The last time I was home for a visit, I promised my mother that I would watch all of our family home movies, put them in chronological order and have them transferred to videotape for her.

Seeing myself in all Super 8 glory was quite a shock, needless to say. First of all, I can’t believe how skinny I was as a kid. No wonder the boys called me “Bones.” Secondly, I can’t believe what a ham I was whenever the camera pointed even remotely in my direction. Jumping up and down, waving, rocking my head from left to right and sticking out my tongue.

If I were my kid, I would have pulled me off with a cane and whacked me with it. Watching further, I did notice that occasionally someone off camera, presumably one of my parents, would tell me to knock it off and the antics would come to an abrupt halt. It was a welcome relief for my parents, but it was usually only temporary.

“What do you do with a kid like that?” I asked. “Nothing, you just wait for them to outgrow it,” my mom said. “But as we all now know, you never did,” my father added.

One day in March, a woman phoned me at work. She told me she was the booking producer for the Food Network and informed me that they were coming to San Diego to shoot a segment of the “FoodNation” show. She went on to say that Bobby Flay, the show’s host, whom I have known for years, requested I co-host the San Diego segment with him. She asked if I would be available and interested.

George and Gracie, Stiller and Meara, Flay and Gavre? Oh no, here comes the ham. The time-honored restaurant double entendres came to me as fast as “The Weakest Link” questions: the wire “whip,” the “beating” of the egg whites, and of course, all of the funnies that arise around the often mispronounced spice, cumin.

After pausing to check my busy schedule of counting cases of eggs between trips to Smart & Final, I accepted. We discussed which restaurants and chefs to include in the show. I rattled off at least 20 restaurants and chefs who should be included and laid out a case detailing how each was so very interesting and show worthy. In the end, the decisions were made by powers bigger than “we,” and most certainly me, and the final lineup and shooting schedule was faxed to me from New York. I will admit that I was relieved to see Café 222 still on the docket, especially after giving such compelling arguments for so many others.

The players: Nick Vitalich of the Chesapeake Fish Co., Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove, Ingrid Croce of Croce’s Restaurant and myself of Café 222.

The shoot was scheduled for the weekend of March 18. I know that all the players, including myself, took advantage of the lead time to “spruce up” their establishments. A crew of eight, including the field producer, Jerry, the director, Lawrence, three cameramen, a couple of lighting guys and host Bobby Flay, arrived the night before. They had driven down from Los Angeles after a two-day shoot with Wolfgang Puck. I met with them to go over the next day’s schedule. They especially wanted ideas about “San Diego-ish” shots for the opening of the show.

They arrived at Café 222 promptly at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning to set up for the scheduled 10 a.m. shoot. The restaurant, like all breakfast spots on Sunday, was building momentum for the after-church rush. Sarah Logan, who heads up the kitchen, didn’t slow down, didn’t miss a beat. She worked a full rack of tickets around the lights, cameras and action of the crew. Service paused for maybe 15 minutes while Flay and I jumped in and goofed around with some peanut butter and banana-stuffed French toast.

A couple of quips, yes, but that was it. I discovered these people were all business. They packed up in 10 minutes and we all headed over to Chesapeake Fish.

Vitalich, owner of Chesapeake, greeted and capped us at the door (all persons must wear a hat or hair net at any food processing plant). We toured the building, talked about fish, looked at fish, watched fish being cleaned and processed, and called it a wrap. This sounds quick, but setting up the shots and cameras was time-consuming. It had taken almost four hours to finish both locations.

We were scheduled to meet George’s Foshee at 1 p.m. for a fresh fish barbecue to be shot at the La Jolla Cove. Permits, parking and personnel problems had us about an hour late, but the crew was undaunted. When the cameras finally rolled, Foshee deftly demonstrated, in front of a crowd of surfers, swimmers and dedicated foodies, how to grill a whole stuffed sea bass. Foshee, who was selected one of “America’s Ten Best Chefs” by Food and Wine magazine, is no stranger to the camera and he pulled his piece off without a hitch. We then spent another two hours in La Jolla shooting more of those “San Diego-ish” scenes that the rest of the country drools over.

The next day was a “call” to Coronado for more San Diego scenes and then it was on to the Gaslamp Quarter for a taste of Downtown at Croce’s. Ingrid Croce, a consummate professional, was ready precisely at 4 p.m., her scheduled shoot time. We walked into her beautifully lit, propped, and freshly painted back kitchen. The room quieted when Jerry the producer told her that she could not use the “script” (which was her recipe) she had hung in camera view. She was told that “FoodNation” is a casual show with folks “just cooking” with Flay. She explained that she didn’t cook the dish on a regular basis and needed the reference, but they would not budge. She paused, dramatically removed her recipe from the table and finally agreed.

She proceeded to beautifully prepare her teriyaki glazed ahi with Flay. Yes, there were a couple of flubs, but they were easily excused given the humor and grace that makes Croce such a successful businesswoman.

“Food Nation” takes viewers to different cities each week and uncovers unique-to-the-region foods featuring local hangouts, the area’s top tables, as well as tourist favorites. Although we spent three days shooting the segment on San Diego, the show will be a whirlwind half hour tour, a mere glimpse of what we have to offer.

The Food Network is seen in more than 60 million homes and ranks fifth overall among prime time cable viewers between the ages of 25 and 54. Among women ages 25 and 54 with an annual household income of at least $50,000, it is second in prime time cable viewing.

Yes, Emeril is entertaining. Yes, Flay is darling. But it really is about the food — not so much the ham and eggs. The San Diego episode airs at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. June 19.

— Terryl Gavre