How South Shore chef Stephen Coe ended up in a Hallmark movie

He was filming a show with dangerous in the title when romcom came calling.

Competitive chef and Early Bird restaurant in Kingston owner Stephen Coe will appear in the movie "A Taste of Love," which will premiere on the Hallmark Channel on Presidents Day.

Being on screen is nothing new for Coe, who is a familiar face on the Food Network, having been on “Chopped” four previous times, including winning “Chopped: Ultimate Redemption” in 2020. Coe holds the titles of “World Bacon Champion,” winner of the “World Food Championships” and “Grill Master” from the Food Network series “Chopped Grill Masters.”

He is perhaps best known for beating celebrity-chef Bobby Flay in “Chopped: Beat Bobby Flay” in 2020.

Big Win: Chef Stephen Coe beats Bobby Flay in Food Network show.

It was filming his own show, "Dangerous Eats," that led the longtime Plymouth turned Abington resident to cross paths with the crew of "A Taste of Love," which was also filming in the Fort Meyers, Florida, area.

Hallmark describes the movie as being about "A pigeonholed chef determined to make her name as a respected culinary chef who returns to her hometown. While reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart, she receives an offer she can't refuse. The movie stars Erin Cahill and Jesse Kove.

The scene being filmed had Cahill's character taking part in a cooking competition, and Coe ended up playing one of three judges.

"My manager happened to know some of the people on set because they have their own film production company," he said. "They hit it off and told me they were going to throw you in in a couple scenes and give me some lines. It sounded fun.”

Coe plays himself, and his win against Flay was worked into the scene.

"They name dropped me a lot, which was great," he said.

Taking on the role of judge while he is most often the competitor in real life was not the only switch-up for Coe, who said the experience of being on a movie set as opposed to one of the Food Network shows had a pace all its own.

"It's usually chaos when I'm in a competition show. We don't even have time to think. We're just running around for 20 or 30 minutes with cameras in our faces.”

In addition to pointing out there should be more dialogue among the chefs and competitors, Coe said he also helped with the plating – or presentation – of the meals to better reflect his own experience in the field.

"I just wanted to help make the scene more realistic," he said.

Coe does the time warp again

"A Taste of Love" was filmed two years ago, so what will be new to the audience is already in Coe’s rearview mirror.

Coe, however, is used to living in the time warp between when things film and when they air.

"When I do competitions on TV, it's usually nine months to a year before they air," he said.

Sometimes he gets little official notice that a program he was on has been released, and that's when it's good to have friends, he said.

"People start emailing or calling, so that's when I know that a show must have aired," he said "My phone or social media blows up, and people send me pictures of me on TV. It's hilarious."

Those scenarios will play out again at some point, as Coe said he has taken part in other competitions that have yet to air, including a rematch against Flay.

In addition to running Early Bird, which he bought just a few months back, Coe continues to work as a private chef, runs a catering business and is also scrubbing and prepping his two food trucks, Lobsta Love and his SWAT Culinary Assault Vehicle, which operates out of an actual converted SWAT vehicle.

He is shopping his "Dangerous Eats" show around, looking for what he described as "the golden goose" of distributors.

In the program, Coe tries his hand – and says he succeeded – in making alligator dishes that are far afield from the usual deep-fried dishes people usually associate with cooking the meat. Other highlights he said include going wild boar hunting and sailing out on choppy waters with local lobstermen.

With so much going on in his world, how does Coe fit it all in?

"I just pick and choose where I need to be and I don't overbook," he said. "I've been slowly grooming people to be part of my team so we can do cool stuff, and I bring a lot of young kids on to learn how to do the trucks and cook."

The offerings on his food trucks are always subject to change, and his reason for that reflects his apparent philosophy of his life in general.

"I want to keep changing things up," he said,

"A Taste of Love" airs on the Hallmark Channel at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore chef Stephen Coe to appear in Hallmark's A Taste of Love