Close to the Bone: Surgeons and Chefs

Richard W.C. Hu, M.D., FRCSC
Calgary, AB

Culture is what your butcher would have if he were a surgeon

Mary Pettibone Poole

It’s only natural – orthopaedic surgery and anatomy mixed with culinary techniques and cuts of meat. Put it together into a TV show and you have Close to the Bone: Surgeons and Chefs.

Well, when I dreamed up this crazy idea I had similar thoughts. So many TV shows and TV channels. So few good TV programmes. All I had to do was make the show and I would be in TV show making heaven.

What kind of a crazy idea was this? In late 2001, Food TV was on the rise with the advent of celebrity chefs. I love cooking and I love eating more than I love cooking. So, many a night was spent in front of the TV watching Emeril “bamming!!” his food, and Tony Bourdain eating deep fried crickets in some far off place.

And then came “Cook Life a Chef” and I found things to be strangely familiar. The stainless steel tables, and the discussion of knife techniques was so reminiscent of the operating room that there was a sudden “Eureka” moment. Surgeons and chefs are alike, like apricots and pears, like cornmeal and polenta, similar but different. Then the leap to creating a TV show with surgeons and chefs was simple and linear. Chefs like knives, surgeons like knives. Chefs know what part of the carcass is good and what part is not – so do surgeons. Surgeons are sticklers for details in a procedure, as are chefs. If things go badly, surgeons and chefs have to improvise and continue to the end of the process.

Thus was born Close to the Bone: Surgeons and Chefs. But truth be known, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. Next step, find someone who knows what they’re doing and get them to help you. Few orthopaedic surgeons have friends who are TV producers. I had to ask anyone I met whether they knew anyone in the “business”. No luck – no producer friends. However, I finally did find someone who knew someone in the business. Mark (who recently got into medical school) was the OR desk clerk and is a part-time actor and he knew these guys Jeff and Doug.

Jeff and Doug were reluctant to meet me and (I think) thought this concept to be really strange. They did hear me out (maybe because I still am a doctor and profess to be sane). They decided that they would help me. I didn’t have to beg too much, and there wasn’t that much dust on my pants when I stood up from my knees.

A casting call for auditions was sent out and we hired Allan Shewchuk (a cooking instructor, actor and a lawyer and Queen’s Counsel – probably too smart and talented for the show). Oh yeah we needed surgeons.

Surgeons are not easy to pin down for their time commitments. It’s hard enough to try to get some busy surgeon to the clinic on time, let alone ask him to devote a day to sweating and cooking under the hot lights of a TV set.

Choosing surgeons to be guests on the show was initially very hard and most who I asked thought I was joking. After the first few tapings, the feedback was very good and the final few guests actually came looking to enjoy themselves. Now, it’s hard to walk the halls of work without someone or other offering me their recipes and ideas on how to incorporate their particular specialty into the show. Think about what kind of meat a cardiac surgeon would cook, or a plastic surgeon. Sort of boggles the mind sometimes.

Filming the show was actually easier than I thought, other than the early mornings showing up at the set prepping food for that day’s cooking. That was a lot like scut work and doing early morning rounds. At least at the end of the morning there was lots of food and we knew exactly how our lunch had been made, for better or for worse.

The hardest part of the whole process took place after the completion of production. No one wanted to buy the show and put it on TV. Lots of people were interested in the concept and the media attention was surprising, but no one wanted it on their network. I wonder why? I guess that orthopaedics is not the only conservative industry that is wary of change. TV land, in my opinion, is even slower to adapt new ideas. Fortunately, Canadian Learning Television felt strongly enough about the show to begin airing it on Tuesday nights at 10:30 pm eastern.

One channel down, 499 left in the universe to go.

Figure Legends

Hu1: On the set of “Close to the Bone”.

Hu2: Host, Allan Shewchuk

Hu3: Dr. Rick Hu is ready to cook.