Needham’s Coblenz Nominated for Emmy Award

Ever since he was little, Joel Coblenz knew he wanted to work in television. But as ambitious as he was about a life in TV, 10-year-old Coblenz never imagined the job would land him in the far reaches of the globe, filming exotic chefs on location while they cook up everything from Guinea pigs to piranha.

As a television cameraman, director of photography and producer, the aforementioned experiences are exactly how grown-up Joel Coblenz earns his pay, most recently as the 2010 Emmy nominated director of the PBS culinary/travel show "Food Trip."

In light of the grueling hours, insane travel schedule and ensuing chaos that accompanies working closely with celebrity chef Todd English, Coblenz's recent Emmy nomination, as well as the show's previous Emmys and James Beard Awards, seem well earned. 

"'Food Trip' was a very challenging project. This was the second season with the formerly local chef Todd English and he had a very difficult year, so in that sense getting this project finished at all was amazing," the director told Patch from his Needham home. "[English] lived like a rock star and that lead to a lot of bad behavior that was tough for me to corral. It was like working with the Lindsay Lohan of celebrity chefs."

But getting larger-than-life personalities to fit nicely on the small screen is nothing new to Coblenz, whose three decade career in television has taught him that rolling with the punches and making things work in less than ideal conditions is just another day at the office in the world of documentary television.  

"Years ago I worked on 'This old House,' when Bob Villa was host. He was great, to the point where people think he's still on the show a million years later, but he was difficult to work with so we had to change to someone who was easier," Coblenz said. "We did that several times over the decades; you have to be a multi platform future thinker to stay a head in this business."

Coblenz's earlier work also paired him with culinary superstar Julia Child, from whom he drew inspiration years later while working in the emerging TV market of food and travel shows that blossomed in the mid to late 2000's. He believes the universal nature of the subject matter makes it an easily compelling and interesting medium.

"Right now food programming is huge portion of the entrainment market and a very exciting way for me to be a visual storyteller," he said. "Everybody eats; it's visceral, it brings people together and the more we know about other cultures the easier it is to get at the best parts of humanity."

But despite its intriguing nature, Coblenz says working on a program like Food Trip isn't without its drawbacks. "We have to go to the gym every day," he joked. "That way we can eat like we do every night."

When not on a shoot, Coblenz lives in Needham, where he's been for the better part of the last two decades. He's raised a daughter and a son— both Needham public school alums— with the younger set to walk next week. A few years ago father and son worked together on a food show pilot for teens, but at the time the market for children's food television wasn't fully developed and as a result the show never took off. Still, Coblenz says that young people interested in television need to embrace such challenges— as well as the uncertain future of a changing medium— to succeed in an evolving and increasingly competitive TV market. 

"Technology and ability are rapidly racing to meet each other, but it hasn't always been like that in the past," he said. "(Future TV professionals) can't think of the world as it used to be, but of where its going. It's a brave new world out there."