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There is nothing like having friends over for a good meal and conversation. That’s the basis for AMC Networks’ In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin. The series on AMC+ and IFC shows the renowned actor, writer, and entrepreneur Harry Hamlin cooking delicious dishes with his niece and Le Cordon Bleu School-trained chef Renee Guilbault for famous guests. The pair hosted a holiday special with a similar format, which ended up being just the appetizer for what was to come.
Each of the five episodes brings in another star-filled dinner party including Hamlin’s wife Lisa Rinna (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), Ted Danson (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Mary Steenburgen (Book Club), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Tongayi Chirisa (Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches) and Ed Begley Jr. (Better Call Saul) to name a few.
Here Guilbault shares what it was like growing up with her Uncle Harry, working with him, and why things are about to get a little saucy between them.
How did the idea for the concept for the show come about?
Renee Guilbault: As I understand it, one of the wives at AMC was a big fan of Uncle Harry’s very famous appearances on a certain reality show [Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]. She said to her husband, “I think you need to give him a cooking show because I think there is a lot of interest in his cooking.” I think if he was here, he would say that was nuts or bonkers. He called me up saying that AMC wanted to do this cooking show and he told them no. He said, “I’m not a cook.” He says he is a cook with a little “c.” That describes his normal cooking at home. He cooks like everyone else cooks. He just makes the stuff he loves and does his very best.
Harry Hamlin and Renee Guilbault with Lisa Rinna and Bobby Moynihan in In The Kitchen With Harry Hamlin (Season 1, Episode 1). Photo Credit: Michael Moriatis/IFC/AMC
That was where you came in?
He called and asked me if I would do it with him because he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t feel comfortable, but he would give it a shot if I did it. This was not my world. I live on the business side of food. I’m a 30-year industry veteran. I’m not an entertainer. I had watched all these shows and thought, “If there is anything about today’s food programming, I think it stops people from cooking.” It’s performative, competitive and stressful. It’s entertaining, but it doesn’t necessarily create an environment that invites people to want to try this stuff and reconnect with food a lot of time.
From there we talked about how we could make this meaningful and impactful and really do something that would help people reconnect with the joy of cooking and make it a lot easier for them in the kitchen. If we could do something like that for them, I was in for it. AMC was so thrilled about that. They worked for a really long time. I’d say more than a year and a half to develop the show. They brought in 9.14 Pictures to give it a documentary feel. It’s so sweet. I think they accomplished the mission to help inspire people to remember the sweetness, hijinks, and hilarity of cooking, especially when things go wrong.
What was it like filming together? How comfortable did he make you feel?
I have to say I had a leg up in this because it was their home. It’s Uncle Harry and Lisa’s house. I’d been there a lot over the years. It’s the only one that has been the same from the age of 3 and onward. I was barefoot in the kitchen cooking with my uncle. That on its own created this sense of ease. I think also having the support of AMC we have to show the stuff that goes wrong. We have to show the stuff that is not perfect so people see that they are very normal in their experience of many things going wrong. There is the natural conversation and ridiculousness that unfolds in the process of preparing food. Then getting ready for the dinner party and then having the dinner party.
I loved seeing one of the scenes with Mary and Ted doing the dishes. All the guests seem to be having a lot of fun. Who were some of your favorites?
For me, it was more about who was coming to dinner and how many. Do we have any food allergies or sensitivity and then figure out the menu around it? All of the menus and recipes were things that came from me and Uncle Harry. We spent a lot of time thinking about how to bring food to the table to delight each group of guests. I’m from the world of mere mortals where we don’t have celebrities knocking at the door and showing up for roast chicken dinner. That element is the Hamlin household. They are also people who just enjoy gathering and connecting and telling stories.
I loved knowing Dean Norris had a restaurant in Temecula called the Swing Inn Cafe & BBQ. He has taken this leap in the world of food. In my world. Here he was one of the only good people in Breaking Bad. Then now he is in the food world. Then hearing the stories from Mary and Ted about how food was a really important part of what launched them into their careers. Mary was working as a server in New York when she got her big break. Ted Danson was following a love interest who was from I think his college campus cafeteria. He just happened to get into an interview. Food is just a beautiful connector that we don’t give it the credit that it deserves. It always shows up in our lives and guides us in these twists and turns.
How would you describe your dynamic?
When there is time we like to cook. There are not often moments throughout the years when we can have a couple of weeks and cook together and figure stuff out. I always say Uncle Harry is integrity-forward. He cares deeply about everything he does and brings this element of focus to it. He is not going to do something he doesn’t agree with or like. That plays out on the show where I can push him in a certain direction. I’m also the kind of chef that wants to create an open door. There is more than one way of doing things. Just because I was trained a certain way, that doesn’t mean it’s the only way. It’s an important message for people as they are cooking. Let’s figure this out and get there. Wherever it needs up, even if it’s a little bit different than we started with, we’re going to get there and it’s going to be amazing.
Harry Hamlin and Renee Guilbault in In The Kitchen With Harry Hamlin (Season 1, Episode 1). Photo Credit: Michael Moriatis/IFC/AMC
What are some memories you have growing up and realizing your uncle was famous?
He was really good about just letting me have my imagination as a child. I was age 3 when my mom married Uncle Harry’s brother. He just came into the family in these moments as Uncle Harry. We had no idea. We’re kids. I do remember Clash of the Titans being a really big thing for me because I was obsessed with horses. I’d never seen a flying horse with wings. Seeing this beautiful and this gorgeous majestic creature. Then knowing he got to ride it, I would pepper him with questions. He always let me believe that Pegasis was at home in the stable sleeping. It was this in-between where I didn’t understand, but he was precious in that he kept those dreams going. I think he was more famous and elevated when we would go to dinner and get interrupted because people wanted him to sign a napkin. That was probably when it came into my consciousness. It was a slow realization because he was just Uncle Harry.
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You have a sauce coming out together. What can you tell me about that venture?
I can’t tell you too much about it because it’s still in development. He came to me a while ago and said, “Look I want to bring my sauce to the market. Everyone asks me about my sauce.” This kind of ridiculous storyline unfolded on the reality show Lisa was on for eight years. It became almost a main character. It was ridiculous, but also his sauce is really good. He has perfected it over many decades. I think he tried for a while to figure out how to do this. It’s not his world. He is an entrepreneur, has an incredible energy company, and has degrees from Yale. He is so many more things in his world than just being this incredibly gifted actor.
He wanted to do it properly and well. We’ve been working on this for a year to figure out what was the best way to bring this sauce to market with integrity so it’s impactful for the home cooks and have that experience of Uncle Harry’s magic. We want to do it in the right way where it’s meaningful and does make a difference and not just a celebrity thing that comes out and haha, let’s fight over the sauce. We are so thrilled and can’t wait to share more about the project, but he really is the King of Bolognese. It will be a fun adventure for him into food.
Have you caught the bug to do more TV?
I live in the world of the business of food. I have a consulting company. I write books and my team works on problems that every kind of food business deals with, whether it’s independently owned and operated or a huge corporate conglomerate. They need solutions. I think in this particular season of life, in terms of work, it’s all about impact and passing the baton, and helping others along the way.
Whether it’s writing a book “A Taste of Opportunity,” which is a career and development leadership guide for the food world to swing the door open and help people along the way to let them know they aren’t the only ones experiencing this and how to navigate careers. It’s the same for the client work we do and this show. To help people in the kitchen. That’s how I evaluate and frame projects. If it’s going to help someone and be impactful and fun, then I’m in for it. Those are the criteria I look for projects. We’ll see. I’m grateful and pleased AMC was so supportive and drove this process of producing a show we’re deeply proud of. I think it hit all of those buckets.
In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin, Wednesdays, 10/9c, AMC+ and IFC