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The plot has been set, the kitchen has been mobilized and the pilot episode has been filmed. It’s “Road Chef.” An aspiring reality television show, featuring mostly Des Moines locals, that takes a kitchen, puts it on wheels and drives to people’s homes to cook them a meal of a lifetime.

Inspired by local chef Don Hensley, who is best known for his culinary experience at Des Moines’ Renaissance Savery Hotel, Glen Oaks Country Club and his former restaurant, Danielle, “Road Chef” is a reality show that takes cooking one step further and makes it an emotional and personal experience.

“It’s like ‘Extreme Makeover’ meets ‘kitchen impossible,'” said Hensley, who plays the head chef in the pilot episode.

With a cast of four people, three of whom are from Des Moines, “Road Chef” is in the process of seeking big deals for their hopeful Midwest cooking reality show.

Creating connections

The big deals began once the contracts were in place with the cast members, Hensley said. After that was accomplished, the production of the show started and Hensley began taking the necessary steps to secure other business relationships.

“The company that does the Food Network Challenge and HGTV shows – High Noon Entertainment – we have a contact with them, and they want to see it as soon as we are ready,” he said. “We’re waiting for the final version, which will be released Aug. 1; then that will go to the folks at High Noon Entertainment and Revel Entertainment in Los Angeles.”

The pilot episode that will be sent to High Noon and Revel was produced by Denver-based Click! Productions in partnership with Martin Bros. Distributing, which is located in Cedar Falls, as well as Stir It Up Entertainment.

Click! is a full-service video production company that specializes in broadcast television and original programming development, and Hensley currently acts as the corporate chef for Martin Bros. Hensley is also the co-founder of Stir It Up Entertainment with Brooks Martin, and is using both of his company connections to make his abstract television concept into a reality hit.

Hensley expects to have the pilot episode in his possession by the end of July, and claims they have a bigger chance than average of making it. “We are certainly beyond what has been shared with distribution companies at this point,” he said.

Keeping that in mind, Hensley feels secure about the future of the television show and so do the producers. “Our producers are very optimistic about it, which makes me really optimistic,” he said.

Other “Road Chef” cast members share in Hensley’s optimism and believe big national opportunities lie ahead. “After filming that weekend, I could just see it,” said Ryan Kolder, who plays the flamboyant event coordinator in the pilot episode. “I’m very optimistic that it will go nationally.”

Going national

Hensley said he is focusing on selling it to national stations because of the costs associated with producing the show.

“I decided to shoot first for a national audience for financial reasons,” Hensley said. “We did the pilot episode on a shoestring and it was still rather expensive.” These expenses were incurred outside of cast payments, considering the entire cast worked on a voluntary basis. Even more, if Hensley wants to create a show that will stand against other national reality TV shows, it has to be of the highest quality.

“You really need a major deal to fund your project to create the highest possible quality,” Hensley said. “Also, being national opens you up to so many more story lines and helps keep the concept fresh.”

With the national focus in mind, Hensley styled the show to align with shows that are currently aired on Bravo, A&E and the Travel Channel, he said. Kolder said before the show was even filmed they were receiving calls from Design on a Dime, a design show on HGTV, wanting to host the show.

“The word is out,” he said.

The pilot episode

After Hensley came up with the concept for the show, he sent out more than 300 press releases encouraging families across Iowa to submit applications to the “Road Chef” Web site explaining why they deserved to have the crew come to their home and cook a special meal for a special occasion.

Sorting through approximately 40 online submissions, the “Road Chef” crew finally found a family they felt was the most deserving.

“It was a 14-year-old girl from Cedar Falls who wrote about how her father was her hero,” Hensley said.

He had suffered from a very debilitating illness that almost took his life and left him on a feeding tube for 18 months. Amazingly, he pulled back out of the ashes and was back in good health for his 50th birthday. His daughter wanted to throw him a birthday party that he would never forget.

So the weekend of April 19, the “Road Chef” crew packed up and headed to Cedar Falls to shoot their pilot episode for Jon Bachman’s 50th birthday party. Equipped with a mobilized, fully operational kitchen, a filming crew and the cast, “Road Chef” had only 48 hours to transform the Bachmans’ house for the big event.

“We had 48 hours to drive our mobile kitchen to their house, turn their home into a premier dining room and put on a multi-course dinner/cocktail event that would blow their minds,” Hensley said.

Meanwhile, Jon Bachman spent the weekend in Omaha, clueless about what was taking place back home. “His son, who just graduated, and his father, took him to Omaha to watch car races for the weekend,” Hensley said. “That’s when we pulled into town with the kitchen, went shopping at the shops in the community, got decorations and got to work.”

The crew ferociously transformed the Bachmans’ home for their pilot episode, and in the process, impacted more than just the family. Local businesses opened their doors to the crew and some even donated products for the filming.

For instance, a local hair salon provided discounted hair and makeup services for cast members, as well as free manicures and pedicures for the two Bachman women. Students from the local high school, Columbus Catholic School, acted as caterers for the event, and a giant block of ice was donated by Arctic Glacier Inc. so that Bill Gordish could carve the 1,200-pound block into an ice bar for the event.

Reality trend

But despite the ice sculpture and the unique emotional, comedic approach, “Road Chef” still falls into the reality TV category along with hundreds of other shows. However, being categorized into this saturated market doesn’t change Hensley’s ongoing optimism.

“I believe Des Moines, as well as the rest of the country, is still enjoying reality programming, and the trend will only continue,” Hensley said.

Although many people might say the quality of TV programming has diminished due to reality shows; Hensley argues that it has gotten better.

“I wonder if some of the classic shows from years past would have been as recognized in a market so full of competition,” he said. “When you only have three flavors to choose from, it’s easy to find a favorite. When there are 300, one better really stand out to be noticed.”

Hensley and his cast members are counting on the show’s comedic undertones, blended with the heartfelt family component, to make for something that breaks through the reality TV clutter.

“I don’t think it will get lost, because there are so many aspects to this show,” said cast member Jillian Gessell. “Sure, it’s a trend. However, I think our show is very unique. Nothing has been done like ‘Road Chef’.”