I’m pleased to announce that I’m the host of a new restaurant TV show on the CW 57 called “Open Seating.” It’ll be aired several times this week, with times and days listed below. Guests will be from restaurants, bars and specialty stores all over southwestern Wisconsin.

While I’ve been on TV before as a guest, it was interesting to be on the production side. My first meeting with the staff at CW 57 took place in March, when we discussed informally my experience, potential show formats and possible guests. We both decided not too long afterward to move forward with the concept.

In early May, I came into the studio to shoot a promo for potential advertisers. The CW 57 staff then went out to secure sponsorships and begin booking guests, with a target date for the first episode around August or September. In the meantime, I told everyone I could about the show.

By the end of the summer, we booked a few guests, and I returned to the studio in mid-August to shoot a pair of commercials. I decided to wear a suit and tie in those spots, because I thought, what the hell, I’m on TV now, so I’d better look good.

Last week, on a Tuesday afternoon, we filmed our first episode, with guests from Wonder Bar, Koffee Kup, Firehouse Subs and VOM FASS. With some unexpected down times in between guests, it took about four hours to shoot a half-hour episode. We’re hoping to get that down to two hours for four guests.

I had a lot of stuff running through my mind during the interview portion. I obviously had to pay attention to my guests and come up with follow-up questions as needed, I had to remember to try to sit up straight and I had to be cognizant of the time (1 minute left, 30 seconds left, 10 seconds left …). Also, eating and talking is not as easy as it looks on TV, plus it’s challenging to say something other than “this tastes good” after each bite or sip.

There wasn’t a monitor in the studio, so I didn’t actually see what I looked like on camera. Thus, I’m a bit nervous, and I’ll be watching it for the first time like everyone else when it airs this week.

I’m not sure when we’ll actually shoot the second show, as we were happy to get the first episode under our belts. I’ll be posting each episode to EatDrinkMadison.com, and you can see behind-the-scenes photos on our Facebook page and chat with us on Twitter.

Hope you like the show!

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Airing times (CT):

• Sept. 23 – 6:30 a.m., 7 a.m., Noon
• Sept. 24 – 4 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
• Sept. 25 – 8 a.m.
• Sept. 26 – 4 a.m, 1:30 p.m.
• Sept. 27 – 3:30 am., Noon
• Sept. 28 – 4 a.m.