Tarbell dishes on PBS show ‘Plate & Pour’
A new year means new beginnings, and that certainly holds true for Mark Tarbell, who will host a new television show launching soon on Arizona PBS.
“Plate & Pour” debuts on Jan. 10 and will air at 7 p.m. Thursdays on Channel 8 (KAET).
Tarbell, who has appeared on Food Network shows including “Iron Chef America,” hosted the last two seasons of “Check, Please! Arizona” on Channel 8. Despite its popularity, the show was canceled this year after the eighth season.
The decision came from a desire to improve the station’s food programming to keep pace with the Valley’s growing dining community, according to Joe Giordano, communications manager at Arizona PBS.
“(Phoenix) really has evolved into a food hub, so when we were looking at the show, we wanted something that was fresh and new and really up with the food scene,” he said.
“Plate & Pour” was created to showcase the culture behind the Valley’s best dining experiences. It also gives host Tarbell a chance to be out on location, interacting with chefs and restaurant owners like himself.
“I’ve done a bunch of TV and I have to say this is the most fun I’ve ever had,” said Tarbell, owner of Tarbell’s, the Tavern and the Wine Store in Phoenix.
Here are five things to know about “Plate & Pour” before you tune in.
The show is story-driven
“Plate & Pour” will take diners behind the scenes of two restaurants in every 30-minute episode. This new format allows the show to dig deeper into the stories behind a local restaurant, chef or dish.
“I’ve known a lot of these chefs, but this is an opportunity for discovery, and for spending time with these chefs and getting to know them more intimately,” Tarbell said.
The longer format means more “in-depth looks,” said Margery Punnett, segment producer of “Plate & Pour.” Some episodes will profile a chef or restaurant, while others will share the history of a specific dish.
“I won’t say the restaurant,” Punnett teased, “but in one episode, we just have a great story of tiramisu.”
The first season was filmed in Phoenix
Over the eight seasons it aired, “Check, Please! Arizona” visited restaurants not only in Phoenix, but also in Flagstaff, Tuscon and other cities around the state.
For the first season of “Plate & Pour,” which started filming in August, things will be focused in metro Phoenix.
“The main thing is to celebrate what’s happening right now in the Valley,” Tarbell said.
Future seasons will travel around Arizona Although the first season stays close to home, Tarbell expects to expand the show’s coverage beyond metro Phoenix in future seasons.
“The intention is to celebrate Arizona as a foodie state,” Tarbell said.
Producers want viewer feedback
Many fans of “Check, Please! Arizona” loved seeing viewers like them on their TV screens. While there won’t be the same opportunity for direct viewer participation in “Plate & Pour,” the team wants to make sure the audience is being heard.
“We want the show to grow within the community,” Tarbell said. “We want to know about what the community is talking about.”
To that end, each episode will include a call out for viewers to share suggestions for where to send the host, according to Punnett.
Spoiler alert: Phoenix chef confirmed
Tarbell and Punnett are pretty tight-lipped about what restaurants and chefs will appear in the first 13episode season. But they confirmed that Hidden Kitchen and chef Ivan Jacobo are included.
In early 2019, the 26-year-old chef will open his first restaurant at Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix, in the space that housed The Rose & Crown Pub.
Jacobo currently hosts pop-up dinners around the Valley. In one episode, Tarbell follows him through the process of pulling off one of these underground dining experiences at Bentley Projects, a warehouse gallery space south of downtown.
“He’s a wonderful guy and he’s got a great story and he’s had to struggle to get to where he is, but he’s also so thoughtful,” Tarbell said of Jacobo. “I’m now a huge fan of his, if I’m allowed to say that.”