Many people have heard of the dish shepherd’s pie with ground meat inside and mashed potato on top.

In the first episode of a new local cooking show, Rebel Kitchen, holistic health coach Shaele Godfrey offers a meatless alternative with walnuts instead of meat, and a plantain mixture instead of the mashed potatoes.

Creatives Lamone Woods and Amir X first started producing the show back in 2020.

Everything was going well until Covid-19 intervened.

“Things went to about zero, in terms of production,” said Mr Woods of Crimson Multimedia. “Coming out of the pandemic we were focused on stabilising our own situations. We had to chase work that was paying. Now we are in a place where we can invest time into this.”

The first episode of the vegan-focused show dropped on Monday on YouTube at 8pm. Two more chapters are to follow over the next two weeks. Then, another show featuring more traditional holiday cooking, In The KitchenWith Miss T, takes viewers up to Christmas.

“We shot these just before the pandemic,” Mr Woods said. “They are still relevant and high quality. They are still new, because no one has seen them yet. We thought it was time to get them off the shelf.”

Filming Rebel Kitchen inspired model Amir X, who runs advertising agency Gino Group, to try veganism himself.

“It was good for my career,” he said. “When I shoot now, my body looks different, and that is because I am vegan.”

They hope Rebel Kitchen influences others to eat healthier.

“All the refined sugars and carbohydrates that people eat makes their blood sugar go up,” Amir X said. “Lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, type two, are very high in Bermuda. If people choose to follow the ingredients and instructions of Rebel Kitchen, then they can learn how to cook without meat and stuff tastes good.”

The rebel aspect comes from the fact that people who take on a healthier lifestyle, are often grilled by family and friends about their choices.

“Your own family may ask if you are sure that is healthy,” Mr Woods said. “They might say are you getting enough protein and carbohydrates?”

In The Kitchen with Miss T, hosted by parliamentary registrar Tenia Woolridge, will go in a different direction, showing off more traditional meals for special occasions.

“These would be more of what your grandmother would cook at Christmas,” Amir X said.

“Back in the day, we used cooking as a way to congregate and share what was going on in each other’s lives,” Mr Woods said. “We are trying to influence people to get back into that.”

The last episode of In The Kitchen with Miss T, on December 23, will showcase a holiday feast.

“Salmon features in one of the episodes,” Amir X said. “All the food was incredible. Miss T really knows how to cook. She runs a catering business called Table for Eight.”

He said there was nothing wrong with having a less healthy meal, once in a while.

“Just do not eat like that all the time,” he said.

The pair jokingly refer to their work on the shows as “Hollywood without the Hollywood money behind it”.

A team of five to ten people helped them pull it all together.

“We had some grips, and other people who helped out, but Amir and I did the majority of it,” Mr Woods said.

The two of them built the Rebel Kitchen set themselves on a loading dock outside their studio on Cemetery Road in Pembroke. They used old wooden pallets to create the walls.

“Lamone and I enjoy working with each other,” Amir X said. “We would forget what time it was and work until 2am. The later it gets the fewer interruptions you have. It took us about a week.”

One of their challenges was financing. The process typically works differently here compared to other places.

“Generally, overseas, when you have an idea for a show you shop it, get the money and then produce it,” Mr Woods said. “In Bermuda it is a little more difficult to get the money first. Here, people like to see the finished product before investing in it. That means you have to have some skin in the game up front.”

Working together their goal has always been to produce quality local entertainment.

“We have always endeavoured to create a space where local talent could either get their feet wet in the world of television production or bring their experience to the table,” Mr Woods said. “Over the years we have given numerous individuals the opportunity to share their wisdom and knowledge with Bermuda and the world; not only in front of the camera, but behind the scenes as well.”

Amir X moved to South Africa three years ago, but still works with Mr Woods.

“Not a day goes by that we don’t talk to each other,” Amir X said.

Mr Woods started out in electronics engineering.

“I did a master’s degree in business and then I taught at the Berkeley Institute,” he said. ”I started working with the students with video equipment the school had.“

He fell in love with videography and started doing small video production jobs. When he became busy with that it was time to make a choice. Seventeen years ago he left teaching to pursue film production full time through Crimson Multimedia.

“Over the years, we have built a dedicated team of cameramen, technical directors, and producers, and have an ongoing collaboration with Amir X,” Mr Woods said. “That has brought sophistication, organisation and creative direction to our production. Together, we have worked hard to create content that is not only fresh and engaging but also reflects our community and culture.”

Whether the team creates more cooking show episodes next year depends on whether they can get more funding for the project.

“We have been discussing with Shael, whether we could fly her to South Afric, to do a Rebel Kitchen episode here,” Amir X said. “She is excited about that.”

To watch Rebel Kitchen and In The Kitchen With Miss T, see Channel 82 Bermuda, on YouTube.