CBS News’ Mo Rocca Visits JWU to Film Super Bowl Segment

CBS News correspondent Mo Rocca and his crew arrived at JWU Providence’s College of Culinary Arts last week to shoot part of a Super Bowl showdown segment pitting Providence (stand-in for New England, home of the Patriots) against Los Angeles in a battle for historic supremacy.

CBS’ city showdown segments ping-pong back and forth between Rocca (in City #1) and fellow correspondent Michelle Miller (in City #2) as they show off their respective city’s best, oddest and most historic places. (Spots on the Rhode Island crew’s list included the Big Blue Bug, the Providence Journal — the nation’s oldest continuously operating daily newspaper — and the largest bell ever cast by Paul Revere.) JWU was chosen as a top producer of culinary talent.

The crew visited three classes: Chef Mark Soliday’s Specialty Cakes class was focusing on perfecting cake roses in a rainbow of colors; Chef Matthew Britt’s Cooking in the Global Marketplace class was readying a Middle Eastern lunch for a visiting tour group; and Chef Juergen Knorr’s Craft of Garde Manger was whipping up a wide range of buffet dishes.

Despite the fact that the CBS crew had a full day of locations around Rhode Island and Massachusetts to shoot (ending up, naturally, at Patriot Place in Foxborough), they took the time to chat with students and learn at least a little bit what culinary school is all about. Clad smartly in a JWU logo-emblazoned chef’s coat and toque, Rocca got a lesson in expediting from student Katie, even going so far as to call out some orders. (And with definite authority — if you ever get tired of TV, Mo, give us a call!)

Chef Knorr, normally stone-faced in class, shouted out, “Chef!” when Rocca passed him. Rocca quickly replied, “I’m a fake chef!” Not missing a beat, Knorr laughed. “So am I!” (In actuality, Knorr holds a Certified Executive Chef® designation from the American Culinary Federation.)

Enjoy these behind-the-scenes images from the shoot, including Rocca posing for a group selfie with students and working on his expediting gravitas in Chef Britt’s class. The segment is expected to air Thursday morning — check Mo Rocca’s Twitter feed for updates.

VIDEO: ROCCA GETS A LESSON IN EXPEDITING AND GRABS SOME LUNCH ON THE GO. PHOTOS: BEHIND THE SCENES AT JWU.