While Season 3 does still has some surprise cameos from faces you’d typically see on a red carpet, it’s culinary celebrities who get the spotlight this time around.
Episode 1, “Tomorrow,” is a hodgepodge of flashbacks from Carmy’s career before he moved back to Chicago. At one point, chef Terry (Olivia Colman) watches Carmy shuck peas from across the kitchen of Ever, even while a dish is being prepared right in front of her by Dave Beran. In real life, Beran is the chef and owner of Pasjoli in Santa Monica, who also played a role in Jeremy Allen White’s culinary training ahead of Season 1.
Chef Terry eventually sends Carmy to work at Noma in Copenhagen, where he shares a quick glance with the world-famous Rene Redzepi, who’s poring over recipe photos on an outdoor bulletin board.
Throughout the episode, Carmy is mentored by Daniel Boulud of New York City’s Daniel, who helps him refine his technique while prepping vegetables, using truffle and cooking potatoes, which Carmy thinks back to in flashbacks throughout the season.
The finale, “Forever,” opens with a flashback to Carmy’s days at the French Laundry in Northern California, where chef and owner Thomas Keller teaches him how to take the wishbone out of a chicken before beginning a conversation about having a legacy in the kitchen.
Terry’s decision to close Ever and retire draws chefs from all over the world to Chicago for the restaurant’s funeral dinner, which is the focus of the rest of the episode. Luca (Will Poulter) peppers Alinea chef Grant Achtaz with questions until he can’t take it anymore and awkwardly excuses himself. Carmy catches up with Wylie Dufresne (WD50, Stretch Pizza) and Kevin Boehme (Boka Restaurant Group) before sitting down for dinner.
As they eat, Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) listen to other guests share stories from the highs and low of their careers. Among their table mates is Will Guidara, restaurateur and author of the book “Unreasonable Hospitality,” which Richie learned from during his training at Ever in the Season 2 episode “Forks.” (The book’s most famous quote guides “The Bear” and certainly the Season 3 finale: “People will forget what you do; they’ll forget what you said. But they’ll never forget how you made them feel.”) Guidara — who was also a judge on Dan Levy’s short-lived cooking competition “The Big Brunch” — is a co-producer and consultant on “The Bear.”
Genie Kwon, chef and owner of Chicago’s Kasama, has consulted on “The Bear” too, and appears at the dinner, as do Malcolm Livingston II (Noma), Anna Posey (Elske), Rosio Sanchez (Noma, Sanchez, Hija de Sanchez) and Christina Tosi (Milk Bar).
There’s one cook who doesn’t play himself, though. Paulie James of L.A.’s Uncle Paulie’s Deli shows up in Episodes 6 and 7 as Chuckie, who helps Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) run the sandwich window at the back of the Bear — the restaurant’s only profitable component.
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