My Visit To a Taping of ABC's The Chew

Here is a somewhat Food Network-related post with Michael Symon and Mario Batali being co-hosts of The Chew.  Yesterday I made a trip to New York to attend a taping of The Chew.  This was a 12:00pm taping, and was the second show they had filmed that day.  The show aired today, so just wanted let you know how it was and also share a few pictures I was able to get after the show.

• Mario Batali came out before the show and waved to everyone and shook everyone's hand at the tasting table.  When the show was done taping, he exited the stage right away, which is why I don't have any pictures of him.
• Michael Symon came into the crowd before and after the show despite getting into New York on a red-eye flight and filming the second show of the day.  He even sought out people who said they were from Cleveland earlier in the show so he could say hello to them.  He also took a lot of pictures with fans after the show.
• Carla Hall was very interactive with the audience and was dancing with the audience between each commercial break.  She also came into the crowd after the show to talk to people and take photos.
• Daphne Oz gave a little wave to the audience before the show, and she was in the crowd after the show talking to a few fans.
• Clinton Kelly also came into the crowd after the show and was saying hello to fans and taking pictures.

Overall, I was surprised how accessible everyone made themselves.  It was a pretty smooth filming, and took about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.  They filmed straight through and did no retakes or anything.  They did have normal commercial breaks in between where they played music for the audience and made us clap, etc.

Ana Quincoces from the Real Housewives of Miami was the guest on the show that day, and everyone from the audience received a copy of her cookbook - Sabor!: A Passion for Cuban Cuisine to take home as a gift.  They also announced that The Chew would be releasing their second book in September called: The Chew: What's for Dinner?: 100 Easy Recipes for Every Night of the Week.

You were only allowed to take pictures before and after the show.  It was kind of tough to get good pictures with everyone standing up and trying to get to the co-hosts. Here are some pictures I was able to get after the show: