1994 – Stand up comedian Tom Riehl sets up a camcorder at home and prepares Crab-Stuffed Shrimp for a home video to be given to his then mother-in-law. THE SEED WAS PLANTED.

1995 – Tom, who additionally has an extensive restaurant background, decides to combine his two talents into one. Deciding on a career in television production, Tom goes back to school and gets involved in the city’s Public Access program. In July, after only three months of classes, he brings home a camera and some lights from school. That evening he sets up the equipment in his kitchen and prepares his favorite recipe…homemade pizza. Although technically pretty bad, the footage has some funny moments and Tom decides to try and edit together a half hour show for broadcast. Upon completion, he includes a mailing address at the end of the show for anyone interested in the recipe. One week later Tom goes to his P.O. Box and discovers three letters. He decides to call the show Cooking for Dummies.

1996 – By now Tom has five shows “in the can” averaging about one a month. Pizza, Corn Flake Chicken, Lasagna, Dog Biscuits and Lobster Tail. Although still technically pretty bad, the recipe requests keep coming. Tom occasionally calls on some of his comedian buddies to come on as guests and play his neighbors, adding another element to an already bizarre show. Late in 1996 Tom adds an email address at the end of the show and begins designing a web page. By December, fifteen shows have been completed.

1997 – Throughout the first year and a half of production, the crew on Cooking for Dummies consists of Tom and an occasional friend who stops by to stand behind the camera. By February, a web page is up and running and emails are averaging about four a week. By now the production quality of the show is really beginning to bother Tom. He enlists the help of a few people he meets at school and begins working on lighting, audio and camera shots. By now, Tom and his friend Bill, a reoccurring guest on the show, have begun to develop a routine that the show’s audience seems to enjoy. The premise is Tom as the guy who wants to teach viewers how to cook, while Bill, a forty-something burned out surfer is there to screw things up. The combination proves to be an immediate success. By November, surfer Bill has a regular spot on the show.

1998 – In January, Tom receives an email from the company who publishes the “…for Dummies” line of books. They insist he change the name of the show immediately or face legal action. He immediately changes the spelling of the name to Cooking 4 Dummeez. Two months later he receives a certified letter and a bill for $140.00 from the company’s legal department. The spelling change isn’t good enough. By this time there are thirty-three shows airing with the Cooking for Dummies name. Tom has no choice but to hire a lawyer. He is informed that although he has a pretty good chance of winning, the cost involved in fighting a large company such as IDG Books is going to be extensive. After much consideration, Tom decides to drop the name and start over. He isn’t permitted to air any on the first thirty-three shows ever again. By now, the production crew has grown to eight and Tom and Bill are doing public appearances and guest spots on radio shows.

1999 – By now the show’s popularity is at an all time high, although tension on the set between Bill and everyone else is evident. The crew has grown to twelve and is rapidly outgrowing Tom’s three-bedroom house. Some changes needed to be made. In February Tom decides to build a set and tape the show at a studio. He adds a rock and roll band out of Los Angeles called Little Mo, a live studio audience and a whole new look. In March, Tom and Bill decide it best to go their separate ways.
In April, FOOD RULES tapes their first two shows in the studio with special guests Tim Conway, Jr. and country-recording artist Marc Corey Lee. The new format is a success and Tom is approached by a publishing company to be part of a nationally distributed cookbook. By August, eight shows had been produced with the new format bringing the total to fifty-three completed shows since the idea was born over four years ago.