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When chef Brooke Williamson signed on for MTV's "House of Food," it was to teach. As is so often the case with teachers, she wound up learning. "I learned how to approach situations differently," she says. "I come from a place of being a very understanding person in a kitchen. I started out in kitchens knowing nothing. But to understand where they were coming from and why they were there, I had to be harder on them than I normally would be on someone with no experience. They had to be broken down a little bit. They felt like they had won this opportunity, but I did not know yet if they deserved it." The Monday show combines elements of reality shows where all contestants live together with learning to cook from experienced chefs. Some participants had no idea it was such hard work; others didn't take it seriously enough. "I teach all the time in my kitchen, but I teach people who have experience," Williamson says. "We have interns who we stick on the side and do prep work and knife work. These people were depending on us to be functional people in a restaurant and had absolutely no knowledge." Williamson learned by doing. "I did not go to culinary school," she says. "I trained in kitchens in L.A. with some great chefs. I attended a cooking school at 15, but I never did serious classic training." She and her husband, chef Nick Roberts, have three Los Angeles-area restaurants. "Hudson House is a cocktail-driven gastro pub," she says of the restaurant named after their son, Hudson. "The Tripel is a very, very small craft beer-focused (eatery) and another sort of informal but upscale bar meal. And Playa Provisions is four concepts." Called Playa because it's across the street from the beach, it offers an ice cream shop, a seafood restaurant, a backroom whiskey bar and a sit-down restaurant. Like anyone who loves a good meal, Williamson's willing to travel. Just how far would she go? "I would go across the world," she says. "I have yet to go to Asia, which is embarrassing to me because Asian food is my favorite food to eat. I am dying to go to Japan and eat phenomenal sushi." BROOKE WILLIAMSON stews a little over novice cooks •What did you have for dinner last night? "I had tomato soup out of the box. I went to Trader Joe's. I was out of milk for my son. I had the organic tomato soup and the bag of Ruggedly Adventurous Cowboy Bark." •What is always in your refrigerator? "Peanut butter, sparkling water, almond milk, yogurt and carrots." •What do you hate to cook? "Artichokes. They are my favorite vegetable on the planet to eat, and I hate cooking them." •What is the best thing you make? "Braises and stews are my thing. I love making braised chicken and braised short ribs and beef cheeks." BY JACQUELINE CUTLER BEST NEW 2013-14 COMEDIES "Back in the Game" (ABC) Maggie Lawson and James Caan did excellent work as a long-estranged daughter and father in this canceled, baseball-themed sitcom that should have been given more of a chance. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox) First-year Golden Globe Award wins for the show and star Andy Samberg have ensured this police comedy will be around for a while. "Enlisted" (Fox) Military comedies surely are nothing new, but this one had a solid cast going for it ... including Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell and Parker Young as soldier brothers and the ever-great Keith David as their gruff commander. "The Goldbergs" (ABC) As if the treat of seeing George Segal weekly wasn't enough, this '80s-set show inspired by the boyhood of series creator Adam F. Goldberg (played by the appealing Sean Giambrone) also boasts great work by Jeff Garlin and Wendi McLendon-Covey as the household rulers. "Ground Floor" (TBS) Producer Bill Lawrence can do edgy humor with the best of them, but the underlying sweetness of the romance between the main characters (played by Skylar Astin and Briga Heelan) gives this show more. "Kirstie" (TV Land) She's actually playing someone named Maddie, but Kirstie Alley is right in her element as a brassy Broadway diva learning to become an instant mom. "The Millers" (CBS) There's enormous pleasure in seeing such proven talents as Beau Bridges and Margo Martindale hit home runs in the course of this effort. "Mom" (CBS) Anna Faris and Allison Janney make a terrific team as a rough-around-the-edges daughter and mother in the latest comedy from proven hit maker Chuck Lorre. "Silicon Valley" (HBO) Mike Judge's take on the tech world, informed by his own experiences in it, scored big enough early enough to earn a second season quickly. "Surviving Jack" (Fox) Another comedy with a background in nostalgia – 1990s-based in this case – this series has an ace in Christopher Meloni as an unapologetic Mr. Mom who makes life challenging for his teenagers. Kirstie Alley BY JAY BOBBIN Anna Faris Andy Samberg 8 The Goshen News • TV Spotlight • May 19-25, 2014

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