Recipe Philly is holding a contest for amateur chefs to get their dishes on its menu

Emilie Dormer, a 30-year-old middle school English Teacher at North Penn School District, never thought an Instagram account where she reviews hot dogs could help launch her into food stardom. 

But after being direct messaged by a casting agent, she stood in line outside of the Pennsylvania Convention Center with hundreds of other amateur chefs to audition for “Recipe Philly,” hoping to be on a reality TV show that’s seeking to select 30 homemade dishes to put on the menu of a new Center City restaurant.

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“I’ve never thought of myself as a chef … but I’ve always been a foodie and it’s always brought my family together,” Dormer said. “I learned that Recipe Philly is more about the story and less about the ability to cook and I thought that this was right up my alley.” 

Dormer brought her 1-year-old son and her best friends to stand in line with her for support before she told a panel about her signature dish of a hot dog topped with her grandmother’s coleslaw recipe that’s been carried through three generations.

“When we got there, there were so many people,” she said. “Some wore matching shirts and it was like a giant block party. … To be able to share [her grandmother’s] legacy with my son and for everybody else to see the heart that she put into cooking was so incredibly special, and that’s kind of the heart of the show and what makes it so unique.” 

Provided Image/Nicholas Sheets

Drone footage shows people waiting outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Nov. 8 to audition for ‘Recipe Philly.’

Some of the biggest names in the restaurant and entertainment business are taking a big swing on the concept. Recipe Philly is a 6,600 square-foot-space at 1401 Arch St. that will be transformed into a high-end casual restaurant, but nobody knows what it will serve yet or whether the TV show that’s in the works will be picked up by a network. 

Philly native Ed Baumstein, executive producer, initially came up with the idea during the 2008 financial crisis. He was working as the CEO of consulting firm SolomanEdwards when his colleague informed him that they would have to cancel the annual Christmas party in order to cut costs, which didn’t sit right with Baumstein. 

“Instead, I held a Christmas party in my home and we did a potluck dinner and asked all of our employees to bring their favorite dish to the party,” he said. “It was moving, to tell you the truth, to see how much people cared about food. … It stuck with me.” 

From that experience came the idea for a restaurant that would serve food straight from people’s cookbooks, as well as a reality TV show featuring a competition of people vying to get their dishes on the menu. He developed the concept with help from his restaurant partner Andy Revella, who was responsible for menu development and operations at Rainforest Cafe and Bennigan’s, and Jarrett O’Hara, the former culinary director for Federal Donuts, who will act as the vice president of culinary operations.

“When you come to Recipe Philly, you’re going to experience the real food of Philadelphia,” Revella said. “It’s not hyped up about chefs, but about common, everyday folks that grew up here in Philly.” 

Baumstein said he plans to have the first few episodes of the series focus on the concept, space and auditions. Then, a panel will judge 100 contestants and slowly start eliminating them, whittling it down to 30 in the finale. 

In addition to having their recipes on the menu, the winners will earn cash prizes and can eat for free at Recipe Philly as long as their dish remains on the menu.

The real challenge, though, will happen after of the competition. Revella and O’Hara have less than a month to complete construction, training, design and planning for the restaurant, which plans to open in mid-May. 

“We have no idea what we’re going to be serving until the end of April and we’re opening the restaurant in May,” Baumstein said. “That’s going to be a part of the intrigue for the show.” 

Baumstein said the show has not been picked up by any network or streaming service yet, adding that he can’t disclose which providers his production company has been in discussions with. But he remains confident he’ll find a deal well before the contest is expected to wrap up April.  

In the month since Recipe Philly was announced, the concept has garnered buzz around the city. The open casting call held on Nov. 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center was swarmed with what Revella estimates was up to 1,000 people looking to have their recipes acknowledged. 

“It was exactly what we had hoped it would be, which is a tremendous diversity of folks and of the dishes really representing Philadelphia,” Revella said. “A lot of them brought pictures of their dishes, their families. … All it did for me was reinforce what a tremendous idea this is.” 

Caroline Sheets, a two-time Emmy Award nominee who heads the recruiting agency in charge of casting, said the atmosphere was unlike anything she had seen in her career.

“I’ve cast many different food cooking shows before but this one feels like it has so much heart,” she said. 

Molly McVety/PhillyVoice

The walls of Recipe Philly are plastered with photos and recipes submitted to the organizers.

The Recipe Philly restaurant is not much more than a skeleton as it stands now. Its interior is nearly stripped to the baseboards, Post-It notes are pinned to the walls and its doors are blocked off from the outside by promotional posters that read “Be A Food Show TV Star.” There’s a sign with a QR code that links to an online application for the show, which will accept new entries until the end of the year. 

Its main entryway is plastered with hundreds of photos and recipe cards of potential menu items that were submitted during the open casting call. Each submission lists the name of the dish, the chef, and ingredients. Instead of instructions, though, each card delves into the story behind the dish, paying homage to relatives, old friends and traditions.

“This was the first thing I ever cooked for my past girlfriend,” a recipe card for a cashew comfort pasta from the kitchen of “Jamie” reads. “It became a staple of our relationship, but now that we broke up, I’m reclaiming it for myself. This dish represents heartbreak, rebirth, creativity and well-being.” 

Another recipe hung on the wall from Elissa Robinson tells the story of rugelach cookies that were passed from her great grandmother. 

“Some of my fondest childhood memories are baking these cookies with my family and seeing how much joy they bring to others,” the card said. 

No final decisions have been made about which contestants will make the show, O’Hara said, but the excitement he’s seen has proven contagious to the ownership team, which already plans to replicate the concept in other cities across the country. 

“The world is filled with so much negativity, anger and hatred and I wanted to do something uplifting and positive,” Baumstein said. “When you listen to the stories of these people and why they cook and the love that goes into it, there’s some heartbreaking and some unbelievable, uplifting stories.”