Bakersfield, Day One (4/13/2007)

A camera crew was waiting for us upon arrival at the Doubletree Hotel in Bakersfield, CA. -- my first time being filmed. They interviewed my sister and I, and one of the questions they asked was if I was nervous. Surprisingly, I was not. At least that's what I thought. Turns out, I was a bit nervous, as I completely forgot to follow instructions: leave the keys in the car. Oh well. I wasn't shaking, so I didn't think I was nervous.

Häagen Dazs and Gourmet threw us a cocktail reception that evening -- my first opportunity to meet the other contestants. Up until this point, I had no idea who they were, what they looked like, even where they were from. Ok, I did know they were from New York and New Jersey, but didn't know who owned which flavor. Turns out Leslie (Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan) is from Buffalo, New York, and Chrissy (Blueberry Belgian Waffle) is from Ewing, New Jersey -- see story in the Bakersfield Californian. It was great to meet them and put a face to the flavor.

Along with the rest of the Häagen Dazs, Gourmet, ad agency, and film production company teams, we met Sara Moulton. She immediately made me feel welcome; she's a great conversationalist and I could tell she did her homework. We also had a nice discussion about coconut milk.

If this was a reality show, I'd be portrayed as the hyper-competitive, over-achieving Asian guy. There was a short trivia contest, where I answered the first 2 questions (and could have answered the 3rd, but there was no way I was going to do that - thank goodness Matthew, Chrissy's nephew, answered it correctly).

Day Two to follow...