There’s a lot you don’t see when you watch Claire Saffitz recreate beloved junk food on Gourmet Makes. Her coffee, for one, might be hidden behind a stack of cookies. You’ll never see all of the downtime on set while dough chills and ovens preheat. There’s singing, dancing, and deep philosophical conversations about the Fast and the Furious franchise. You don’t see the culinary assistants in the corner, crouched in front of a stainless steel cabinet, searching for the right type of coconut oil. And even I wasn’t allowed to see the Google sheet of the budget, which producer Tyre Nobles assures me almost always comes in “under.” (When Tyre brought his own iron in from home—more on why later—I believed him.)

This January, I was allowed to lurk on set to document behind the scenes of Gourmet Makes: Girl Scout Cookies and now I can share that riveting glimpse with you, dear superfans. The crew wanted this to be a story about the power of friendship. And maybe it is. But it’s also about our loosey-goosey formula for making good, wholesome, fun TV here at Bon Appétit. (So far, Gourmet Makes has chalked up over 200 million views.) Here’s a day-by-day, hour-by-hour track record of how it gets done. With lunch breaks.

But First… A Few Things Claire Would Like to Clear Up Real Quick:

“We’re not sponsored by companies that make snack foods.”

“We eat the leftovers. They go to editors and video team. There’s a Slack channel about it.”

“There was a rumor I moved to Alaska and started a bakery. I didn’t.”

“I’m not here against my will.”

Watch the episode of Claire making Girl Scout Cookies

Day 1

1:00 p.m.-ish

After tracking down Claire, who’s just finished filming the bagel bites episode, director Dan Siegel tells me he’s worried she’s going to want to eat lunch before filming begins. She stands in front of the pyramid of Girl Scout cookies and says, “why not break for lunch?” Nope. She blows air out of her lips. The crew assembles into their usual spots, from from left to right from Claire’s POV:

Jon Weigell, associate producer, is sitting on a crate with his laptop. Jon keeps notes for the editors but sometimes misspells things, like “silk pad” instead of “silpat,” which cracks everyone up. He’s also a singer in two metal bands: Sabretooth and Attempted Revenge.