Offering service with a smile

Stephanie McRiley

Craft service

Current assignment: Her sixth year on the CBS sitcom “The King of Queens”

Other credits: “Roseanne,” “The Gregory Hines Show,” “The Norm MacDonald Show,” “The Mod Squad”

The craft of service: “There’s tons of food on set, and we do all these meals and snacks. And on top of that, the thing I want to say -- because a lot of people don’t know this about the job -- is that we are in charge of cleaning the entire stage, cleaning the dressing rooms, helping on set. There are so many things that we are required to do.

“Craft service was called that because you service the crafts -- you help the other people. So we are able to help the grips if they need a hand. We took 10 classes about a year and a half ago that involved scaffolding [and other crafts]. Now it has sort of evolved that we do all of this food, but we are still supposed to do it all.... The food part is the glamour part, but it is a really big job.

“You are the first one there and the last to leave, they say. You have to prep for a couple of hours before the people come in, and when they go home you have to get ready for the next day.”

Food supply: “Every show is different. We have been on the air so long we have a big budget, so we give them breakfast, lunch, dinner -- we give them everything. But a lot of shows, if they have no money, it’s just snacks.

“A lot of it is ordering food and calling different companies and restaurants and catering people and coordinating it. But for me, it’s really important that everything looks great, because if it looks great it tastes better somehow. So with us, everything has to be on a tray.

“We have probably one of the prettiest tables. We have fresh flowers and linen tablecloths. Everything is on platters.”

Staff: One assistant

She can cook too: “Mainly I do the baking. One of the producers likes cupcakes, so they have to go into the mix like three days a week. And the homemade chocolate-chip cookies are for the network executives -- that is usually one of their favorites. My office is a kitchen, so I have a kitchen right on stage.”

Sunny side up: “Every producer says craft service is important for morale, and I think it is because we are trying to make a funny sitcom here. If you are working really hard days and if a root beer float will make someone happy, let’s make them happy.

“The whole crew appreciates that fact, and when they go to the other shows, because the camera guys might work on two shows, they always come back and tell me how bad it is on the other show and how good it is here.”

Mouths to feed: “Monday to Wednesday, there are 40 people, and then on Thursday and Friday, depending on whether we have any background [actors], you might start at like 70 people and go upwards from there. We had 60 background alone this week, so we had 150 people.

“I think I know one thing about every single person and what they eat because they’ll let you know. One guy is allergic to peanuts, one guy has to have real half-and-half for his coffee when we go on location.”

Beginnings: “For me it was a fluke. I moved out to L.A., it was almost 20 years ago. I had followed my brother here from Arizona with the acting bug, but nothing was happening. I was working in a restaurant as a waitress, and I waited on this gal and she said she worked in production. I didn’t really know anything about anything, but I said I wanted to work in craft service.

“The next day somebody calls me at the restaurant [asking me to come in for an interview]. So I met with the people and I didn’t realize at the time they were in an awful bind. It was Friday and the movie started on Monday. I said I love giving parties and they said, ‘OK, you’re hired.’ It was a movie called ‘Dominion.’ ”

Problem solving: “Just the other day we were getting ready to have lunch and only half the lunch showed up. I was like, ‘Where’s the other half?’ I was in the alley on my cellphone screaming at people. I had to call the restaurant directly myself and then have the driver race back to get [the food]. The thing with this job is everything has to happen now!”

Off hours: “I don’t cook very much at home. I love doing the food at work, and if I have a party at my house people are very impressed. But I eat fast food. I eat pizza and Mexican food. That’s all I need.”

Age: 38

Union or Guild: IATSE, Local 80.

Resides: Reseda

Salary: “I might only work eight months out of the year, but it pays for the whole year. I own my own home and two investment condos in Arizona. I am not frivolous, but I can still take a trip every year. I travel a lot.”