By Lorenzo W. Snelling | Special to Le Floridien
What started out as a joke between a local TV producer and his wife turned a Haitian cooking and entertainment show into one of the most watched programs on YouTube, Facebook and two local Haitian TV channels, AYITI TV 4 and Diaspo TV.
Chilling with Regina, which is dedicated to Haitian viewers, airs every Saturday night at 9 p.m., and features cooking segments with Chef Regine Leroy and TV talk show host Gina Isidor, who interviews guests during the one-hour show.
The studio is set up in Pembroke Pines with a kitchen and a talk show-like television studio produced by Harrys Latortue, also known as “BJ the Producer.”
The viewership peaked last week since the show debuted last year on the two local Haitian TV stations and with many followers on Facebook and YoutTube.
The production company recently held its first social and cultural event called “Brunch with Regina” at the Hollywood Rotary Club and attendees wanted Latortue, who was born in Haiti, to do it more often.
“The people requested it but our team, who put a lot of energy into it, wants to keep it once a year,” Latortue said. “But the people’s reaction was fantastic. We spend a lot of energy and money to make it authentic where people can see the countryside of Haiti, like people using lamps without electricity, gasoline and kerosene to keep the lights on. That’s where we come from and a lot of people were into the event, people dancing to Haitian music. The kids, especially, seemed to enjoy it.”
After airing 71 episodes, Chilling with Regina has become the window of Haitian culture celebrated in the Caribbean country for other racial groups including Hispanics and Jamaicans.
Using her special recipe, Chef Leroy serves up mainly the best Haitian dishes that entertain people’s taste buds during the show.
On some occasions, she cooks up another variety of dishes, including pasta and soup, seafood and vegetarian food for health nuts.
To celebrate Thanksgiving, she demonstrates how to cook a deep fried turkey.
The show also invites other chefs to show off their culinary talents, and near the end of the show, guests get an opportunity to sample some of the dishes prepared during the program.
“The cooking portion is the beef of the show,” Latortue said.
The entertainment portion of the show is anchored by Isidor.
She interviews local professionals, including attorneys, social workers and insurance salesmen, who can offer tips and advice for Haitian-Americans.
Latortue said comedians and musicians also have been guests on the show.
“It’s entertainment with a news segment and tips for Haitians dealing with their everyday issues,” he said. “Issues like tips for them to fix appliances so they don’t have to rush to call a technician and save money, and gender issues like how to understand people with down syndrome and kids with autism.”
Rodson Josselin better known as ‘RJ’ is the host who brings every week all the latest news in the Haitian Music Industry, as Ronald Leroy (Chef Re’s husband) handles the supervision of the scripts.
Latortue, a high school video production teacher and producer of Cafe Latino, a show for seniors at the Latino Medical Center in Miami, said Chilling with Regina was created after his wife told him about a post Chef Re made on her Facebook page, insinuating she was planning to do a cooking show on YouTube.
Latortue said he had no idea about such a show and asked his wife, “what cooking show.”
As a producer, fascinated by this type of project, Latortue called Chef Regine to confirm what he has heard from his wife.
“Regine said it was just a joke but I said I’m a producer let’s do it,” Latortue recalled. “Regine said we didn’t have the manpower but I knew we could make it work.”
Very optimistic about the project, but knowing that Chef Re would be too shy in front of the camera; the producer reached out to her longtime friend Gina Isidor because she’s outspoken, to join her in this new adventure. Latortue knew that Isidor, with more than a decade experience in the media field, would be very helpful to Chef Re as a co-host.
“That’s how the show all started,” Latortue said. “It was a lot of planning and production for the first show. It was first recorded in April 2022 and aired the following May.”
Isidor, one of the hosts for Island TV, said she knew the show would be a hit.
She said Latortue reached out to her about interviewing guests on the show and she immediately said yes.
“If we push for the show, I will do it. This would be a great team. I have a passion for TV and radio and Regine has a passion for cooking. The combination makes the show work,” Isidor, also known as ‘Lady G’, said.
Isidor, who emcees family and community events in South Florida, said she learns a lot from their guests including how to fix a broken air conditioning unit, doing taxes, legal issues and breast cancer awareness.
“We discuss important issues that the Haitian community can benefit from,” she said. “There is a lot of information that comes through on the show.”
