Yahoo News Ramy Youssef on Why It’s “Kind of Sad” He Got to Cook at One of the World’s Best Restaurants While Directing ‘The Bear’
Ramy Youssef recently opened up about his experience directing the “Honeydew” episode of The Bear season two, which saw Lionel Boyce’s Marcus journey to Copenhagen to create three items for The Bear’s dessert menu.
The Poor Things star stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! and explained that while helming the episode, he and Boyce were able to spend a day working at Noma, which was voted the best restaurant in the world every year from 2010-12 and then again in 2014.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
CAS Awards: 'Oppenheimer,' 'The Last of Us,' 'The Bear' Among Winners
Matty Matheson Shares Why He Refused to Play a Chef on 'The Bear'
SAG Awards: 'Oppenheimer' and 'The Bear' Score Three Wins Apiece
“They let me and Lionel work there for a day, which we’ve never [done],” Youssef told Jimmy Kimmel. “We got to work from the beginning of the day, all the way through dinner service. We got to prep. We got to serve people food and make plates.”
He continued, “It’s really kind of sad actually because it’s a table that some people wait a year for, and I thought people would be truly devastated if they knew, after a year, I made their food. This food has been prepared by a comedian.”
The comedian worked with The Bear co-showrunner Christopher Storer before he landed the gig on the FX and Hulu Emmy-winning series. Storer was an executive producer on Youssef’s self-titled comedy show, Ramy, and helmed some of its episodes as well as his upcoming comedy special Ramy Youssef: More Feelings.
Youssef recalled that, while helping in the kitchen at Noma, the chef eventually phased him and Boyce out, so that he could take over again.
“I think I was also getting definitely under his skin because I’ve worked in food once before at Panera Bread, and we’d be in the middle of something really intense, and I’d say you know this reminds me of Panera, and nobody wanted to hear that,” he said, laughing. “I kept saying it and certain people would slowly distance themselves from me, like Lionel was with me, and Lionel would be like he’s about to talk about Panera [and move away].”
In a previous conversation with The Hollywood Reporter tied to the episode, Boyce detailed what it was like working with Youssef, explaining that it was the first time someone besides Storer or co-showrunner Joanna Calo directed an episode of the series. The actor noted that he knew Storer wanted to make the episode feel different, which is why they brought the comedian on to helm and used a different director of photography for it.
“I love Ramy because he has a childlike wonder in the way he approaches things. So the things he cared about were different from things that we would talk to Chris about,” Boyce said. “Ramy’s like, ‘Let’s get in the groove, and we may make a detour somewhere, and then let’s explore that detour.'”
The Bear cast, including Boyce, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott and Matty Matheson, are currently filming season three. Edebiri is also set to make her directorial debut on an episode in the upcoming season.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
