Lucky 8’s “The Food That Built America,” a series now wrapping production of its fourth season for the History Channel, tells compelling stories of the families behind the iconic food brands we have come to know and love. Filming for the latest season took place throughout New Jersey, which afforded us a chance to catch up with Christian Palladino, Lucky 8’s Vice President of Production, to discuss his work on the show along with his many experiences in New Jersey.

Starting out at the bottom, like many, Christian began his career as a production assistant on HBO’s “The Sopranos.” He moved to Weehawken in 2011 and spent more than a decade working as a freelance line producer on two long-running New Jersey television productions: “Ink Masters,” which, like FTBA, filmed at Ironbound Studios in Newark, and Kevin Smith’s AMC series “Comic Book Men.”

When it came time to make executive decisions regarding where to film FTBA, Christian cited New Jersey’s competitive tax incentives. “Executives at the production company and network were very excited about the tax credit. Aside from a few random interview days with a skeleton crew in Brooklyn, we filmed about 98% of the show in New Jersey, and back at Ironbound Studios.”

For Christian, the Garden State offers much more than an attractive incentive. “For starters, a lot of our crew live in New Jersey, which is great for getting to work. Who doesn’t want to avoid New York City traffic?” muses Christian. “Additionally, through working with Ken Gifford at Ironbound Studios, the production was able to make many local hires. We had quite a few Newark and New Jersey locals that successfully worked with us for the run of the show. Also, our 35-person art department had no issues sourcing their various props, set dressings, and construction materials locally, which is the largest and arguably the most important aspect of our show. We were able to get almost everything done here.”

As far as locations were concerned, as is commonly known, the Garden State has a lot to offer. “Our locations department had a plethora of location choices, from mansions to baseball fields, to freestanding businesses like a bakery or ice cream shop, to the abandoned racetrack at the Meadowlands,” recalls Christian. “New Jersey has a reputation for being full of strip malls and for having a sort of homogenous look overall, but we’ve found these rumors to be untrue. Our team scouted a broad range of locations to fit our creative producer’s every wish.”

Of course, finding a location is one matter, but working to secure and manage those locations is another. Christian explains that FTBA production crews were very pleased in that regard. “Local business owners were not only happy to host us and earn a buck, but they always went the extra mile to make sure we had everything we needed, from local assistance to food recommendations. On that note, we also found the local food scene to be fantastic. We were able to find a variety of food options to fit the many desires our 100+ person crew, and the business owners were great at handling our very large food orders.”

To read more about one business owner’s experience hosting “The Food that Built America” and other productions, check out our interview with the owner of the Barnyard and Carriage House in Totowa.

Below is a list of New Jersey locations used for filming Seasons 3 and 4 of “The Food That Built America.” All 20 episodes of Season 4 will begin airing February 19, 2023, on the History Channel.

Season 3 locations: already aired and available to stream on https://play.history.com/shows/the-food-that-built-america/season-3
- Ironbound Studios, Newark
- Glynallyn Castle, Morristown
- Patsy’s Tavern and Restaurant, Paterson
- Liberty Hall Museum, Union
- Arirang Hibachi, Mountainside
- Cake and Cone, East Rutherford
- The Barrow Mansion, Jersey City
- The Bakery, Bergenfield
- Closed building at Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford

Season 4 locations: current season begins airing February 2023
- Ironbound Studios, Newark
- The Art Factory, Paterson
- Barnyard & Carriage House, Totowa
- Claremont Distillery, Fairfield
- Mayapple Hill Park, West Orange