How The Five Star Weekend Food Stylist Made Jennifer Garner's "Hollis-Worthy" Food
Melissa McSorley was the real MVP behind Hollis Shaw's mouth-watering food spreads (including the blackberry galette).
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Key Takeaways
- Food stylist Melissa McSorley crafted seasonal, Nantucket-inspired dishes to reinforce Hollis Shaw’s identity as a talented cook and food blogger.
- Jennifer Garner collaborated closely with McSorley and the production team, performing realistic cooking scenes that highlighted both the character’s culinary skills and Garner’s own comfort in the kitchen.
- The series emphasized authentic, visually-appealing food preparation, with Garner noting that cast members often spent up to 12 hours eating the dishes during filming, making the quality and taste essential.
Audiences fell in love with Peacock Original series The Five Star Weekend because of how series creator Bekah Brunstetter and the Jennifer Garner-led cast brought Elin Hilderbrand's story to life onscreen. But while plenty of drama, grief, and reconnection unfolds across eight episodes, the lavish world of Hollis Shaw's Nantucket retreat does give viewers the feel of a true summer getaway. The meals and snacks we see Hollis lovingly prepare for her friends play a major visual role — and you've got food stylist Melissa McSorley to thank.
In this behind-the-scenes video shot on set, series star and executive producer Garner spoke to McSorley about how, as McSorley herself put it, the food stylist "makes sure that all the food is Hollis-worthy." By devising perfect Christmas cookies, the blackberry galette, and those bountiful cheese plates, McSorley sent an important message to viewers: Hollis is very, very good at what she does.
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Food stylist Melissa McSorley made Hollis Shaw's cooking look irresistible
At the top of the video, Garner explains that her character is a "food influencer and serious foodie, but Melissa is the real deal." In addition to shots of food from the show (such as the oyster plate in Episode 1, "Friday: Arrivals"), we see footage of McSorley walking Garner and director Minkie Spiro through a setup on Hollis's kitchen island between takes.
"In the various dishes, you see things that are reflective of the time of year, and the location," McSorley explains. "We're in Nantucket and it's summer, so there are blackberries and blueberries," she adds.
"I've never gotten to cook before as a character," Garner tells a surprised McSorley. Anyone who follows the star on Instagram knows Garner is no slouch in the kitchen herself, as she regularly posts delightful "Pretend Cooking Show" videos. Knowing this makes all of the chopping, salting, and kneading she does in the series all the more convincing.
When it comes to McSorley's job as food stylist, she tells Garner, "It's a real collaboration with writers and with you, and what you're comfortable making."
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Jennifer Garner says The Five Star Weekend scenes involved eating food "for 12 hours straight"
"When we eat food in a scene, we eat that food sometimes for 12 hours straight," Garner reveals, over footage of Tatum (Chloë Sevigny) nibbling on pizza and Hollis eating a messy egg sandwich Jack (Timothy Olyphant) made her. "I would not have survived that if you hadn't made the food so delicious!"
Garner and McSorley show off the literal fruits of their labor at the end of the video: During their chat, they'd been preparing a cobbler and a crumble the whole time. That's so Hollis!
"If you want to see all the things that Hollis is cooking in the middle of the messiest, most exciting, dynamic weekend of her life, you'll have to tune in to The Five Star Weekend," Garner says as she digs into one of their treats. Stream all eight episodes on Peacock now.
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