TV Talk: Pittsburgher competes on PBS’s ‘Great American Recipe'

Western Pennsylvania native Doug Heilman wasn’t familiar with PBS’s “Great American Recipe” (9 p.m. Monday, WQED-TV), now in its third season, so when a casting producer reached out over his social media encouraging the home cook Heilman to apply, Heilman ignored that direct message for two weeks.

“It seemed spammy. I didn’t know this show or this person,” Heilman said earlier this month. “My husband said, ‘I think this is an incredible opportunity. Look up that person online.’ They turned out to be legitimate and that got the ball rolling.”

Heilman sent producers photos of dishes he prepared, and they wanted to know more about his German heritage from both his German grandfathers and the German dishes Heilman likes to make.

An upbeat cooking competition where no one gets sent home, “Great American Recipe” introduces home cooks and plays up each cook’s background and its impact on their style of cooking.

For the show’s eight-episode third season, production relocated from Virginia to a farm outside Nashville for filming last October. Judges Graham Elliott and Leah Cohen are out and chef Tim Hollingsworth and Francis Lam (“The Splendid Table”) are in, alongside returning host Alejandra Ramos and judge Tiffany Derry. Unlike in past years, there will be no cookbook published based on the show’s third season; instead recipes will post to pbs.org/food.

Heilman, a 49-year-old freelance training consultant, grew up on his family’s dairy (later beef) farm near Kittanning, Armstrong County, and is a 1992 graduate of Ford City High School. He lives near Robinson.

Heilman hosts a podcast, “Pittsburgh Dish,” and appears in a cooking segment monthly on KDKA-TV’s “Pittsburgh Today Live.” He also appeared with Chris Fennimore on WQED-TV’s 2022 cooking show “America’s Home Cooking: When in Rome” after Heilman’s husband, film/TV production designer/art director Greg Weimerskirch (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Fences,” “Those Who Kill”), helped redesign and overhaul WQED’s kitchen set.

In the season premiere of “Great American Recipe,” Heilman makes a pickle-brined chicken schnitzel on top of spinach salad.

“In Pittsburgh, even when we get a salad, it has french fries on it,” Heilman explains in the episode. “Instead of french fries, I’m doing some roasted potatoes.”

He also makes “a dish inspired by your region” and opts for what he calls The Pittsburgh Pocket, a puff pastry stuffed with diced ham, “which we call chipped-chopped,” he explains.

“We don’t mention the brand on the show, but we did use Islay’s,” Heilman said. “You can have it shipped anywhere.”

“What I love about Pittsburgh is you really never know every neighborhood in the city because of the topography,” said Heilman, who studied nutrition in college and will teach a “bread for brunch” cooking class 6-8 p.m. June 23 at Third Space Bakery, 5349 Penn Ave. in Garfield. “There’s always a bridge, a river or a hill and you go over it and discover whole new cafes and food purveyors.”

Heilman said his cooking style is comfort food “slightly elevated.” He first learned to cook from his grandmother and mother on the farm.

“I’m a kid of the ‘70s, so I grew up with TV coming into the food world,” he said. “Yes, I learned a lot from mom but I grew up with PBS and Food Network that had ‘stand and stir’ shows where you actually learned how to cook. I take pretty much traditional stuff, but from all of those influences I’ll add a little something to elevate it or maybe a spice or technique to make it a little different than mom would make it.”

Tony Awards

The Tony Awards air Sunday 8-11 p.m. on CBS (and stream on Paramount+) and there’s a live pre-show, “The Tony Awards: Act One,” that will only be available on Pluto TV (free with ads) 6:30-8 p.m. Sunday featuring the presentation of some awards.

Kept/canceled

BET+ renewed the Pittsburgh-set darkly comedic drama “Average Joe” for a second season.

Paramount+ renewed “Criminal Minds: Evolution” for a third season.

CBS will bring back “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m. weekdays, KDKA-TV) for a second season.

Apple TV+ renewed the disappointing “Palm Royale” for a second season.

Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” is now streaming the first three episodes of its fourth season, but this week the show’s creator announced the show will end with its upcoming fifth season.

The CW canceled “All American: Homecoming” after three seasons.

Max canceled “Tokyo Vice” after two seasons.

Channel surfing

Clarion County Keystone High School student Chloe Chapman, who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (a form of dwarfism), landed her first on-camera acting role, starring in Lifetime’s “The Bad Orphan” (8 p.m. June 22). … Nominations for the 40th annual Television Critics Association Awards were announced this week with Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer,” “Ripley” and FX’s “Shōgun” tied for five nominations each. Of local note, Fred Rogers Productions’ “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” was among the nominees in the children’s programming category. Award winners will be announced at a private ceremony July 12 in Pasadena, Calif.

You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.