
Virtually nobody on Yellowstone could possibly be characterised as “chill,” however that’s the right phrase to explain chef Gabriel “Gator” Guilbeau, who performs himself on the Paramount Community drama — whereas additionally working because the present’s head of craft companies.
Guilbeau has been working behind the scenes on Yellowstone for the reason that sequence debuted in 2018, and he made his on-camera debut that yr because the Dutton household’s personal chef. In true Yellowstone style, his entrée into appearing got here within the spur of the second.
“I had solely identified [Yellowstone cocreator] Taylor [Sheridan] for perhaps a month at that time. Not very lengthy in any respect,” Guilbeau solely instructed Us Weekly whereas selling his new Yellowstone cookbook. “I keep in mind him telling me that he was gonna put me within the present, after which I keep in mind him yelling at some development guys saying, ‘Hey, I want you to construct this cooking station.’ And he designed it in his head on the spot in, like, two minutes. That’s how his mind works.”
Sheridan instructed the crew that they had six hours to construct an outside range for what Guilbeau describes as a “miniscule” scene. They accomplished it in 5 and a half hours, and Guilbeau set to work.
“The concrete was nonetheless moist on this factor,” he recalled with fun. “Taylor threw me in entrance of the digital camera and he mentioned, ‘OK, go.’ And I mentioned, ‘OK, go?!’ He goes, ‘Yeah, simply, you recognize, do Gator stuff.’ … I used to be like, ‘Effectively, I assume I’ll simply begin making dinner and so they can simply movie that.’”
Guilbeau’s low-key strategy was apparently simply what Sheridan envisioned, and he returned once more as a minor character in season 2 — this time with traces. “It simply made sense after that,” he defined. “And it didn’t harm that I’m the one actor who’s at all times on set as a result of I’m already there, and I’m at all times in costume. It’s a win for everyone.”
It additionally helped {that a} veteran like Kevin Costner was keen to provide Guilbeau some pointers. “I keep in mind him telling me to not a lot change the script, however make it your personal,” Guilbeau mentioned. “Make the traces your personal, have enjoyable with it — don’t simply learn the traces and spit them out. … He’s such a sensible previous man, it’s very straightforward to belief him. And he’s very humorous. He’s at all times been nothing however candy to me.”
Whereas followers look ahead to the second half of Yellowstone’s fifth and closing season, they will strive their hand at 55 unique recipes from Guilbeau’s new guide, Yellowstone: The Official Dutton Ranch Household Cookbook. These embody dishes drawn from scenes within the present — Beth’s “Two Scoops of Ice Cream, Three Photographs of Vodka” Smoothie and John and Tate’s Pan-Roasted Walleye — in addition to recipes impressed by his Louisiana background.
“I used to be simply by no means a recipe man,” Guilbeau instructed Us. “I simply knew find out how to make all these items. That was how I realized find out how to cook dinner. I used to be capable of put lots of my staple dishes in right here, after which there’s some recipes in there that I inherited from my grandmother. She used to have this tin of index playing cards or folded-up articles, simply gathering recipes over a few years. I used to be capable of inherit that tin of recipes.”

Guilbeau’s go-to dishes embody loads of “consolation meals,” which he says is at all times a scorching ticket with the present’s solid members. “Kevin likes pot roast and meatloaf and apple pie, and Cole [Hauser] likes ribeyes and all different meat,” he instructed Us. “They’re all fairly easy. Kelly [Reilly], she is available in and eats with me, however she likes to maintain it gentle. They’re actually good. They’re not choosy eaters.”
Guilbeau additionally famous that somebody — if not the solid — often eats the meals he cooks on digital camera when he’s making dinner for John Dutton (Costner) and the household. “Particularly should you see me cooking exterior,” he defined. “I can’t let you know what number of of these biscuits I made — and we nonetheless ran out of biscuits within the biscuit scene. … I’ve received all these biscuits for the scene, after which I’m wanting round and everyone’s consuming a biscuit. I’m like, ‘We’re gonna run out of biscuits, guys. You guys gotta decelerate.’”
Yellowstone: The Official Dutton Ranch Household Cookbook is on the market now wherever books are offered. For extra with Guilbeau — and his recipe for blueberry cobbler — choose up the brand new difficulty of Us Weekly, on stands Wednesday, September 13.