JOPLIN, Mo. — Instead of watching a cooking show on TV, some area residents will see it happen in person.

Several local residents showed up at Mercy Park Hill this morning for a chance to be selected as audience members for an upcoming cooking show.

Joplin CVB Director Patrick Tuttle says a production company is filming a series of cooking shows to be called “Best Bites in Town”.

Tuttle says the shows will highlight six different Joplin area restaurants.

“There’s about 45 to 50 locals that are making up the audience and they’re going to have a full day of moving around and being part of the cheering and the excitement that’s going on, there’s a production crew of about 35 people here that have been here for about four days, there’s a great economic impact for our community, there’s three celebrity chefs and all their staffs that have been working with six different restaurants,” said Patrick Tuttle, Director, Visit Joplin.

Tuttle isn’t sure exactly which network the show will air on or when it will air.

We’ll bring you that information as it becomes available.