To prepare for his future Emmy-winning performance as Carmy Berzatto in “The Bear,” Jeremy Allen White had to first get into the minds of actual world-class chefs. Speaking with Interview Magazine in 2022, White detailed his process, starting with an apt dive into the literature, such as the writings of chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White.
He later read the 2000 bestseller, “Kitchen Confidential” by the late celebrity chef and media personality Anthony Bourdain. The read not only further informed him on the profession, but also gave White a deeper insight into his troubled character. “I finished Anthony Bourdain’s book, ‘Kitchen Confidential’ and I got really fascinated with the [culinary] world,” White shared. “And my heart really broke for Carmy … His identity was so wrapped up in his profession as a chef and everything was riding on his success. If he failed, I really feel like Carmy felt that he was going to die. And if he succeeded, I really felt like Carmy felt he would have all this glory. So it was a really good place to start with a character.”
Despite Carmy being fictional, having a foundation of real-world figures to build upon was key to making White’s performance believable. But for a show about cooking, reading was far from the last step White needed to get in the right mindset.
White was also trained by an award-winning Chicago chef
Jeremy Allen White’s research didn’t stop with books. To truly get into the physicality of the profession, the actor got his hands dirty in the kitchen. He continued, “I did two weeks at a culinary school in Pasadena. I spent a day at Republique, which is a really wonderful restaurant in Los Angeles on La Brea. And then I spent on and off for about six weeks at a French bistro called Pasjoli, which is in Santa Monica.”
In the weeks he spent at Pasjoli, he learned from one of America’s finest chefs, Dave Beran, who learned the ropes at a prestigious Chicago eatery before opening his own restaurants. White had nothing but praise for Beran, sharing, “Chef Beran really was super supportive — he also got his start in Chicago — so it felt very fitting that I’d be learning from him. I started there just as a fly on the wall, then doing some prep with them during the day. And by the end, I was on the line. I was cooking food that was being served.”
White’s time at Pasjoli instilled the assurance needed when it came to real cooking and serving, adding, “I don’t think I would’ve ever had the confidence to actually step up and start cooking food, but chef Dave Beran gave me the nudge.” And that confidence has given viewers four excellent seasons of television, with a fifth on the way.
