whenever he goes to his friend's house the mom makes some grilled cheese and it kind of sounds like that.
And 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.
I wonder who made it for you that day.
I'd love to know.
It might have just been Phil Shea.
Probably.
I mean, yeah.
He would whip up stuff for us.
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.
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.
What was so good about it?
You know, I feel like it was the bread.
He just got great bread.
Yeah.
Was it like white bread or wheat bread?
Was it like thicker bread?
Describe it to me.
He asked me.
You guys, this is turning into like, this is like food porn episode.
But tell me, please.
He listed all the breads I could possibly want.
And I was like, Phil, I just like, you know, a basic white bread.
And the one he got, I don't know what it was.
It was like kind of squishy a little, you know, not damp squishy, like the good bouncy squishy.
And it was so yummy.
You know what one of my other favorite onsets food memories is is the cheese puffs.
Were they good?
No, I'm sorry.
I should say it's what the cheese puffs brought to my life.
It was a lot of fun.
They were kind of stale, I think.
You guys like everything was stained orange, like your fingertips.
Yeah, but we had so much fun shooting that.
Well, I have a question for you, Angela.
Did you ever have like a scene where you had to eat something that you hated?
It wasn't so much that I hated.
It's when it turned on.
Okay, 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 a.m., 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.
And then you eat that piece of cake for three more hours.
Yeah.
And by the end of it, you don't ever want another piece of ice cream cake again in your life.
I mean for years, lady.
For years I could not eat like ice cream, anything like ice cream related.
It really turned on me.
They had to get me a bucket.
Oh, lady, same.
Yeah.
Same.
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 where they had all the chocolates and chocolate boxes and Oh yeah?
And Ed Helms and Mindy, who were notorious for eating prop food, started digging into the chocolates and one had maggots in it.
Oh, yes, I remember this.
Because they did not intend for us to eat them.
Yes, it was supposed to be scent decoration.
And Mindy and Ed started going into them and we I thought, oh my god, we freaked out.
We're like ah oh, it was so disgusting.
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 like a big buffet of food.
Gosh, it might've been, was it Diwali?
No, 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 like, 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 like shouting it out right now.
But because that food was going to stay out for a long period of time, they had kind of sprayed something on it to keep it safe, like under the lights, so it wouldn't get super nasty and smell.
But you were not supposed to eat it.
And BJ and I.
Like between takes.
We were like picking at the buffet and they had to run over and be like no no no, no.
Do not eat that.
That is...
It's not even prop food.
It's like decorative food.
Yeah.
They're like, don't eat the decorative food.
And they had shellacked it with something.
Which is like what those chocolates were.
Those were like decoration.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I feel like for the most part, I was really spared. from having to eat anything gross.
Like I think about you guys and those hot dogs on beach games.
My character was a 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.
I didn't either because I was taking my diligent notes.
Yeah, but...
A bunch of people did and they got real grossed out.
I remember when it turned on them.
A hot dog turning on you?
Outside.
And it was hot out there.
Yeah. eating all those hot dogs in the hot sun.
Well, one of the people who had to do the most eating on our show was Rainn Wilson.
Wait, can I just stop you right there?
What is it? to do a lot of eating or chose to do a lot of eating?
Both.
I think both.
Definitely both.
Because when he commits, he goes all out and he didn't have to eat as much as he did.
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.
Okay.
Hey, office ladies, people, listeners, this is Rain.
Hi, Rain.
It's Jenna.
Jenna Fisher.
I'm with you.
We just had lunch.
And Jenna brought her sound recording equipment, this very fancy TASCOM recorder with lots of fancy cables and And a big mic attached to it.
And then she forgot to put.
Like, I guess the SIM card thing in it.
The card in it.
So we're recording it on my phone.
And this is.
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.
I did.
But first of all, I want to say that you had breakfast for lunch today.
I did, yeah.
Yeah, so we had lunch, and then Jenna had the avocado toast with poached eggs and bacon.
I wanted both eggs and bacon on my avocado toast.
Absolutely.
At 1.30 p.m.
She went for it.
And it was glorious to see.
I love a woman with that appetite.
Yes, I've never denied my appetite.
I can't do it.
I like it.
Too much.
And Dwight has his appetites.
Yes, he certainly does.
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 like pushing the food around on their plates.
They're pushing the peas around or whatever.
Because you know when you're shooting a scene, you have to shoot like 12 different takes and lots of different versions.
And, you know, and I get it.
People don't want to like be eating enormous mouthfuls of food, because if you do 12 takes, then that's you know, 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 like committing to eating.
Well, I appreciate it.
I mean, how fun is it to watch all of those great actors and, like Goodfellas and the Godfather, just like, devour their big Italian meals and their steak?
Like it's so satisfying to watch.
Yeah.
Yeah.
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 to that's the crentist episode when i was planning to overthrow michael and um, I had pancakes and eggs and toast and waffles and I cover the whole thing with syrup.
And 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.
I.
I think it was in the script.
And I remember Paul Lieberstein talking to me about it, about the idea of like, 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.
And I did.
Dig in to those pancakes.
I'll never forget that flavor.
And I'm so glad I did.
It was so much.
It was so much fun.
And I think Melora, I think it kind of blew her mind exactly how many pounds of pancakes I ate during that scene.
But what about the scene where Dwight is eating all of his, like, about-to-spoil food?
All of his... Right, from, like, 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 they put peaches in them.
I just remember I was eating like syrupy canned goods.
Okay.
But again, 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 he did not shirk committing to having full plates of food.
And then what about Offset?
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?
Oh, yeah.
I had breakfast.
Sergio and his food truck, they were just... otherworldly, they were magnificent.
The food we got on the office set was It was kind of ridiculous.
The food that is on the set of a successful TV show, like season one of a TV show.
It's kind of like 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, like it's lobster rolls and –.
All I know is 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 I really, truly...
Over the course of that show, I ate a hell of a lot of turkey bacon.
I ate a lot of turkey bacon.
It's where I discovered turkey bacon.
Right.
I don't know who ordered it first, but it was so good.
It's almost as good as bacon.
And that's how they should advertise it.
I had real bacon today.
It looked good.
It was good.
Did you offer me any of your real bacon?
No.
Nope.
Not even one bite.
Not even one nibble.
Well, thank you, Rain.
I had a salad because...
I'm chubby, and I need to be.
Ray Wilson, you are not chubby.
I'm a chubby guy.
It's okay.
I'm a middle-aged man, and this is the cross that I bear.
Your metabolism is slowing.
It's slowing down.
It's just age.
It's happening to all of us.
Yep, yep.
Nothing we can do.
All right.
Good luck with the episode.
Love you, Jenna.
Love you.
That was so fun.
You guys were just in your car?
In the back of my car.
What if like someone?
I mean, that's the paparazzi moment that didn't happen, where it's like you and Rain in the backseat of your car.
Like what are they doing?
We're just talking in a microphone.
That's awesome.
Well, what's funny about that Angela, is that I recorded that with him like two days before that crazy like Jumbotron Coldplay moment.
Yes.
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.
I'm telling you, people went off because they made so many whatever meme things.
Yeah.
I mean, there's the one where, you know, when Phyllis discovers Dwight and Angela.
Yes, I saw that one.
Did you see the Game of Thrones one with the Lannister brother and sister?
Yes.
There was a lot.
Oh, and you know what?
Speaking of Rain's share about breakfast, I'm pretty sure the turkey bacon started with Rashida.
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.
Well, that would make sense.
Yeah.
Well, I don't know, lady, because you would be in at the same time as Rashida in the mornings.
Yes.
So maybe Rashida started it.
It was either Rashida or John.
Well, we got to the bottom of that.
Wow, we're good.
Here's the thing.
My sisters asked him what was it like being on the set of The Office.
All he could talk about was the food.
It was kind of legendary, which is why we're doing a whole episode about it today.
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.
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.
Yeah, 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.
And a dueling chicken, as it were.
All right.
Love you, girls.
Bye.
That's very funny.
John would put broccoli in his egg whites in the morning.
And it was stinky.
So stinky.
He would stink up the whole trailer.
Yeah.
But this is also reminding me of all the egg whites people ate.
Like people, we had a big like egg white trend in the mornings.
What did they do with all the yolks?
Where'd all the egg yolks go?
I don't know.
Did we just have a giant bucket of yolks?
I don't know.
We should ask Sergio that.
I wish we would have asked him.
I know.
What do you do with all the yolks, Sergio?
What do you do with all the yolks?
Well, you know, spoiler alert, we already spoke to Sergio and we failed to ask him about the yolks.
Maybe next time.
Next time.
Well, you know, Creed's favorite food memory from his time on The Office.
The noodles?
Is the noodles one.
And he's talking about that famous barfing scene in Niagara.
Yeah.
But lady, did you know that that scene has a name online?
What's it called?
The Boiled Egg Vomiting Chain.
What?
Isn't that so funny?
Yes.
Yeah, 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 Jim that I found in the bonus content.
For those of you that have the DVDs, it is Diss 2 Season 3.
Lady, do you want to guess who had a cooking show at Dunder Mifflin or who tried to have a cooking show?
If I had to guess, I would say maybe Michael.
Good guess.
Or maybe Kevin.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Kevin.
It is Kevin.
Are you ready for the name of his cooking show?
Okay.
It's simple.
It's to the point.
His show is called Kevin Cooks Stuff.
Okay.
I'm watching that show.
I'm dying to know what he cooks.
So this whole bit is about five minutes.
I'm going to share a little bit of it.
It starts in the kitchen and he keeps getting interrupted.
Let's hear it.
Welcome to Kevin cooks stuff in the office.
I am your host, Kevin.
Okay.
So sometimes my fiancee, Stacy, 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.
What?
I'm doing my cooking show thingy.
And I'm going to the bathroom.
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.
What am I supposed to do?
You're supposed to wait until I'm finished.
I don't think so.
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.
Okay, so now he goes to the break room.
To the supermarket.
Yes.
And he is going to gather ingredients to make some recipes.
Out of stuff from the vending machine?
Yeah.
Quesadillas and creme brulee.
Lady, I brought in stuff to make Kevin's quesadillas.
You're going to hear the recipe.
Okay?
Okay.
We're going to make it on our break.
What is it?
Well, I just want to eat Josh's granola.
Well, sorry, you're also going to have Kevin's quesadillas.
Let's hear how he makes them.
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.
Hot, hot.
I would throw.
Oh my gosh, he ate it in real time.
Yes.
So Brian, as Kevin, ate it.
I mean, there's no cutaway.
I was fine.
I used to eat Cheez Whiz on top of Triscuits.
This was like one of my go-to college snacks.
Yeah.
Like I couldn't get enough of it.
I've never heated it.
Well, I brought them and we're going to try it.
Oh, dear God.
So I got just sort of like the big waffle chip, and then I got Cheez Whiz and we're going to put it in the microwave but we're not going to do it on mic, but we are going to try it.
We have to try it.
All right.
Well, next up is Kevin's dessert.
As he said, he's going to make creme brulee.
What he does is he takes a pudding and it's in like a metal can.
Uh-huh.
And then he opens that.
Metal?
Yeah.
Oh.
It's like in a metal can.
I don't know.
He said it's pudding in a can.
I've never seen it in a can.
Okay, go ahead.
And then he opens a bunch of sugar packets and he just dumps them all on top of that pudding.
Okay.
Then he's very careful to tell you to take the label off, because then you're going to put the metal can in the toaster oven and let it bake.
And he says he's going to 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 Cheez Whiz like in his desk drawer.
Okay.
But lady, you know that cabinet that's next to Kevin's desk?
So like 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 going to share with you what's in that cabinet.
For the first time 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?
That's disgusting.
Put that away.
You're just jealous of my beer.
Of your bacteria-filled yeast water?
I don't think so.
Well, then, Oscar, you may not have any.
I don't want any.
Is something burning?
Oh, it's the creme brulee!
Yes!
So, yep, he has burned the creme brulee, 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.
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.
Huh, how about that?
Ramen noodle seasoning in your mashed potatoes?
I'm curious.
I did not bring that in.
Well, let's go eat some weird quesadilla and then we'll be back in a moment.
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Well, we're back and we ate Kevin's quesadilla.
We did.
We filmed it.
We'll put it in stories.
Cassie smartly opted not to try Kevin's quesadilla, but Sam, me and Jenna did.
Wow.
Sam, you went first.
What were your thoughts?
It took a minute for that cheese taste to kick in, but once it did, it was there.
It is strong.
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.
Congealed a little bit.
Yeah.
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.
I do not recommend.
Not a fan.
Not a snack I would encourage others to eat.
Not a fan, Kevin.
I do want to tell you guys, when I was at the grocery store looking for cheese whiz, I asked this young gal that worked there.
And she had no idea what I was talking about.
Oh.
Had never heard of Cheez Whiz.
I think that's good.
Well.
I think that's good for our youth.
I also want you to know the Cheez Whiz I bought was made, it said, with real cheese.
Okay.
So you're welcome.
Thank you.
All right.
Well, thank you everyone for participating in Kevin Cook Stuff and today's recipe, quesadillas.
I would like to request that we not ever try the creme brulee.
If that's okay with you.
That's fine with me.
Well, are you ready now to hear the episode that was never produced but that was titled Lunch Slash the Nooner.
Do you know what a nooner is?
I do know what a nooner is.
Please tell me it's Bob and Phyllis.
It is not good guess.
This was a really fun pitch because it is Jan and Michael.
Oh.
Have a nooner.
Not at work.
Not at work.
Okay.
So this is an episode that would have happened in season three.
Okay.
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 it said someone remarks, we are always on our own for lunch.
Right.
What's the big announcement for?
What are you up to?
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 going to sit around in the break room and have lunch.
Kelly was going to be on a cleanse and she won't stop talking about it.
Okay.
So then in our next lunch pairing, we find out that Oscar owes Kevin a lunch.
Okay.
And Kevin gets to decide where he wants to go.
And he wants to 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 kind of like a romantic restaurant.
So it's not just like ye olde sandwich shop.
No, no.
And it's like cloth tablecloths and cloth napkins a very formal lunch and they're a little uncomfortable, but they end up bonding.
So it's like a happy story.
Guess what Stanley does for lunch?
Takes a nap.
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.
Aw.
But then Dwight's friends were going to 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 like very early season storyline that Dwight had this girlfriend who was active duty military in Kuwait.
Well, she's back.
Whoa.
I know.
And apparently Dwight has not spoken to her.
Since she left and hasn't told Angela that they're still dating.
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.
I see.
In the break room.
Probably not in a great mood.
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 military girlfriend.
Yes, yes, exactly.
And 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 offbeat 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.
I mean, it sounds perfect.
Well, the ladies are going to go to the bathroom and Dwight is going to turn to Jim and ask for relationship advice.
Because you know who Dwight really wants to be with is Angela.
So this was going to kind of start a runner where Jim was going to be like counseling Dwight on relationships.
Meanwhile, back at the office, the rest of the women continue to have lunch, but they have not included Meredith.
Why not?
She's not invited to eat with them.
Oh, yes.
She is forced to eat alone with Andy.
I will say it doesn't sound like Angela was invited either.
She just showed up.
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 and they start giving each other life advice.
That I would have wanted to see.
I love this pairing of Andy and Meredith, right?
Well, during all of this remember this all started because Michael was going to go have lunch with Jan.
A motel in the afternoon.
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.
And 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 quote increasing craziness.
And for a long, long beat, there's no conversation at all.
And they just eat in silence.
Michael was going to float the idea of breaking up.
But Jan distracts him by suggesting they go back up to the hotel room for another quickie.
And ultimately, Michael's going to come back to the office and say he and Jan are doing great.
It was a great meeting.
This makes me sad.
I know.
This is sort of like foreshadowing for dinner party.
So much foreshadowing.
Well, that was the pitch for lunch slash the nooner.
Can you guess what the tag was going to be for this episode?
You guessed Stanley sleeping in his car.
There's going to be another moment in a car.
Oh, Lord.
Is it like Andy getting a handjob from Meredith?
Yes.
What?
It was that Andy and Meredith have sex in her car.
That was the tag.
I had no idea.
I just completely threw that out there.
Wow, well, a lunch episode would have packed some surprises.
Yes, pretty fun.
Well, speaking of lunch...
I want to hear this segue.
You know, 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.
Yes, they were wonderful.
There's part of our book, The Office BFFs, where we share about craft service and catering and like what meals look like on the set.
And I'm so glad it's there.
Craft Services and Peter and Vartan and Sergio and catering and his team were such a big part of our community.
On The Office.
We wrote about it in our book, The Office BFFs.
And we both have really special memories, as does the whole cast and crew, of mealtime on The Office.
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.
And I just I was thinking back on all the ways that they would take care of us, like The little things.
Like if we were shooting someplace outside and we were cold, you know, Peter and Vartan would put out hot soup to warm us up, you know.
And all the care that Sergio took in our meals, even making special meals when our kids came to set and dinner.
I mean Jenna.
I don't know how we would have gotten through our pregnancies without Peter and Vartan.
I know.
They really fed us and nurtured us.
And, you know, I found a journal entry. where I wrote about Peter and Vartan.
Oh, are you going to read it?
Yeah, I'm going to read it.
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 21st, 2011, 4.02 p.m.
You know, I always say what type it is.
And I wrote, I had the day off from work today, but I had to go in for a wardrobe fitting.
I brought Isabel with me.
After my fitting, we had lunch on set and Peter and Vartan were so sweet.
They brought Isabel a special snack, cupcakes and a smoothie.
We had such a fun day.
I love that, lady.
Isn't that so cute?
Well, lady, I don't think there is anyone on our set who loved our food more than BJ Novak.
BJ is like a foodie.
Like for real, he's a foodie.
He has a whole business now called Eat A Chain.
I know, right?
And it's like Michelin star chefs.
Yes. turn your fast food favorites into like these elevated meals.
Right.
And they're delicious.
I went to the Chili's one.
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.
So good.
So good.
Well, he invited our catering craft service teams to be on the DVD commentary track for season five Business Ethics.
I remember.
So I reached out to him and lady, I don't know if he's ever responded to me faster.
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.
Yeah.
Well, he sent in an audio clip.
He has some advice for people who might be new to a set.
Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
On how to get the best stuff.
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, not catering.
When you arrive in the morning, there's going to be a truck that has all types of great food and they're going to 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 makes 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, not catering. catering is great, but coffee is not their thing.
It's not their focus, nor should it be.
Do you hear the passion in his voice?
Like 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.
The absolute like seriousness.
Yes.
And and he's right.
He is right.
I don't drink coffee, as you know, but I know craft services.
They are sort of connoisseurs of like beverages and they do smoothies.
They do coffee.
They do hot cocoa and.
I mean, they have a gazillion types of teas.
Like they are where you go for beverage.
Correct.
He also talked a little bit about the food in the writer's room, which is not provided by craft services or catering.
That's right.
They have their own writer's assistant who has to manage food for the writers.
And, you know, this is because their hours would sometimes they didn't coordinate with our hours.
Like they would be there writing until like 10 p.m. or midnight.
And then they also don't come in till 10 a.m. sometimes.
Yes.
So they kind of had their whole own food situation.
And here's what he had to say about that.
Snacks are, it's like when you're a babysitter, it's all about snacks. what the people's cabinets have, what snacks they have.
And 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 Joe's 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 room 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.
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 and it would be either feast or famine in there.
It would either be like seriously famine every type of like little Debbie cupcake or whatever, to then just like nothing.
Nothing are just like a rice cake.
Yes.
They did go through a whole like rice cake phase.
Yeah.
And then when they were going through that phase, that's when they got like a treadmill, remember?
Mm-hmm.
But yeah, there was a real yo-yo effect with their snacks.
Well, you know our first AD, Kelly Cantley.
I was texting with her and I said hey, we're going to talk to Sergio for this food episode.
I'm curious, like, 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 order 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 with. big on our set.
But she said on the paper, Sergio has updated all the things that she likes and now serves breakfast as a mini taco.
I mean, yeah, 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.
Sign me up.
You had me at Smash Tater Tot.
She said if he had a taco stand or a restaurant, I would go every day.
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.
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.
Hello, Sergio.
Hi there.
Thank you for coming on the podcast.
I love the podcast, by the way.
You all have nice voices, so it's soothing to the ear.
It's funny and it's a lot of fun.
Oh, thanks, Sergio.
It was so nice seeing you when we visited the paper.
I know.
I like that.
That was such a surprise.
We were slammed for breakfast, but It was nice seeing you guys.
And also being on that show, you know kind of like you know, 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?
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.
Like the office family loves you and they always want to work with you.
Yeah, no, I appreciate that.
It's been amazing being part of of the office, you know, because 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.
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.
Yeah, Kelly, it was awesome working with Kelly.
And yeah, she has like little orders, small orders, kind of like Angela, when Angela used to order her little Angela size.
Yeah, Angie size.
Yeah, that was fun.
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.
Well, when I started The Office, it was hard because there was no iPhone, right?
And I had to go through the cookbooks, you know, and just get the ideas from there.
And the feedback from the crew, that's kind of like what you work with.
Like, oh, they like this or, you know.
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.
So yeah.
So I have to ask you, you know, 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 one again?
Like, what are your hits and your misses? they never really tell you like, oh, that wasn't good.
You know, I never, I only got that once.
And that was the Teamsters in New York.
You know one time, but only like as a family, like that really liked me a lot.
And they told me hey, we love you, but that last meal.
You know that that's the only time they told me, 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.
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?
Most requested meal.
It's the action stations, you know, like the pasta bars, the taco bars.
The crew always love that action station.
So every time we had like a fun station and, you know, especially the pasta bar.
And the taco bar.
Those are always... 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 like 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.
Yeah, it was so great.
It was fun.
I try and have it.
So when like also when when Isabella, when she was young, she used to just eat plain pasta.
Yeah.
That was her go-to.
So, you know, it reminds me of that too, when Isabella was young coming to set.
You were so sweet with her.
You would always set aside a little buttered noodles dish for her.
Yeah.
You took such good care of all of us in that way.
Yeah.
You know, we grew into a family there and there's nothing like that, you know, ever going to happen again.
I don't think once in a lifetime.
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 have also a fish option.
How do you do it?
And 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?
Yeah.
So so when, when we started, you know season one um, the mise en place for breakfast was a little bit small.
But as the the show grew in the into the years, you know like by the third season, you know same crew members, the cast and, and so everybody had their little, you know little, specialty.
So I had to make sure I had this.
I had to make sure I had goat cheese, because a couple orders, you know, and it grew the mise en place for breakfast.
It grew like More and more as the years went on.
By the ninth season I had a lot of stuff in the fridge.
I bet.
I bet you did.
I mean, I feel like there were people who were like I want my breakfast order, but will you throw some like hot peppers on it today?
And you'd say, sure.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Especially I had to have the Rashida special.
That one was a hit, right?
Remember the Rashida special?
That one was such a hit.
So I had to have black beans.
I had to have, you know, turkey bacon every day, every day and all that because corn tortillas.
The green salsa, you know.
Yeah, that one really took off.
Yeah, it took off.
That took off for a while, too.
You know, 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?
So I started this catering company as a dishwasher at 18.
And then I moved up, moved up the ranks.
And then they gave me a shot.
The catering company I was at, they gave me a shot as a chef, kind of young, like at 24.
And I was like chef in commercials.
That's all I was doing.
So I had like five day recipes.
That's all I needed for commercials.
And so then I got the call to do The Office.
So The Office was my first show in, like, full-on five days a week, months, you know?
So I was real nervous.
Like, I was nervous on the first day.
And then the second day, The Quest, service then it was another crash it wasn't it wasn't peter and rothan but that crash service told me on the second day it said they were talking about you and i was like real horrified that they were like something yeah and it was good news right he says they were talking good about your food And that gave me the confidence to try hard and all that.
And it was such a nice crew that it was easy to do.
But I learned a lot through the office, you know, through the casting crew.
I learned a lot, like you know, like through the cooking, and took it, took it with me to the other shows.
But yeah, office was my school.
How much did you coordinate with Michael and Vartan?
Because they would bring out a certain hot snack every day at 10 o'clock.
And did you guys talk?
Were you sure to be like okay, if they're doing a hot dog bar, I'm not going to do hot dogs at lunch?
We did.
We tried.
But for some reason we still always ended up doing the same thing.
You know kind of.
You know like oh, you're doing that.
Oh, that's so funny.
I don't have that memory at all.
I was like, somehow you guys never managed to double up in my mind.
Okay, that's good.
Because yeah, Peter and I, we come up with something.
I'm doing that today.
But yeah, they were so much fun, those two guys, man.
I loved them and I miss them.
Yeah, same.
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?
Are you just like, once you're home, you are done meal planning?
No, I do.
I actually cook for my boys on the weekend.
I see them on the weekend.
So we do every weekend, I do a dinner.
And we watch movies.
And I like to cook here, too.
It's a lot funner and, you know, get to experience new stuff.
I like cooking at home.
Except when I'm working.
If I'm working, then, you know, only that Saturday is the only day I'll cook.
Oh, that's fair, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
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.
And then, as y'all would start to kind of pack up stuff, like lunch was over, I would go 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.
Yeah, that's nice.
So I would eat your food twice a day for all those years on the office.
Thank you so much.
Wow, thank you.
Yeah, there was many times we were taking food home.
Oh, yeah.
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.
It's my most memorable one.
It was kind of a sad one, but it was Steve Carell's last day.
And we went to the warehouse and he did that beautiful speech.
And then we took the time to talk to every department.
You know and i'll never forget it, it's like you know, there wasn't a dry eye in the room where everybody was, it was.
It was the most memorable one that i'll never forget.
Yeah, Have you run into Steve?
Since the office wrapped.
Yes.
Yes.
So when Vartan passed away, I found out you know about it through Debbie and me and Allen and Debbie went.
And we were right there at the funeral.
And then it was, you know, us three and in walks Steve Carell.
And it was like, it was us four right there.
And that's, you know, that's a beautiful moment.
We got to, you know, 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 time was Vartan, I believe.
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 I'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?
For a snack, I like the Chico stick.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
That's the one I like.
I just can't resist it when I see that.
It's not everywhere, but when it's there, I grab one, you know?
But for food...
It's tacos.
You know, I got to say tacos with salsa and all that stuff.
I love tacos.
I also remember your dessert bar.
You talk about action stations, but one time you had like a make your own sundae bar and it was like amazing.
Yeah.
And it was like one of the more summer months.
And I just remember how good that bowl of ice cream and I got to put all my toppings on it.
But was there a standout dessert that people loved?
The cookie cake.
Yes.
The hot cookie cake.
That one was a must every day, actually, with ice cream.
Yeah.
So it was, you know, it's on a hot Schaefer.
So it's hot, nice and nice and soft.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
That one still hits.
But that was that's the one that for sure, because it wasn't there at the beginning.
It got there around, I think, season five or something.
So once it got there, it was, we couldn't take it out no more.
It had, like this crusty, like I always wanted an edge piece because it would get nice and crispy around the edge.
And that was Steve's favorite dessert.
Steve and I would often meet at these 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 chip cookie dessert.
I loved it.
Oh, yeah.
And also right there in stage three, right?
Yeah.
That was so special because all the cast was, you know, 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.
You know?
Yeah.
I loved it when they would.
The stage was like picture sort of for people listening, like a big aircraft hangar and they would open this giant door and And then they would have these long tables and 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 was this sort of open air, long tables, very communal kind of eating and gathering.
And you would see people from different departments.
You know, you didn't feel isolated like oh, we just do this one thing and we don't interact.
Everybody was like mixing and mingling and talking and asking about each other's kids, or you know, do you have a trip planned?
And it was just a wonderful, big gathering every day.
It was also a great time to like meet crew members' families, because families would come up during lunch and visit.
It was that way that like food brings you together, you know?
Yes.
And it doesn't happen anymore like that in any crew.
I mean, it really doesn't.
You know, the people in their trailers now and, you know, it doesn't happen anymore.
I mean, where everybody, the writers, everybody is there.
It's just mingling.
That's my favorite moment.
They're at stage three, you know, it's just seeing everybody there.
That's right.
You know, family members, kids, all that stuff.
Yeah.
It was cool.
I think I didn't realize how special that was till I went to work on other projects.
And it is sort of like people just kind of grab their food and go.
I'm so thankful we had that.
It kind of felt like Thanksgiving gathering every day.
Every day.
It did.
Yes.
Sergio, this was so wonderful.
Yeah, it's awesome.
Sorry, I'm a little nervous, but yeah.
Oh, you're doing great.
You didn't seem nervous at all.
No, not at all.
Was there anything we missed, Sergio?
Anything you want to share that we didn't cover?
It's nice going back to memory lane and, And you know like, last night I saw the last episode and I cried, you know like, because we were talking about it, and I said let me watch the last episode.
Like, you know, last night I haven't watched in a minute.
It was nice, you know, because it was so real, you know, like.
The real reactions, everything.
I just saw her last night, that's what.
And so, you know, it's nice to come back to memory lane.
Would you watch the show when it was on, Sergio?
Did you guys watch it each week?
I started watching it around season three.
And then, yeah, during when we were working.
And then I'm about to do a rewatch too, though, with you guys.
Soon, because seeing yesterday's episode made me want to, you know what?
I'm going to start this up again, you know?
I own them all.
Yeah.
It'd be nice.
And doing that through the Office League is, Aw, thanks, Sergio.
We've really loved rewatching 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.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You're special to me, too.
Everybody is.
Thank you, Sergio.
Love you.
Thank you so much.
Love you too.
I think you can just hear in Sergio's voice how special the office was to him and cooking and caring for people.
Yeah, we were such a community.
When the three of us were talking.
I feel like you can see how there were not these like distinct cliques of people.
We all blended together.
Yeah.
You know, like he said, looking out on all of us eating, cast, crew, family. producers, writers.
Yeah.
Well, I thought, before we go, you guys, we should hear two of these fakie PSAs that NBC had.
You guys do.
They live on the DVDs and bonus content.
John did too that were food related. and the other is titled Saltines.
Let's hear them.
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.
Do you like dark licorice?
I do not.
I like red licorice.
My mom calls it licwish.
Does she really?
Yeah.
That's so cute.
She says, do you want some licorice?
That's adorable.
Yeah.
Oh, that's like when my mom calls and says, do you want a Facebook?
But she means FaceTime.
All right.
And here's the other one titled saltine.
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.
These are great.
So cute.
And he's so like sincere.
Yes.
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 Rain and BJ and Sergio.
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.
Aw, thanks you guys.
Have a good one.
Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.
Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins.
Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer and our associate producer is Ainsley Bubbico.
Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.
Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.
Our theme song is Repertree by Creed Bratton.
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