5 Hacks For Landing Yourself a Guest Pass to Reality Food TV Shows

By Anna Monette Roberts
Fox
Fox

Have you ever dreamed of dining at Hell's Kitchen or wanted to be a guest on the set of your favorite reality food show? I reached out to a source who gave us some excellent insider info on how to score a guest pass . . . as well as how to manage your expectations once you're finally on the set. Be warned: you may not get fed (for hours or even not at all), so don't go hungry.

  1. Befriend someone — anyone — working on the show. They have access to the booking team and can make sure you get invited to a taping.
  2. Check Twitter! Top Chef: California actually invited a ton of their guests via social media, and the first to respond were rewarded with trying out some tasty food.
  3. Craigslist? Yep, interestingly enough it's a great place to post anonymous and vague invites that result in a myriad of adventurous guests who are game for anything.
  4. On Hell's Kitchen, you may or may not actually get fed. While there is a full culinary staff of professional chefs working behind the scenes to get the restaurant up and running each night, the kitchen on the show is still the main kitchen. When Gordon yells, "Kitchen closed," that's it. It's the gamble of visiting HK.
  5. One of the best episodes of Top Chef Just Desserts was season 2, episode 4, when they created a room of Pure Imagination based entirely in the mind of Willy Wonka. As a guest, while you might be waiting in holding for hours somewhere on a studio lot, once you enter the "scene" they've set up, you really are walking into a magical experience where you can and are encouraged to fulfill all your kid-like desires.