Film Food

by Dorothy Woodend

Jerry Wise has a theory about life. “Life is like a restaurant,” he says. “Out front are the presentable people: the waiters, the hostess, the people who look good. In the back, out of sight, are all the freaks and weirdoes hiding out in the kitchen.” If you apply this analogy to the film-catering kitchen, out front are the beautiful people, Hollywood’s luminous humanity, and somewhere tucked away in a kitchen no bigger than a closet are the freaks and weirdoes who feed them.

Wise started working as a film caterer for Location Caterers in 1989 with a two-week stint on Narrow Margin, a long-forgotten thriller starring Gene Hackman. He got the call because Location needed extra help and because his brother, Gordie, was already working there.

“I started on a whim,” he says. “I thought, ‘I’ll do this until I figure out something else.’ I made more money in that two weeks than I had in the previous two months. And I thought, ‘Hey! This is the cat’s ass!’”

Over the years the brothers have cooked for many famous faces, including Gary Oldman, Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson, Jack Lemmon, Demi Moore, Cybill Shepherd. And the list goes on. With all those celebrity bellies to fill, you’d think there’d be plenty of star hysterics and lurid tales of Hollywood Babylon; however, both brothers say it’s not the talent who are the problem but the people around them: the hangers-on, the hair and makeup people, “the eight family members who show up on set one day and all want a special diet”.

Sometimes it’s the smallest names who are the most demanding. “The newbies are great,” Jerry says, “because they’re just happy to have a job, and the really big people are nice because they’ve learned the hard way. 3000 Miles to Graceland was the most fun I’ve ever had on a job. I thought it was