Author Gabriel Guilbeau said the recipes were crafted to hearken back to homestyle cuisine that many people grew up with, including the fictitious Dutton family
Chef Gabriel “Gator” Guilbeau still remembers the call that told him he got the job to feed the cast and crew on the Montana set of Paramount’s modern western drama Yellowstone.
The show’s production had difficulty finding someone to cook in such harsh outdoor conditions. Guilbeau, who’s had a decade of experience feeding showbiz folks on the road, is never one to back away from a challenge. He dropped everything, packed up his stuff and headed for Montana.
“Went up there without a clue of what I was fixing to get into,” he said. “All I knew is that they told me that there was a very hungry cowboy there and his name was Taylor [Sheridan].”
Five seasons later, Guilbeau’s Yellowstone: The Official Dutton Ranch Family Cookbook hits shelves on Sept. 12. He’ll be at the Barnes & Noble at Prestonwood Center in Dallas on Sept. 13 for a book signing, where he hopes to meet plenty of Yellowstone fans.
Nearly every one of the over 55 recipes featured in the book have been served to the Yellowstone cast and crew countless times, Guilbeau said. In some cases, the dishes were served to the Dutton family onscreen by Guilbeau, who occasionally appears on the show as the aptly titled character “Gator,” chef to the famous on-screen ranching family.
Guilbeau said that the cookbook recipes were crafted to hearken back to homestyle cuisine that many people grew up with, including the fictitious Dutton family. People won’t need outlandish ingredients or kitchen equipment, just the basics.
“I’m not the world’s greatest chef and I don’t expect you guys to be either,” Guilbeau said. “I wouldn’t put anything in this recipe that I couldn’t make.”
Feeding showbiz folks is a family business for Guilbeau.
Guilbeau’s start in the culinary world is a familial one. Born in California, he was raised in and around Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
His parents worked in the film and television industry when he was growing up. His father worked in craft services, which is to say he fed the cast and crew on set. The funny thing was his parents were adamant that he not pursue their line of work.
“Thank God I was always poor at taking instructions,” Guilbeau said.
After bouncing from job to job as a young adult, Guilbeau decided to help his dad with a small production in Louisiana.
Guilbeau admits that the job was “awful, and cold, and wet, and we worked long hours and I made hardly any money.” But the work spoke to him.
It allowed him to travel and cook in strange places while interacting with creative people. So for the next few years, Guilbeau put in the work — soon becoming a burgeoning culinary talent.
Guilbeau has fed the cast and crew on movie and television productions for over a dozen years. The projects include Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys and The Maze Runner.
“The work always came first,” he said. “And then bonus, you get to eat real good food tonight.”
Throughout his career, Guilbeau always thought about putting together a cookbook.
It wasn’t until the Yellowstone marketing team told Guilbeau that they had plans to craft a cookbook based on the show’s culinary offerings that finally got things moving. Given his ties to the show, the team then asked Guilbeau if he wanted to author the cookbook.
“Don’t you think it would be weird if I didn’t author the cookbook?” he asked.
Crafting the cookbook was challenging for Guilbeau because most of his recipes are based solely on memory.
He’s been cooking the food for years and could touch, taste and smell the food. Having to put pen to paper on measurements and times was completely different, Guilbeau said.
From dinner to dessert recipes, with some even bearing the name of Yellowstone characters — there’s “Rip’s Fry Bread with Scrambled Eggs and Bacon” and “Beth’s Two Scoops of Ice Cream, Three Shots of Vodka smoothie” — the book slowly came together.
Tucked away in the back are a few cocktail recipes inspired by characters on the show.
“I recommend working backwards [in the cookbook],” Guilbeau said. “That’s how we always do it on Yellowstone.”
Guilbeau is already working on his next cookbook
The response to the cookbook has been overwhelming for Guilbeau.
Guilbeau is also busy preparing future cookbooks, some Yellowstone-related and some not.
As for when he’ll head back to Montana to cook for the Yellowstone crew again, that’s up in the air.
Hollywood is in the middle of a Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Both guilds are pushing for more equitable contracts, focusing mainly on residuals and using artificial intelligence in projects.
Guilbeau hopes things will be resolved soon so everyone, including himself, can get back to work.