(Click here to watch the video of Giuliano Hazan on the Today Show.)
Security in New York is serious business. The city is still exciting, the energy stimulating, and the pace can give you whiplash. But the access is gone. Just try and get into the Today Show set and you run a gauntlet of security that makes airport TSA feel like a walk in the park.
Giuliano Hazan, my cookbook author husband, had been invited to do a return segment for the Hot Chef segment on the Today Show on September 10th. As usual, there was a walk-through the day before to make sure that everything he might need would be on the set. Just to get to that walk-through we had to go through two buildings and run the gamut of security. First we passed through a gaggle of onlookers waiting for some star to come down from the studios. We had to give some VERY big security guys the secret code (we are here to do a segment on Today) and finally received clearance to go through the doors to the next security station to get our pictures taken. Even before we could get there we had to explain to other security people what we were doing. Finally, we stood in line to get our names crossed off an OK list, and have our pictures taken for a temporary id.
With our precious badges affixed to our lapels