How do other chefs do it? Well, most struggle. A couple of Dave's mates out in Portland have made it work by running their restaurant (the amazing-looking Han Oak) out of their house, like a Michelin star version of the classic Kiwi dairy. Upside: more family time. Downside: sometimes customers will wander into your bedroom, thinking it's the bathroom, which is not ideal when you're trying to feed a baby in there.
Looking ahead, Dave visits Dan Giusti, the former head chef at Noma, who now does admirable work trying to improve the state of food in schools. "What does a third-grader eat?" He wonders. "Probably nothing you've ever cooked," replies Dan. Dave makes them a chicken rice dish. "It's actually kind of good," one surprised-sounding third-grader says. "You've done well, bro."
There is much to learn, but the main lesson is probably that there's nothing that can really prepare you. In all the enthusiasm, the episode probably bites off a little more than it can chew – one second Dave'll be eating a school lunch in Japan; the next he's making baby food with [actor] Nick Kroll, then suddenly Grace is having sushi with the author of a book about how conventional pregnancy wisdom is often total bulls***.
That's just trademark Ugly Delicious, though – hectic, hyperactive, the product of a busy mind. And that's probably what makes it so moving when the baby arrives, and everything slows down. It's rare for food television to get so personal and rarer still for it to be this good.
