Dinner: Impossible

By Debra Minor Wilson
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT September 05, 2008 01:01 am

— Riding on his motorcycle, with a flaming skull tattooed on his left leg, Michael Symon looks like he’s some sort of tough guy to be feared.
But he isn’t. He has a sparkling twinkle in his eye and impish giggle ... and as owner and executive chef of two Cleveland restaurants and as one of the Food Network’s Iron Chefs, a unique way with food.
He’s also the new host of that network’s “Dinner: Impossible” series and found himself in Grafton on May 7, preparing a dinner for 500 invited guests at a family picnic at the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
True to the show’s premise, Symon had no idea where he was going, how many people he was cooking for or even what food he was going to prepare.
The Grafton episode will air at 10 p.m. Wednesday on the Food Network. Check local listings.
“They contacted us about doing the show,” said Marcia Slaven, new program coordinator for the shrine.
The shrine is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the creation of Mother’s Day.
“They came because of that,” she said. “And we were delighted.”
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture provided a farmer’s market of locally grown meats, fruits and vegetables to augment supplies gotten from local grocery stores.
MountainMade created a complete outdoor storefront for Food Network and Grafton residents to browse and shop.
Teleflora, the corporate sponsor of the Mother’s Day anniversary, provided large baskets for each mother attending the picnic, and floral arrangements.
The West Virginia Division of Tourism and West Virginia Film Office coordinated with Food Network to facilitate the show’s production.
“They helped us enormously,” she said.
Homer-Laughlin china made and donated specially made FiestaWare Mother’s Day dessert plates for all 500 guests.
The plates were so popular that more were ordered, Slaven said, and are being sold for $10 each at the shrine.
“We had an indescribable response from the community,” she said.
“We were told not to say a word about it. They wanted to keep it a surprise. We did the best we could,” she said.
But Grafton is a small town, and word soon spread that the popular TV show with its new host was coming to town.
“We are looking forward to seeing the episode so much.”
Chairman Sally Thayer and then program coordinator Cindi Mason “worked very hard coordinating the event,” Slaven added.
“It was exciting, a big boost for us here. The whole year has been down economically. We believe we got the word out about the 100th anniversary. That’s why they contacted us.
“I’d seen ‘Dinner: Impossible’ a few times, and I always enjoyed it,” Slaven said.
An extra delight was West Virginia first lady Gayle Manchin as the official greeter for Chef Symon and his mother.
“We have no idea what will be in the episode, but we know it will be nice,” Slaven said.
The food, to no surprise, “was excellent,” she said.
“Everyone seemed to enjoy it greatly.”
She didn’t get to meet Symon personally.
“He was surrounded. I was the floating greeter of guests as they came in. That was my function.
“I’m not sure how they learned about us. Teleflora has some national advertisement about Mother’s Day and the anniversary. Maybe they seized on that.
“This was a good reflection on the whole state. This has nothing to do with the picnic, but we all noted that Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and even Grandparent’s Day started in the state.
“You could say we are a family-valued state.”
The shrine, the former Andrews Methodist Church, no longer functions as a church.
“We try to promote the welfare and elevate the status of mothers with free educational programs all the time, not just this year,” she said.
“We were limited to inviting 500 people. That was a little tough. A lot more than 500 wanted to come, but it was by invitation only.
“That was the hardest part. We really wanted to invite the public, but the Food Network suggested we do it that way.”
The entire event celebrated mothers, from the invited moms eating picnic food on the grounds of the shrine to even Symon’s own mother, who helped her son in the makeshift kitchen.
“And Mrs. Manchin came from Charleston to help. She’s been our official spokesperson this year and has really helped out a lot.”
People came from the entire area and even from Charleston.
“We were very pleased with the crowd of people who came.”
Whenever show business comes to West Virginia, the West Virginia Division of Tourism and Film Office are there with a friendly smile and helping hand.
So even before the Food Network rolled into Grafton for the surprise “Dinner: Impossible” shoot, those offices already had plans in motion, said Jamie Cope, location services manager for the West Virginia Film Office.
His job involves finding locations for film, TV programs and commercials, and commercial still photography that comes to the state.
“The Mother’s Day Shrine contacted us after the Food Network contacted them,” Cope said. “We serve as the liaison between West Virginia properties and the outside production company.
“If either has any questions, we try to answer.”
Was this a legitimate request, the shrine board of trustees wanted to know. If it was, what did they do next?
“We stepped in. We didn’t have a lot of lead time,” just about a week or two, he said.
The office really didn’t have a lot it needed to do, he added.
“A lot of programs like this are fairly self-contained. Shows like ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ and Food Network shows usually come to town with a pretty good game plan. They’ve done this before, maybe just not in West Virginia.
“They don’t need quite as much help as a feature film crew would,” he said.”
“These guys definitely know what they’re doing, but you can’t beat someone from the community when you need to know where to buy a roll of tape, for example.
“We were there to assist on site with any questions that came up from the folks in Grafton, what they could expect and so on.
“A lot of time we’re involved with road closures with other productions, but in this case, so much of the town was involved so the people who were needed were there.”
Still, it was exciting for the Food Network to visit the birthplace of Mother’s Day, he said.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for the state to showcase one of our beautiful locations and one of the great historic things we’re associated with. How better to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day than to have a TV show about it?
“The only way it could have been better was to be live, but that would have been a logistics nightmare.”
Unfortunately, he was so busy he didn’t get any of the savory food Chef Symon and his crew dished out.
“I was there the whole day and part of the day before. We helped with setting up the handouts, like the dishes from Homer-Laughlin.
“Personally, I thought it was great. The professionalism of the crew was great. The fact that they hired locals to work was a really nice bonus for them and for us.
“The show itself will bring more attention to the holiday. I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t like Mother’s Day.”
Even if you were at the picnic, you’ll want to tune in Wednesday at 10 p.m.
“I don’t want to give away the ending, but it’s very reminiscent of a town social. I’m not from this community, but I could see it was genuine and a real community-building experience.”
He didn’t meet Chef Symon.
“I spoke with him, but outside of being polite and saying, ‘Hi,’ nothing more than that.”
That really doesn’t bother him.
“At the film office, we have to know when we’re needed and when to stay out of the way. They had a lot of work to do.
“Few people are aware of how much is going on in the state. You’d be surprised,” he said.
“Last year the Italian ‘Vogue’ magazine came to Cass (Scenic Railroad) for a shoot ... and didn’t shoot a single train. Country singer Brad Paisley shot a video in his hometown of Glen Dale.
“And we’re in discussions with other cable programs on a regular basis. It’s too early to talk about that. But a lot of shows come through here.”
E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.

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