The time grows near – this coming Saturday, November 20th is the premier of The Polish Cooking Show, produced by yours truly, the Great & Wonderful Rikki Lee Travolta – man, myth, legend, and all-around cool cat. As you can tell I’ve been taking my modesty pills. (If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?)
For the past year I have been working on a project that has come to mean deal to me. At the beginning of 2021, my partners and I came up with the idea of television cooking show based off of an old Polish tradition:
When a young Polish man gets married, it is his mother’s duty to take her new daughter-in-law under her wing and teach her the family recipes and the traditions and history that go with them.
I took this concept and scripted it into a network pitch. Much to our delight, WTTW in Chicago fell in love with the idea – thus starting me on the path of becoming a television producer.
I have poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into bringing the show from concept to creation. And I’m proud to say the moment to shine has arrived!
The Polish Cooking Show’s pilot episode airs at 11 AM Central throughout Chicagoland on WTTW this Saturday. Check local provider for channel information. Please plan to watch!
GREAT NEWS for those who don’t have access to WTTW . You can stream the show free of charge Nov. 20 and thereafter at:
https://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/562943/The-Polish-Cooking-Show/
I truly hope you’ll make plans to watch The Polish Cooking Show with me.
Here’s something interesting you might not know about PBS. PBS shows are provided by sponsors. For a fraction of the cost of commercial advertising, sponsors are intimately paired with bringing a specific program to national audiences.
We are currently trying to decide who the right national sponsors should be for The Polish Cooking Show. The success of this show is because we listen to people like you. So, if you have a suggestion – even if it’s your own company – I’d love to hear from you. I’m all for giving everyone a shot. My contact information and details about the show are available at www.ThePolishCookingShow.com
The Polish Cooking Show has all the makings of a hit. We have two charismatic cooks in the kitchen, providing a glimpse into Polish American life both past and present. And the food is delicious!
The Polish Cooking Show is special to me, as well, as that it put me in touch with a culture that I didn’t know I belonged to.
The beauty of Polish culture has always been apparent to me, but from the prospective of an outsider. Only after beginning work on the show did I find out one of my paternal grandparents was Polish. What a delightful surprise!
Learning that I have Polish lineage gave even more meaning to this project. It also means playing Tennessee Williams’ signature Polish character Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire now becomes of particular interest to me as well.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll produce it for television.
Peace. Love. Trust.
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