By Valerie Milano
Gulf Shores, AL (The Hollywood Times) 5/16/24 – Introducing Tastemade’s latest culinary venture: Kitchen Glow Up, a captivating original series set to transform the heart of every home into a chef’s haven. Led by the multifaceted talent of Ellen Bennett – renowned chef, designer, and founder of Hedley & Bennett – each episode embarks on a journey to revitalize kitchens with a keen eye for both aesthetics and functionality. From catering to the needs of a growing family to decluttering the sentimental spaces of long-cherished family homes, Ellen and her team dive into the unique narratives woven within each kitchen. The result? A spectacular transformation that not only elevates the culinary experience but also celebrates the homeowners’ emotional connection to their beloved spaces.
Amidst the illusion of effortless transformations created by TV magic and editing, where makeover shows condense renovations into 50 minutes or less, lies the truth: it takes longer than 50 minutes! For Ellen and her team however, they were able to complete kitchen renovations on the show in about 2 weeks. Bennet asserts, “There’s many layers to reconstructing a kitchen! You can do a light deconstruction, or you can do a mega deconstruction. In our case, we did 8 kitchens in 3 and a half months, and we spent about 2 weeks per kitchen- there was one that was a little bigger and ended up being a 4-week project- but 2 weeks is pretty radical! That is a fast turnaround for a full change, and I think it was to prove to ourselves that it’s possible.”
The Hollywood Times had the opportunity to talk with Ellen about her new show. Enjoy the conversation:
Along with the construction aspect of Kitchen Glow Up, the preliminary meetings with the family and the ‘purge’ of their kitchen are the next biggest hurdle of the renovation process. Ellen recalls, “The selected families end up moving out of their homes; either renting an Airbnb or staying with friends. The idea is that the family will purge the entire kitchen with me, and we go through all of their stuff while talking about the items they would like to keep and not keep. We put the items into different zones so that they can visually see what they have; people don’t realize what they have until we lay it all out for them and it’s kind of mind-blowing. There was one lady on the show who was about 75 years old, and she had about 40 years of entertaining products in her house. I saw her as everyone’s mom in the sense that they hold on to different things for sentimental value. It’s quite the journey navigating the purge with some people. Once I get them to purge, then I get them to leave. From there, it’s all in our hands. We have to take all of the items that they want to keep, and we have to figure out, ‘where the heck does it all go, how does it fit, and how does it function better than what they had before?’ This is where all of my years of being a professional cook come in and we get really, really, nerdy and start actually doing the work!”
Set to debut on Tuesday, May 28th at 7:00 PM on the Tastemade streaming channel, Kitchen Glow Up promises to be a feast for the senses, offering viewers an exclusive glimpse into the art of kitchen reinvention without breaking the bank. Can’t catch it live? Fear not – the series is also available ad-free and on-demand with Tastemade+, ensuring accessibility for all culinary enthusiasts, anytime, anywhere.
