Catch Of The Day Is The Food-Filled End-Of-Summer Romance We’ve Been Waiting For

Have you ever dreamed of packing it all up to move to some cozy coastal town — where a swoon-worthy second chance romance and endless buttered lobster rolls might just be waiting for you? I mean, who among us hasn’t, right? Which is why Hallmark’s Catch of the Day, coming to the network and streamer on Aug. 30, is comfort food in movie form. And we have a real-life foodie favorite to thank for it: Katie Lee Biegel.

Biegel has spent decades sharing her passion for food with the world through The Food Network’s hit show The Kitchen, culinary competitions, her bestselling cookbooks, and even a podcast that deep-dives into what people’s favorite meals say about them. But now, the Emmy-nominated culinary star (and mom of one) is adding “screenwriter” to her already stacked resume.

Catch of the Day, which Biegel co-wrote and produced, follows Sophie, a rising chef in New York City, who returns to her hometown of Montauk to save her family’s struggling seafood restaurant. Once home, she reconnects with her roots, her family, and — yep — a dreamy local fisherman. Think coastalcore summer romance with plenty of mouthwatering food along the way. (I would like some spaghetti with clams immediately, please and thank you.)

We caught up with Biegel to talk about what inspired the film, how she turned recipes into plot points, and why simple summer meals are still the ones that feed her soul.

Scary Mommy: This is your second Hallmark movie and your first screenwriting credit. What was your inspiration for Catch of the Day?

Katie Lee Biegel: I live in the Hamptons, and Montauk is a town here at the end of Long Island that is a commercial fishing town. I've watched it change over the years, like so many small towns in America, and more and more mom and pop businesses [are being] pushed out.

So, I had the idea for Catch of the Day that is based around a young woman named Sophie Monahan, a chef who grew up in her family's restaurant and is now a chef in a fancy New York City restaurant. She moves back to save her family business, and of course she has a romance. She meets up with Cam, her high school crush, and sparks fly.

SM: What made Montauk the perfect setting for this story about second chances?

KLB: Well, I think that there's something really special about summer romance. Sophie meeting up with her first crush from high school — we can all identify with that and remember what it was like to have those moments when we were young and to kind of reconnect with that part of ourselves.

And I think that food also has the ability to inspire nostalgia. When you hear a song, it takes you back to a place, but when you have a dish, it takes you back to a time in your life as well. So this movie has food, it has romance, and it also has escapism and family at the heart of it.

SM: You have a cameo in the film as well. How was it stepping into that role, and did you sneak in any Easter eggs for longtime fans?

KLB: I play a food blogger in the movie, and I'm not the nicest food blogger in it. Normally on my own social media I only post positive things, so this was a little bit of a departure for me. But some of my recipes, my longtime followers will recognize, are in the movie. They'll see my cioppino, my spaghetti with clams. Maybe you've already seen me make spaghetti with clams on TV; now you're going to see these characters eating that same recipe.

SM: Yes, this movie is full of really gorgeous coastal food moments. It’s safe to assume, then, that you were very hands-on in what food made it to screen?

KLB: Yes, I was very hands-on when it came to the food. I worked with the culinary producer and food stylist to hire the right person and also then to go through the dishes. We made the dishes in advance, took pictures, went back and forth on what exactly it should look like, and got it just right.

SM: What was it like seeing your vision come to life?

KLB: When I first got on set and saw Easton's Fish Market all put together, I actually started to cry. It really took my breath away to see it all come to life ... same thing when I got the first cut of the movie to watch. I had tears coming down my face. It was really a moment for me.

SM: Hallmark aptly called this project “a dream.” What about this moment in your career feels full circle?

KLB: I think this area of Long Island is so central to who I am. I grew up in a small town in West Virginia. I moved here to Long Island over 20 years ago, and it's really become a second home to me. I feel so connected with the communities, so to be able to write a story that takes place here and then see it on the screen is really special.

But also, at the place that I am in my life — I became a mom almost five years ago and going through those couple of years of a fog thinking, Will I ever be able to do anything different, and really just for myself again? — writing this was a way to reconnect with myself and to use my brain in a different way. I would put my daughter to bed at night and then work on this script. So, it's something that feels really good to have accomplished at this point in my life when I really wasn't sure if I'd be doing anything like this again.

SM: Love that! Speaking of making family proud, you’ve said before that you grew up cooking with your grandmother. How does that formative experience find its way into your work today?

KLB: My grandma is my biggest inspiration. I would not be where I am today at all without her. She not only was the greatest cook there ever was, but she believed in having a second act as well. When she was in her late 50s, she went to college and she started working and had this second career. I kind of feel like this is a second act for me. I am known mostly for cooking, but getting to do something that's so different feels really good. And I think that my grandma always gave me the courage and the inspiration to be able to leap for your dreams and take the step that you need to.

SM: That's really lovely. If you had to pick one summer meal to eat forever — your “endless summer” dish — what would it be?

KLB: OK, that's a good one because it's a dinner that we have on repeat. I buy the local fluke here on Long Island, and I do just like my grandma would do with fish: I dust it in cracker meal, and I fry it in a skillet. We have that with corn on the cob, sliced tomato with just some flaky sea salt, and a green salad, and that's all I need. It's a simple meal, and it's perfection.

SM: I was going to say that literally sounds like perfection.

KLB: That's the best thing about summer food is that you don't have to do much to it, and it tastes great.

Catch of the Day comes to Hallmark on Aug. 30, at 8/7c, and will be available to stream on Hallmark+ the following day.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.