Dinner is never planned. Ideally, a shooting day lasts 12 hours, so
another meal is not required by the union if the shoot breaks on time.
However, if a shooting day runs long, the caterer may be called upon at
the last minute to feed the cast, crew, and even extras.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
Catering is a tough field to break into. Hanna advises that the first step
is to "participate." He suggests, "Take production assistant work just to
get around filmmaking. If you want to go the catering end, culinary
school is a wonderful way, but I also believe in real world work ethics.
I would encourage you to spend time working at one of your favorite
restaurants. I would certainly suggest going to work for another motion
picture catering firm. There are
a lot out there, more so in
California. The catering done
on location out of these trucks
is extremely specific. It's not
something you're going to
learn in school or at your
favorite restaurant. However,
those two places will give you
the skills needed when you get
the opportunity to go on a
movie set."
Professional Profile:
Joe Hanna,
President/Executive Chef,
Hanna Brothers
"I got into filmmaking
through culinary arts," says Joe
Hanna. Growing up in south-
ern Florida, he discovered his
love for food preparation at an
early age. "My grandmothers
were wonderful chefs in their
own right. My dad's mother
was a very traditional Lebanese cook and had 20 people eating in her
home every night. My mom's mom was a very southern Irish chef, a very
traditional pot roast type of cook. I like both of my grandmothers a lot
and enjoyed spending time with them. When I spent time with them,
we cooked."
What do you like
least about your job?
"What I like least about
catering is that you'll go
to some foreign desert
sometimes for 15, 16,
or 17 weeks and work
100 hours a week and never slow down."
--Joe Hanna
What do you love most
about your job?
"What I love most about my job is being able
to travel and being exposed to so much
culture. I also like the personalities you get
to meet and work with on a daily basis.
People in film are usually glowing, radiant,
and wonderful, special people. They usually
feel they are very blessed to be in their posi-
tion and in turn treat you very kindly. It's a
very family feeling on a movie set. That's
what I like most about it."--Joe Hanna
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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