Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
The Best Of Enemies: Colleen Zenk (Jordan) was thrilled to go up against Eric Braeden (Victor) as part of her Y&R storyline.
The days that Young and Restless’s Jordan was locked up behind bars in the Newman basement courtesy of Victor rank among portrayer Colleen Zenk’s favorite scenes. “I finally got to work with Eric [Braeden, Victor] a lot more than when I first came onto the show,” Zenk beams. “We’re having so much fun with Victor tormenting Jordan.”
One method of his torment? Feeding Jordan an all-Brussells sprouts diet, knowing Jordan detests the vegetable. The scenario inspired some improvisation on Braeden’s part. Recalls Zenk, “When Victor flung the Brussels sprouts through the bars and they went all over the floor, I didn’t know it was coming — nobody knew it was coming! Eric didn’t discuss it with anybody. The director didn’t know. He was like, ‘Holy s–t!’ And banging the tray on the bars was something else he came up with.”
The actress stayed in character after the surprise maneuver and threw a pillow at the offending veggies. “Eric’s doing everything he can to get me and by now he knows he can’t!” Zenk exclaims. “I’ll play right back to him and, and he loves that. We’ve been having a grand time together.”
One moment that was in the script was Victor taunting Jordan by popping a Brussels sprout into his mouth and savoring the taste after eating it. “What they did is pour boiling water over the sprouts just before the take,” Zenk explains. “That way, they would be nice and steamy when he lifted the lid off, and they were cooked through for when Eric had to eat one later.”
Zenk does not share Jordan’s Brussels sprouts aversion, she reports. “I adore Brussels sprouts. I started making them more than 20 years ago for my kids on Thanksgiving. The recipe I use is, you shred them with a mandolin until they’re fine. And then, at the last minute, when everybody’s sitting down, you use a little bit of oil, a little balsamic, a little cognac and you just sauté them for two minutes.”
