Jeremy Allen White learns the ins and outs of a restaurant in ‘The Bear’

“I can fake it well, but I’m trying to get better,” the former “Shameless” star says. To make sure he was able to play the role with conviction, White attended the Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena, California. There he learned the tricks of the trade and the amount of time they take to master.

“I was shocked at the amount of time, the amount of work these back-of-the-house folks are putting into it,” he says.

Because cooking – no matter what level – takes commitment, there’s often a personal sacrifice.

“The Bear” follows White’s character as he comes home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop, the Original Beef of Chicagoland, after the death of his brother. While it’s different from the fine dining world he knew, it still takes sacrifice.

The staff who populate the kitchen become a surrogate family.

To duplicate the experience, White and company executed all the cooking steps. “We didn’t have an actual food stylist,” says co-producer Matty Matheson. “If they had to be cutting a pile of onions, they’d be cutting a pile of onions. We wanted to do that as many times the same as practicing lines. That’s what made it real – the frustrations of doing it right and doing it wrong. They were trying.”

In the pilot episode, White accidentally dropped a loaf of bread tossed in his direction. He asked for a retake and the same thing happened.

“We relish the mistakes,” Executive Producer Joanna Calo says. “I loved the idea of diving into this world that I don’t think has been authentically represented.”

Written years ago by Chris Storer, “The Bear” came to White just as he was wrapping “Shameless.” The two had worked together on “The Rental” and Storer sent him the script. White loved its attention to detail, “but I’m useless in the kitchen.” Thus, the prep work at ICE and a stint at Pasjoli, a restaurant in Santa Monica.

In addition to raising the curtain on the culinary world, Caro thought the series could also tell stories about the families that form when people work together.

While Matheson – who also plays Neil – had a background in the restaurant business, others were like White. Several went with him to culinary school; then, they got to work.

“It was exciting to think about accessing a character through learning a skill,” White says. “When I read the script, I really loved (Carmy, his character). I think it’s because he seemed very lost and very lonely.

“His identity is so wrapped up in being a chef. Carmy thinks if he fails at this thing, his life is going to end. As a younger actor, I think my identity was certainly very wrapped up in acting and what I do. I don’t know how well I knew myself outside of that.”

In the series, Carmy uses the intensity of kitchen to push away any emotional development, Calo says. “He didn’t go to his brother’s funeral; he has a fractured relationship with his mother, his relationship with his sister is in a complicated place and all of that has to wait. But he is able to give to the kitchen and the relationships he finds there.”

And White? How has “The Bear” changed him?

“I love cooking for my wife. I love cooking for my kids,” he says. “It’s another form of communication or care – like taking care of people – and I loved that about it.”