Chef Driven

Frank embarks on a farm to plate journey exploring the Corn Industry in the Rocky Mountains. The Midwest may be called the Corn Belt, but the mountains have some unique growing and preparing techniques of their own. Frank examines Olathe Sweet Corn, meets with a unique Bourbon distiller in Wyoming, and learns Old World Southwest cooking techniques including tortilla and posole preparation.

Pork is the world’s most widely consumed meat, so for this episode Frank explores some lesser known Pig breeds and culinary techniques, as well as getting VIP treatment in one of the BBQ meccas, Kansas City. Frank visits a few farms in Eastern Colorado and central Kansas, as well as a charcuterie shop in Lawrence, Kansas, and then digs in to KC BBQ.

With Bee Species being added to the Endangered Species List, Frank sets out learn all he can the importance and many usages of Honey. What exactly is honey, and why do bees produce it? Frank visits a beekeeper in Central Colorado, learns some great cooking techniques with Larabar’s founder, and then discovers Mead.

The chili pepper is synonymous with Southwest Cooking. For this episode Frank heads south through Southern Colorado and New Mexico to learn traditional and new techniques for growing and preparing chilies. With a glass of milk at the ready, Frank encounters the world’s hottest peppers.

Frank starts the episode in Kansas, learning about how farmers are utilizing modern technology to bring one of the world’s most important crops in to the 21st century. Frank then heads to Denver to learn how Wheat turns in to Whiskey, and we close out the episode at one of The West’s oldest traditions, The Cheyenne Frontier Days Pancake Breakfast.

Frank starts in Denver at a local taco joint learning how to cook with cactus, then visits an innovative farm in an industrial neighborhood, and then heads to the Western Slope to learn about water rights on a main tributary of the Colorado River, finally ending in Grand Junction Colorado where distillers and chefs have learned unique practices to produce Liquors and develop menus.

For our final episode of the season, Frank heads to the Southern Tip of the Baja Peninsula to find out. An arid region much like the Southwest US, Frank learns desert growing techniques and how American institutions are helping Mexican farms cope with growing food demands. He also gets a locals-only fishing experience and cooks at a renowned farm to table restaurant.