By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport was host to a different line of customers Monday as a film crew for a new Food Network show “Will Work for Food” arranged extras in their places and ordered refills on the food consumed during takes. 

The Clam Shack owner Steve Kingston conversed with “Will Work for Food” host Adam Gertler, looking for tips on how to transition out of his day job. Gertler, originally from Long Island, N.Y., was one of the three finalists on “The Next Food Network Star,” and while the winner of that show earned his own cooking show, Gertler said he was offered “Will Work for Food,” a show that sends him around the country, stopping at restaurants and doing anything and everything involving the food world, learning what it takes to produce the food people eat.

While the show doesn’t premiere until January and a date for The Clam Shack episode has not been set, Gertler said so far he has tossed pizzas, hunted for truffles and been a roller-skating waiter. Gertler said three producers hunt down the places he’ll stop and find exciting things for him to do. His next stop is Seattle, where he said he will be searching for geoducks, a clam indigenous to the Northwest.

“It is pretty amazing because when I go anywhere, I think of what kind of food should I eat there. I’ve always wanted to eat Maine lobster in Maine, and here I am,” Gertler said. 

For Monday’s shoot, Gertler was learning all the steps in making The Clam Shack’s lobster roll. Steve Kingston’s wife Jeni Kingston said Gertler was on lobsterman Eric Emmons’s boat by 5 a.m., learning how to haul traps, then sell the catch to local businesses like The Clam Shack. Emmons, a friend of the Kingston’s agreed to work with Gertler to provide a complete look into the process of getting the lobster for the roll. He also learned how to cook lobster, shell meat, weigh portions and make the final product. 

While the camera was rolling outside the take out window, Gertler ate his catch and said, “A lobster roll is fresh lobster meat on a warm bun, and this is the freshest lobster you can imagine.”

Steve and Jeni Kingston’s daughters Colby, 12, Shae, 10, and Piper, 8, took a day off from school so they could be involved in the filming of “Will Work for Food.” Gertler said they were naturals for the camera as they sat next to him eating French fries and fried clams. 

“It is so exciting. We’ve been looking forward to this for months,” Jeni Kingston said. 

As the camera crew and Gertler rolled through the first take, Steve Kingston had to come out of his store, asking customers how their meals were. Gertler interrupted him to ask where the lobster came from and Steve Kingston told him, “right out back of The Clam Shack.” 

After the first take, field producer Maryn Peters asked for another take and for everyone to be “a bit zippier.” The crew took a short break after another four takes, but would continue filming clips for the show through the afternoon.

Steve Kingston, who had to change his white Clam Shack shirt to a celery green version and stumbled on a couple lines during earlier takes, thought the filming was going great.

“Considering it is a national audience, I just want to do it right,” Steve Kingston said. 

The Kingston’s sent emails to family and friends about the filming, hoping to recruit extras. Nancy Kling and Janet Weston were working on the community garden in Dock Square when they heard about the camera crew at The Clam Shack. Nancy Kling called her husband, Kennebunkport Planning Board Chairman David Kling to join them on set. 

While David and Nancy Kling sat with Weston and enjoyed food as the camera rolled, Mike Laflamme waited in line with his dog Kona. It was clear Kona did not care about being on television, all she wanted was some of Laflamme’s fried clams.