There's something about having a urologist demonstrate techniques for cooking bull testicles that seems bound more for satire than the dining table. It's a cooking show with a difference, as Alberta surgeons team up with a chef for Close to the Bone, which recently began an eight-episode run on Canadian Learning Television.
"We initially got a lot of Hannibal Lechter references, but as more people watch it, they realize it's coming from a different angle," said series creator Dr. Richard Hu, a huge fan of cooking shows such as the Iron Chef.
Hu came up with the concept after realizing there were a lot of similarities between the two professions, such as years of training and a passion for precision.
The show offers a medical perspective on various cuts of meat that are transformed into gourmet fare in a surgically dressed theatre kitchen with the doctors in their scrubs and cooking instructor Allan Shewchuk in his white chef's garb.
Each episode features a trip to the butcher and a visit to the anatomy lab for a comparison of animal and human physiology.
Surgeons help demonstrate recipes for cuts of meat reflecting anatomy they would be familiar with in an operating room.
For example, the chest surgeon cooks ribs, while boiled pig's snout is on the menu with the ear, nose and throat specialist. Spinal surgeon Hu whips alligator tail into an Indian pilau, with basmati rice and saffron.
Then there are those testicles, better known in gastronomic circles as prairie oysters.
"We refer to them as 'nut nuggets' on the show," said producer Doug Hodgson of FreshCut Entertainment, which by virtue of its name seemed fated for the collaboration.
"Not for everybody, of course," Hodgson said of the nuggets. "We do it in a breaded style and they weren't too bad."
Admittedly, the concept was a tough sell, even in a broadcast universe with widely divergent tastes. It got a polite "no thanks" from the Food Network. PBS found it a little too far on the wild side, while Spike TV said it was too mild.
"For a time we thought that we were in that unhappy grey zone in between pastel cooking shows and over-the-top, men-only sensationalist shows," said Hu.
So far, there's been a positive viewer response, with producers receiving a number of e-mails about the show which airs Tuesdays and Saturdays.
"They're asking for the recipes, which is a sure note of interest," said Hu.
Efforts are underway to get the recipes posted on the Internet. Another 22 episodes have been mapped out should there be an appetite for more, including having a plastic surgeon stuff chicken breasts and an anesthesiologist cook with wine.
Joking aside, there was an understanding that the show could easily veer off into the extreme and producers were careful to avoid making it look like an episode of Fear Factor.
Hu notes that while most people eat meat, very few can correlate the cut to where it comes from on an animal. The show also demonstrates how to cook some of the lesser-known cuts that might initially seem to appeal to only those with steel stomachs.
Hu admits that some recipes were a hard sell - even to him. For example, the stuffed pigs feet done by the hand surgeon.
"I was reluctant, too, but it was very, very good," he said. "It had differences in texture and taste. I'd definitely eat that again."