Monday, 5/19/97 Cadillac Cafe to host event inspired by
‘Bewitched’ cookbook Organizers plan series of evenings to
celebrate old TV shows
By Vanessa VanderZanden Daily Bruin Staff It’s quirky. It’s
zany. It’s the ’60s. And it’s all embodied in the "Bewitched
Cookbook." After all, where else can you find the instructions for
turning pot roast into lobster thermidor? Ahem. Please open your
books to Page 118: "Endora’s Lobster Thermidor: Start with
Samantha’s Pot Roast found on Page 8. Discard." Even those who
never watched the long-running television show, "Bewitched" will
get a kick out of the campy cookbook now in bookstores. But, if it
seems too much trouble to make a literary stop, it may be more
convenient to head on over to the Cadillac Cafe on La Cienega
Tuesday night, where the three cast members most involved with the
book’s production will be serving up a storm. Signing books and
offering a select, one-night-only menu from their eclectic
collection, Kasey Rogers ("Bewitched"’s Louise Tate), Bernard Fox
(Dr. Bombay) and Sandra Gould (Gladys Kravitz) will relive their
roles in an evening of television nostalgia. "It’s part of a
nonchef guest-chef program we have going," says Cadillac Cafe
owner, Marc Keel. "It’s not just about the food. It’s about an era
we can evoke." In an effort to produce "A Bewitching Evening," as
the event is called, items will be suspended midair throughout the
upscale diner. Next to the cafe’s usual plastic ceiling lamps
shaped like Star Trek chevrons, everyday household objects will be
strung from fishing wire. It just very well could get a little
tacky. "People want to see the wire," Keel explains, "I mean, even
in the show when telephones would go flying across the room because
of a twitch from Samantha’s nose, you could see the wire." Staying
true to the show’s premise, the evening will do its best to remain
spontaneous. Though much of the cast has passed away, including its
star, Elizabeth Montgomery, it continues to draw in new audiences
with reruns on cable TV’s Nickelodeon station. It enjoyed an
eight-year stint from 1964 to 1972, with every episode throwing in
a few curve balls. "We’ll try to keep the evening exciting," says
Kasey Rogers, the cookbook’s main author. "We’ll probably pop up
and serve someone dessert unexpectedly and do things like that."
This would certainly be reminiscent of a typical "Bewitched"
episode. For nonfans, the comedy centered around suburban housewife
Samantha Stephens, who just happened to be a witch. Her husband,
advertising representative Darren, knew her secret but helped her
to keep it from the surrounding neighbors and co-workers. In spite
of its silliness, "Bewitched" inspired a generation. "I basically
became a comedy actor just so I could play the role of Adam, the
boy of Sam and Darren," explains Mark Wood, co-author of the
"Bewitched Cookbook." "I thought it would be so much fun to have
them for parents." For this reason, Wood wrote the script for a
"Bewitched Again" pilot episode starring himself as the adult Adam.
Though Columbia now owns the rights, the project will probably
never air. Yet, out of this failed endeavor has sprung a beautiful
relationship. "I met Kasey through a mutual friend in New York who
was interested in what I was trying to do," Wood says. "He gave me
a list of the surviving cast, and I decided to call Kasey Rogers
first, because Louise Tate was a lot less intimidating than the
others. I mean, what would I have said to Elizabeth Montgomery, my
God!" Their first conversation lasted an hour and a half. Now, 5
1/2 years later, the two friends live together in sunny Los
Angeles. From this duo, a spell of creative energy has emerged.
"After we tried to get ‘Bewitched Again’ running, we decided to
write another show together," explains Rogers. "It’s called ‘Son of
a Witch’ and has nothing to do with ‘Bewitched.’ It’s about
America’s first male witch." While waiting to see if that
production would air, the two decided to write the cookbook. After
six months to compiling recipes and gathering "Bewitched" info, the
book finally hit stores just last year. And though it may resemble
a simple kitchen spell book, it was no snap of the fingers or
twinkle of the nose to create. "Even though we were familiar with
‘Bewitched,’ you have to get the quotes from the show exactly to be
able to print them," Wood explains. "So, we watched nine-tenths of
all of the episodes, scrambling to write lines down that were
food-related." With all of the material gathered, Wood and Rogers
have enough information for a whole other recipe compilation.
Procuring recipes from the "Bewitched" cast, family relations and
even the women of Wood’s mother’s Atlanta Garden Club, the book
offers varieties from old England and modern-day America. All
concoctions reflect the show in one way or another. "Every time a
recipe from the show was mentioned, we’d have to run around trying
to find it in a cookbook somewhere," Wood relates. "The lobster one
was extremely difficult." "The Cadillac Cafe had never before seen
a recipe for lobster thermidor," adds Rogers. "It’s about 40 years
old and much too rich and fattening for people to eat today." Yet,
it will be one of two main entrees offered Tuesday at the Cadillac
Cafe. Also on the menu will be Gladys Kravitz’s Ten Pound Meatloaf
and Serena’s Cosmos Cotillion Cold Avocado Soup, as well as a few
other delicacies. The event is one of many similar evenings the
cafe has coordinated. "The first one we did was back in the early
’80s, when I had the two financial backers for Spago cook for us,"
explains Keel. "I mean, with their head chef being Wolfgang Puck,
they couldn’t very well cook in their own restaurant." In more
recent years, the venue has played host to Dawn Wells (Mary Ann of
"Gilligan’s Island"), cooking from her book of tropical recipes,
and Debbie Fields from Mrs. Fields Cookies fame. Running roughly
every four months, the cafe hopes to continue procuring guest chefs
beyond "A Bewitching Evening." Next in line will be Rose Marie from
"The Dick Van Dyke Show" and then possibly the cast of "The
Jeffersons." "We’ve done a lot of book signings but nothing like
this," comments Wood. "It’ll be great," Rogers continues. "We’ll
get a chance to bring in some ‘Bewitched’ artifacts, like a dress I
have and a cross-eyed, buck-toothed painting which Darren did of me
on one of the episodes. And I’m looking forward to trying some of
Dr. Bombay’s Devil Punch. It looks potent." RESTAURANT: The
Cadillac Cafe at 359 La Cienega Blvd. hosts "A Bewitching Evening"
Tuesday from 7-11 p.m. To make reservations, call (310)
657-6591.