How does “Survivor 51” feed its contestants? Host Jeff Probst recently shared some of the show’s food secrets, and a few of the details might surprise you. He also discussed the grubs.
Probst made the comments in a field notes post. Those are summaries of the show’s episodes that he posts on his Instagram page, and they often shed light on his insights and provide behind-the-scenes details from the set.
Here’s what he said about the food, including grubs.
Jeff Probst Says ‘Survivor 51’ Is Committed to Giving Players Fresh Food
Probst says that it’s important to the show to deliver quality food to the contestants.
“We are very committed — and work very hard — to ensure that when a tribe or players earn food, that the food we put in front of them is fresh and, when appropriate, hot,” Probst writes. “The WHY is simple. Outside of trust, food is the most important thing in the game and we when you earn it you deserve it to be satisfying.”
He explained that sometimes the fresh reward is not the same food they will actually eat, though.
“The HOW is a little more involved,” Probst says. “If I visually tease a food reward before the challenge, the natural assumption would be that it is the same food the winning players will eat. But that’s not the case. We prepare a completely fresh reward timed to the players arriving wherever the food reward is taking place.”
Jeff Probst Says an ‘Official Applebee’s Chef’ Is on Location
Who knew Applebee’s was involved?
“It might mean making the food on site, or making it and putting it in containers and delivering it by boat,” Probst writes. “And in some cases, like with Applebee’s, we have an official Applebee’s chef on location to oversee the making and delivery of the food.”
“Regardless of the particulars,” he says, “we always go to great lengths to ensure the food is as good as it can be, albeit given that we are on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”
And then there’s the very unappetizing grubs.
“From a production standpoint, this is a fairly straight forward challenge to shoot,” Probst wrote. “13 players, 26 grubs, lots of squirming and grub guts. For our team this is not a problem. But hosting and refereeing this challenge was a very different thing. Because for me, 13 players, 26 grubs, with only the first ten moving on and a proper merge feast on the line, is about as chaotic as it can get.”
He also explained where the show gets the grubs.
“As for HOW we get the grubs?” Probst teases. “I’ll just say that we have a very good supplier and from the moment we receive the grubs, they are looked after by our team to ensure they stay healthy.”
Jeff Probst Shares Secrets About ‘Survivor 51′ Contestants’ Food, Grubs