Hi everyone, I'm Hillary Kerr, the co-founder and chief content officer of Who Up Where,

and this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly inspiring careers.

We're talking about their work journeys, what they learn from the process of setting

aside their doubts or fears, and what happens when they embark on their Second Life.

Today, I'm joined by Chef and the culinary producer of The Bear, Courtney Storer.

The FX TV show The Bear rose to immediate fame when the first season premiered last summer,

and just last week, the highly anticipated second season dropped on Hulu.

As the culinary producer on the show, Courtney consults on everything from the actor's

knife skills to how to believably move through the kitchen and even puts some of the industry

jargon in the scripts.

Often praised for its uncanny accuracy, it's no surprise that Courtney herself has many

years as a chef under her belt.

After an early career in HR at UPS and Whole Foods, Courtney decided to pursue her passion

for food and enrolled in culinary school.

In there, she spent years working in the kitchens of fame spots like Verju in Paris, an animal

here in LA, and eventually became the culinary director for the Italian-American hot spots,

John and Vinnie's.

There, she spent six years growing the business into the iconic institution it is today.

After spending the majority of her career in the intense environments of professional

kitchen, in 2020, Courtney took a step back from the restaurant world and began work as

a private chef.

It was during that gig when her brother Christopher called her about an idea he had for a show,

...