As an Academy Award-nominated actor, Bradley Cooper could probably have played a convincing restaurant chef with little preparation. Instead, to prepare for the role of high-striving Chef Adam Jones in the new film Burnt (out Oct. 30), Cooper trained in professional kitchens and actually did the on-set cooking, as he reveals in the behind-the-scenes special Burnt: In The Kitchen With Bradley Cooper, airing tonight on Food Network.

The star, who grew up cooking for friends and family, and once worked as a prep cook in an Italian restaurant, took the job seriously. “I’ve always been fascinated by food,” Cooper says. “Eating it, primarily.” But to get his culinary skills to the level of a world-renowned, award-winning chef, he and co-star Sienna Miller trained with acclaimed Michelin-starred British Chef Marcus Wareing, who worked for Gordon Ramsay, Daniel Boulud and Guy Savoy before opening his own three top restaurants in London.

For Wareing, it was imperative that the stars train as actual chefs before playing them on film. “If they wanted to shoot scenes and not have the real kitchen working with real food, then I wouldn't be here. Movie or no movie, I couldn't care less,” Wareing says. “I want to see the cooks cooking. I want to see the stoves on. I want to see them seasoning. I want to see them tasting. I want to see them burning themselves. That’s how a kitchen is.”

“We're doing the cooking, and that's all because of Marcus and his team,” Cooper says.

For more on the new film Burnt, including exclusive sneak peeks and interviews from Cooper, Miller, Wareing and director John Wells, tune in tonight at 11:30|10:30c for Burnt: In The Kitchen With Bradley Cooper.