About Us

Q: How did the idea of Man in the Kitchen start?
A: The show began in 1995 as a public access effort in Chino, CA. The show was originally designed to encourage men to cook and introduce them to all the “tools” in the kitchen.

Q: What is the history of the show?
A:The show started in Jeff and his wife Donna's home kitchen. After several years of taping with 3 small kids at home Donna said "It's time to get out of the house and into a studio." With the valuable help of Rusty and Randy, we got a kitchen set built and moved into the studio. We continued to work on the shows quality and appeal. Each episode had a series of easy and fun recipes. "Dan the Desert Man" (Dan Underwood) came by at the end of each show to prepare a delicious dessert. January 2000, was a big year for us. The show was picked up by PBS affiliate KVCR. Now the show was no longer a local show but was being broadcasted out to a huge portion of Southern California. WIthin the a year, Donna came on as our director (it's in her blood, her Grandfather was a cameraman for the big studios) and with the help of friends and family we produced 4, 26-show seasons for public television broadcast. We loved every minute of our rigorous schedule.

Q: Are you still taping new shows?
A: Yes we are currently in production for 13 new shows. These shows have a new twist, International cooking made easy. Dad Underwood is back with his dessers. Marit Kams will be joining us as our wine presenter. Pairing wine and spirits with each dish.

Here is a bit of history:
In 2004 we decided to take a break from production in favor of giving our “way-too-fast-growing” children more of our time. We took our kids backpacking on a five-month adventure through Europe (Yes, much of it was culinary oriented). Upon our return, Donna and I decided it was most important to continue giving our children our full attention until they were raised, so we indefinitely halted production of Man in the Kitchen.

Time passes quickly. Our kids are now legal adults. KVCR is has been broadcasting reruns of the show (now titled “Classic Man in the Kitchen”) which airs each Sunday. Media changed drastically during our break. In October of 2010, Donna and I began producing short, on-line cooking videos....once again we are back in our kitchen...this time without 3 little kids running around.

Due to an increse of ratings we have been asked by KVCR to produce new shows. 13 new shows will be ready to air this summer.

Q: How is Man it the Kitchen different from other cooking shows?
A: We differentiate ourselves by making the viewer feel part of the show, as if they were sitting in the studio with us. Our crew is an active part of the show as well (similar to “The Bonnie Hunt Show”).

Have a question for us? Send it to j.baker@maninthekitchen.com
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