January 11, 2011

Today at the Times Picayune, I had the extraordinary opportunity to visit Judy Walker's house and observe the filming of "Judy's Kitchen," webisodes uploaded to nola.com that feature cooking tips from Judy Walker herself. Judy Walker, one of the Times Picayune's most renowned Food Editors, is a personal favorite of my mother. She enjoys reading Judy's articles online and experimenting with her recipe suggestions.

Today, Maria Montoya, Entertainment Editor, and Andrew Boyd, Times Picayune technology guru, assisted with the videos. Having already gathered information and completing preparation beforehand, Judy completed all of her videos today in one take. We filmed clips concerning kitchen safety, pork sauce, a cutting tool called a mandolin, and chopping leeks. Judy's videos are always wildly popular as many nola.com fans enjoy learning from Judy in her natural habitat. One of Judy's favorite videos features a her husband, Dave Walker, Times Picayune TV Critic, teaching viewers how to flip an egg. Click here to view the video: http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2010/10/tv_critic_dave_walker_on_the_a.html. To view more of Judy's Kitchen, peruse the following: http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/food_cooking/index.html

Above Judy Walker and Maria Montoya prepare for the afternoon filming session in Judy's own kitchen.
Below, Andrew Boyd, left, provides Maria Montoya, center, tips for filming while Judy watches on.

Below, Maria Montoya films Judy as she prepares pork sauce in one of her videos.

Below is Judy Walker, Times Picayune Food Editor and author of "Cooking Up A Storm," which was nominated for the James Beard Award. For more information, click here: http://blog.nola.com/judywalker/2009/03/cooking_up_a_storm_nomination.html

Below, Judy informs viewers about kitchen safety during a video.

Today I also had the opportunity to assist Ms. Montoya with the Entertainment section of nola.com. Ms. Montoya explained how the Times Picayune has a subscription to the Associated Press, and her job includes watching the "wire," and then uploading those already written stories to nola.com. Ms. Montoya uploads videos to the Living section online as well as updates an online calendar of entertainment events for readers.
I actually helped write a section for the upcoming events and learned how to create links to other sites through the Times Picayune website.

I learned a great deal today, and I look forward to the events of tomorrow. A special thanks to Judy Walker for letting me visit her home and observe the filming!