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5 takeaways from TIN Kitchen’s 6 minutes or so of Food Network fame

By Jonathan McFadden

Meet David Stuck. He’s Food Network famous.

He’s also the co-owner of The TIN Kitchen, a Charlotte-based gourmet-style food truck he founded in 2011 with his college bud, Nick Lischerong.

Recently, the TIN Kitchen saw a sharp boost in sales thanks to a 6-minute (ish) appearance on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (aka “Triple D”), a TV show that follows famous chef and TV personality Guy Fieri as he travels the country looking for some of the best greasy-spoon eateries in the U.S.

Charlotte was the stage for a race-themed episode (go figure) and the TIN Kitchen was one of three spots Fieri and NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer tried out. The other two were Pinky’s Westside Grill near uptown and Pit Road Bar and Grill inside Victory Lane Karting off I-85.

Filming was in early March and the episode aired on May 1. Here are some things we can all learn from Stuck’s experience:

1) Show crews are anal: OK, he didn’t use those words exactly … or at all. But Stuck, 32, did describe how meticulous (almost to the point of exhaustion) the show’s crew behaved during filming.

For example, Stuck told us he had to plate a specific dish three or four times so the crew could capture him doing it from different angles.

Not exactly sure how many times he had to do this
Not exactly sure how many times he had to do this

2) Guy Fieri’s all business: The restaurateur/food show host/game show host isn’t a jokester on set.

Yes, he is energetic, Stuck said, but he’s also all business.

“We were working — it’s not like we were socializing,” Stuck said. “He was very much to the point. He knew what he wanted and knew how to get it done quickly.”

3) Always stick to the script: Leave ad-libbing to the seasoned professionals. The crew knew exactly what they wanted Stuck to do and when they wanted him to do it. If he veered away from that formula (even by accident) the whole scene was ruined.

“If I put the onions in first the first time and then the second time, I put the carrots in (first), they would stop,” he said.

OR

“They would have me pick up a dish and then put it down on the cutting board or on the table or whatever. If I didn’t put it in the exact same spot, they would retake it. It had to hit the table at the same angle and the same speed.”

4) TV appearances might help your business: So let’s say you have some kind of moneymaking venture. Chances are, if you score an appearance on a national TV show hosted by a very popular chef with bleached spiky hair, you might make more money.

Stuck experienced record sales last week (at least a 40-percent jump, he said). That means his food truck was making hundreds of dollars each day.

5) Don’t be boring…please

Here’s a business and life lesson: Nothing’s worse than a boring meal or cooking show. Should your culinary skills (or lack thereof — after all, there is a show called “Worst Cooks in America”) make it to the small screen, take this cue from Stuck: Keep your entrees interesting.

Stuck made Fieri and Bowyer two buffalo cauliflower sliders — a concoction of cauliflower, green cabbage, celery root, red onions, parsley, shaved celery, celery seed aioli, olive oil, salt and pepper, buffalo sauce, blue cheese and scallions.

“This is good, really good,” Bowyer remarked as he shamelessly inhaled the sandwich and later gave Stuck a high-five.

Fieri summed it up this way: The sandwich had “good heat” and wasn’t too tender or mushy. The texture, he said, was “awesome.”

Stuck then dazzled Fieri and Bowyer with Chana Masala tacos — stewed chick peas in a coconut curry sauce over date and apricot cous cous, topped with goat cheese and scallions.

“You find The Tin Kitchen, you’re on the right track,” Bowyer said.

See for yourself

You can watch the episode here on the Food Network.

Or, you can save yourself a click and watch it here on C5 (we’d rather you watch it here):

Photos & screenshots courtesy of David Stuck & YouTube

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 1:39 AM with the headline "5 takeaways from TIN Kitchen’s 6 minutes or so of Food Network fame."

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