With The Bear season 2 out, Jeremy Allen White dished about his process to prepare for the hit show and what scared him during filming. There was less time spent in the kitchen, more time as a “fly on the wall” helping his fictional Chicago based restaurant struggle for success.

White was less hands-on for the second season of The Bear. The actor told Gold Derby in an interview that learning about a professional kitchen meant a lot of character research. He even prepared for the role at Pasjoli, a fancy French restaurant located in Santa Monica.

“I spent a lot of time as a fly on the wall, and I’d help them prep where you can’t really screw up anything too badly,” the Shameless alum said. “It was a pretty busy night and Chef Dave [Beran] pushed me onto the line.” White said he was then told to “start cooking,” even though he was “so, so scared.”

“From what I understand, I won’t be doing as much sort of cooking in season two,” White continued, before clarifying the show runners and creator, “said I don’t have to drive myself as crazy as I might have before the first season.”

However, White admitted spending time in a kitchen was “something I wanted to do,” and, “I like spending time in these places, I like all the people that work there, and I like all learning about this craft.”

“I was working in some, I mean, really amazing restaurants, Michelin Star places where they have everything together and they’re making a lot of money,” White said. “You’d be shocked at just how much success is necessary to be in a place of real ease at a restaurant.”

See Jeremy Allen White as Carmy in The Bear season 2, out now.