Arts & Entertainment

'Sexy Meatballs' Invades Medfield Kitchen to Film Pilot for Cooking Show

Filmmakers turned a Medfield resident's kitchen into a cooking set for a segment of a pilot, "Sexy Meatballs."

The Hattens did what many others were doing on Feb. 5 – hosting a Super Bowl party.

But unique to others, the Pederzini Drive residents welcomed into their kitchen a production company from California and two chefs from Boston to film the pilot episode of an independently produced show entitled "Sexy Meatballs."

and said turning his parents' kitchen and Super Bowl party into a set happened "in the most roundabout" way.

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"The director, Jon Schroder, is married to a woman who used to live down the street from me," Hatten said. "We're Facebook friends, and every now and again I'll touch base with her and Jon, both out of friendship and sometimes to ask for advice from an established filmmaker. It just so happens that this time, he was coming out to Massachusetts and had recently had a location cancel on him. ... It happens. I offered to help find a new Super Bowl party and before I knew it, 'Sexy Meatballs' is in my mom's kitchen."

The show is based on the company "Sexy Meatballs," featuring two Boston chefs, Jennifer King and Melissa Sullivan. Hatten says the company's unusual name came about during a meeting the director had with a producer.

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"The story goes, when they were pitching [the idea of the show and company], Jon used the words "sexy" and "meatballs" together," Hatten said. "A producer latched onto it and the name stuck, for the show and the company. Jen and Melissa aren't fans [of the name], apparently, but it's a catchy title."

During the pilot episode, King and Sullivan showed how to make some of their meatballs and served them to roughly 24 guests at the Hattens' Super Bowl party. Among the meatballs sampled were beef stuffed with peppers and vegetables and Hatten's favorite, Buffalo Chicken.

"I'd never even heard of [Buffalo Chicken meatballs] before and that very fact should get someone arrested," Hatten said. "Their meatballs are out of this world."

While the episode is supposed to illustrate guests enjoying meatballs, Hatten said there was no acting needed, genuinely describing the cooking as "brilliant and delicious."

"We were pretty much obligated to eat and enjoy the meatballs for the camera, but I can say in all honesty that they were among the best meatballs I've had," Hatten said.

The next step for Schroder, the show's director, is to option it to several networks with the hope of it getting picked up, putting Medfield on the film industry's map once again. Parts of _Shutter Island_ and _The Box_ were filmed on the grounds of the former in 2007 and 2008.

"It was fun having them here," Hatten said. "I hope it gets picked up; it would be funny to get a bunch of unexpected Facebook messages sometime in June from friends asking why I was on TV."

Evan's father, Bill, shared his son's enthusiasm for the experience, even with the game ending in disappointment for the Patriots fan.

"It was a lot of fun," Bill Hatten said. "Everything but the result of the game."


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