Will Poulter and Dave Beran Talk About Training for Season 3 of ‘The Bear’

Tinfoil Swans Podcast

On this episode

Season 3 of the smash hit FX/Hulu show The Bear roared to life just days ago, but Will Poulter (the actor who plays fan-favorite chef Luca) and 2014 F&W Best New Chef Dave Beran had been prepping for weeks. Poulter — like his co-star Jeremy Allen White — staged with Beran at his Santa Monica restaurant Pasjoli to learn how to accurately portray a professional chef onscreen. The lessons went so well, Beran says he’d hire Poulter as a cook — even despite a messy mishap with a pastry bag. The two dished all about getting kitchen culture right on and offscreen, what it takes to be at the top of your craft, and the pure magic of a great restaurant service.

Meet our guests

Dave Beran

2014 F&W Best New Chef Dave Beran began his culinary career in Chicago at MK and then Tru. He started working for 2002 F&W Best New Chef Grant Achatz at Alinea in 2006 and was promoted to chef de cuisine in 2008. He became the executive chef of sister restaurant NEXT when it opened in 2011. In 2017, Beran opened his first restaurant, the now-shuttered, 18-seat, one-Michelin-starred Dialogue in Santa Monica, and in 2021 opened the French bistro Pasjoli, which also received a Michelin star. His new restaurant, Seline, is slated to open in winter 2024.  

Will Poulter

Will Poulter is a British actor who made his onscreen debut at the age of 12 in the 2007 indie film Son of Rambow and has gone on to create memorable performances in films including We’re the Millers, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Maze Runner, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as streaming shows such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, and Dopesick. Poulter played fan-favorite pastry chef Luca in Season 2 of the FX/Hulu show The Bear and recently reprised the role in Season 3. Poulter is a vocal proponent of destigmatizing mental health issues and is an official ambassador for Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind Youth Services.

Meet our host

Kat Kinsman is the executive features editor at Food & Wine, author of Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves, host of Food & Wine’s podcast, and founder of Chefs With Issues. Previously, she was the senior food & drinks editor at Extra Crispy, editor-in-chief and editor at large at Tasting Table, and the founding editor of CNN Eatocracy. She won a 2020 IACP Award for Personal Essay/Memoir and has had work included in the 2020 and 2016 editions of The Best American Food Writing. She was nominated for a James Beard Broadcast Award in 2013, won a 2011 EPPY Award for Best Food Website with 1 million unique monthly visitors, and was a finalist in 2012 and 2013. She is a sought-after international keynote speaker and moderator on food culture and mental health in the hospitality industry, and is the former vice chair of the James Beard Journalism Committee.

Highlights from the episode

On getting involved in The Bear

“It’s not a cooking show; it’s a show that happens to be framed around food and has kitchen aspects to it, but it’s much deeper of a show than that. The thought was like, “If we have an opportunity to actually offer some influence in the show based around the culinary world, then we can actually make it more proper.” Most shows make a mockery of the industry. They talk about, “Oh, these disaster chefs who are all drunks and drug addicts.” That’s not how I want kitchens to be portrayed. We’re trying to be a better industry. So after talking to Chris [Storer] and Cooper [Wehde] for a while, our thought was, “Let’s bring in their actor and have some conversation about what the industry’s actually like.” And as it was, they sent Jeremy [Allen White].” — Dave Beran

On defying stereotypes

“For Season 2, I worked in three kitchens in London, a day or two in each. I was at Black Axe Mangal (such an incredible place, probably the most unique restaurant in London), Trullo, and St JOHN as well. I was such a Fergus Henderson fan. I’d been to all of them as a fan before I got to work there. So that was truly bizarre but so exciting. And in all my experiences across those kitchens — and especially at Pasjol — one thing I came into contact with was that these environments belie what you might have learned, or what might’ve formerly been thought of as a professional kitchen. It wasn’t screaming, yelling, and pan throwing, and people being treated badly. It didn’t live up to any of those harmful stereotypes that are out there. 

I found myself the subject of really brilliant leadership and wonderful care from all my superiors — which was everyone in this case. Anyone I came into contact with was really generous with me — maybe taking it a little easier on me because I was an actor. They were aware of my limitations, but it was really kind of lovely to learn from leaders who took a calmer, more careful, considerate approach to teaching. I would ask people specifically about their experiences in kitchens, and what I heard repeatedly is, I’ve seen how not to do it. I’ve been the subject of a different method, and, I’ve been exposed to alternative ways of conducting yourself. The takeaway from everyone was: That’s not the way it ought to be. That doesn’t get the best out of people. 

Pasjoli typified the healthy, highly efficient, incredibly productive, high quality but critically fun and positive kind of workspace environment. I had such a blast there and I had some of the most rewarding workdays I’ve ever had. It was literally one of the best weeks of my life.” — Will Poulter

On scaring vs. encouraging

“I certainly was both on the receiving and the giving end of [dysfunction] in the restaurant industry. And I think at some point, you kind of take a look, step back, and say, ‘We’re all here for the same reason. So why are we not trying to just make this better? Like, frankly, if you fail, I fail. So why am I sitting here, trying to push you to failure?’

It’s a fine line. You want to push people to success, and you want to see what their limits are. But I think that there’s positive and negative ways to do that. You just kind of learn to walk that line of, “How do we create that positivity in the restaurant while still getting the best out of people? I want to encourage you to be better, not scare you into being better.'” — Dave Beran

On a fork in the road

“There was an eye-opening moment for me at Next, that I think Will can probably relate to. I’d laid into one of our servers one day. He messed something up, and I was losing my mind on him. And then I said, ‘Get out there, and go do your thing.’ And he’s expected to suddenly put on a smile, change his demeanor, walk to a table, and be exactly the server that you want them to be. And I don’t know how you can ask a normal person to do that. That was a moment where, after that happened, I looked back, and I was like, ‘How are they supposed to do a good job when I’m … You can’t just go from tears in your eyes to being the happiest, most welcoming person in the world.  It’s so artificial. People can sense that. It was a big moment for me.” — Dave Beran

On sharing knowledge

“My philosophy coming in was, I’m gonna be easily the least skilled person here. So let me just be of use wherever I can and add whatever value I can, even if it’s the smallest amount. So even if that was when produce came in, and we’re breaking down boxes, be like, if no one’s given me a job, I’ll be the guy to fold the boxes and put the boxes in the recycling area, because I gotta do something. And at least I can’t mess that up, hopefully.

But the other thing that I was super grateful for is that culture of learning and everyone having a growth mindset, and being generous enough with their time and skillset to pass down information and teach things. People were constantly turning around to me and being like, ‘Oh, Will…’ (or on the occasion that they called me Chef Will and I got butterflies) ‘You want to come and check this out? I’m portioning monkfish. You ever seen someone break down a monkfish?’ Or, like, ‘Let me show you how to properly, brunoise a shallot.’ Whatever it was, people were constantly within the team reaching out and passing on information.” — Will Poulter

On effort, heartbreak, and sauce breaks

“When Jeremy [Allen White] was here, when Will was here, it’s not about this is how you cut an onion. You can go spend a week at a culinary school thing and get a crash course on how to cut an onion. My whole thought is that you need to understand the philosophy and the mentality of it. You need to feel the heartbreak of it. You need to feel the success of it.

It was important for [Poulter] to understand the creative process. We had Will expediting with Jazz on the meat line. So he was cooking meat and fish with us and working the board, calling tickets, stuff like that. I wanted some of those really big, annoying, reward-worthy, monotonous tasks, so he had to make Robuchon potatoes with me. Everyone makes the same face when you say, ‘Robuchon potatoes,’ because it’s one of those things, right? It’s three ingredients — four if you count salt — and it’s so hard and so frustrating, but when it’s right, it’s so good.” — Dave Beran

“The other super arduous task that I probably underestimated was making sauce Maltaise. My shoulder — it was one of the hardest workouts that I’ve had in my life. And if that thing splits on you, you feel it in your soul. It’s first in your shoulder and then in your soul. I think one broke on me about 45 minutes before service or something as well. That was a pretty heartbreaking moment right there.” — Will Poulter

About the podcast

Food & Wine has led the conversation around food, drinks, and hospitality in America and around the world since 1978. Tinfoil Swans continues that legacy with a new series of intimate, informative, surprising, and uplifting interviews with the biggest names in the culinary industry, sharing never-before-heard stories about the successes, struggles, and fork-in-the-road moments that made these personalities who they are today.

This season, you’ll hear from icons and innovators like Daniel Boulud, Rodney Scott, Asma Khan, Emeril and E.J. Lagasse, Claudia Fleming, Dave Beran and Will Poulter, Dan Giusti, Priya Krishna, Lee Anne Wong, Cody Rigsby, Kevin Gillespie and other special guests going deep with host Kat Kinsman on their formative experiences; the dishes and meals that made them; their joys, doubts and dreams; and what’s on the menu in the future. Tune in for a feast that’ll feed your brain and soul — and plenty of wisdom and quotable morsels to savor.

New episodes drop every Tuesday. Listen and follow on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

These interview excerpts have been edited for clarity.

Editor’s Note: The transcript for download does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.