Eps #5053
Cook Studio Café
Michael
heads to Vancouver’s Downtown East Side to visit Chef James Kennedy at
the Cooks Studio Café. Cooks Studio Café is a for-profit
restaurant that goes out on a limb to train youth at risk, teaching
life and entry level cooking skills, encouraging these young adults to
believe in themselves and achieve success. After only six weeks in the
kitchen, Chef Kennedy will test the limits of the students’ newfound
culinary skills as they prepare a 4-course meal for their families and
friends. Will they impress or fall to the pressure?
Eps #5054
Bar Chefs
Michael
goes to New York City’s trendy BED nightclub where a new breed of
bartenders is pairing cocktails with food. Michael meets “Bar Chefs”
Willy Shine and Aisha Sharpe. They have been charged with
creating two exotic cocktails to pair with two new dishes to add to the
menu. Mentored by bartending legend Dale DeGroff, Willy and Aisha show
Michael that the history of the cocktail has always had strong ties to
the kitchen. With all this newfound knowledge, Michael creates a
cocktail of his own. But will BED’s Chef approve of these new
concoctions?
Eps #5055
The Art of Achatz
Thirty-one
year old culinary whiz kid Grant Achatz has wowed diners across the
United States and garnered accolades worldwide, including the
prestigious James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef in America Award.
Michael visits Achatz in Chicago at his newly opened ALINEA restaurant
to explore the world of molecular gastronomy. The restaurant features a
25 course-tasting menu that defies boundaries of the dining experience.
Two new dishes are added to the menu as Michael asks, “Has fine dining
become the culinary equivalent of walking through an art gallery?”
Eps #5056
7 Chocolate Courses
Dominique
and Cindy Duby are Canada’s most notable pastry chefs and sought after
"Sweet Ambassadors". They put it all on the line with a 7-course
sweet and savoury “molecular gastronomy” meal. Each course features
chocolate and the dinner is served at the famous Bel-Air Hotel in
Hollywood. Michael travels with them as the Duby’s crusade in the name
of science and their food is put to the test.
Eps #5057
Sugar and Ice
Michael
visits with Chef Gamini Hemalal and his partner Pradeep Dharmawardana
at GOLDEN CHEFS in Toronto as they prep for an extraordinarily busy
Saturday with four weddings that feature 12 ice sculptures, 150 kilos
of fruit carving and one elaborate sugar sculpture. Showpiece
presentation is fast becoming a lost art but these Chefs passion shines
through as they fuse old school techniques with new tools of the trade.
But this summer weekend has other challenges because when you’re in the
sugar and ice business heat and humidity can ruin the best laid plans.
Eps #5058
Folk Music Festival
The
Edmonton Folk Festival is one of the largest and best music festivals
in the world. One of the secrets of its success are the volunteers, all
1500 of them. They cook for the performers and for themselves, in what
is the largest temporary outdoor kitchen in the country. Michael
becomes another volunteer in a kitchen of 200 that have little or no
cooking experience. Incredibly he discovers awesome cooking and the
flavours of the world.
Eps #5059
Rideau Hall
RIDEAU
HALL is the home to Canada’s Governor General, who represents the Queen
and is Canada’s de facto Head of State. Chef Oliver Bartsch and
Chef Louis Charest take Michael, and honoured guests, on a culinary
journey with a 5-course, all-Canadian menu. Everything for the
Nation’s Table is made from scratch using Canadian ingredients –
including the breads and condiments, right down to the chocolate
truffles. Michael harvests fresh ingredients from the organic garden
and explores the essence of Canadian cuisine.
Eps #5060
Tomato Man
Milan
is ‘the’ Tomato Man. An organic farmer of passion and pride, Milan has
a legion of followers that want his fresh picked tomatoes.
Michael joins Milan on what Milan calls “The 36 Hour Tour”. Milan copes
with the grueling job of growing, harvesting, driving and delivering
his prized tomatoes twice a week to Vancouver’s finest restaurants.
With the help of his elderly Mom and Dad, and any Vancouver Chef he can
coerce, he snags RAIN CITY GRILL’s Chef Andrea Carlson to help harvest,
especially if she wants tomatoes for her latest 5-course all tomato
tasting menu.
Eps #5061
Firehouse Food
The
key to enjoying successful firehouse cooking is gathering around the
table, and having a quiet moment to enjoy good home-style cooking. It’s
about taking a moment away from the daily rigor of emergency calls,
non-stop training and mundane chores that challenge preparing a meal
for your colleagues. Michael joins the crew of Highfield Park
Fire Station in Nova Scotia where they cook and celebrate Thanksgiving
as a “family” and toast their first year in operation. Everyone chips
in; including rookie cook Heather Richards, as she’s faced with cooking
for the brigade for the first time.
Eps #5062
The Art and Craft of Bread
Ace
Bakery is a top-notch bakery that supplies artisan breads to Toronto’s
top tables. But success has it’s own challenges. With 340 fresh
deliveries daily including bread to hundreds of restaurants, hotels,
caterers, grocery and gourmet food shops, how does Ace balance mass
production while maintaining the integrity of their product? A new
contract has them creating a six-foot baguette and Michael watches the
development of a new bread. But will it be a hit with consumers?
Eps #5063
Wild, Wild Mushrooms
Michael
ventures into the secret world of foraging for wild mushrooms in the
wilds of Oregon. Tyler Gray takes Michael into the world of
hard-core professionals in pursuit of North America’s hidden harvests,
mushrooms, such as canterelles, truffles, cauliflower and the
highly-prized pine mushroom that command big dollars. The competition
and secrecy to find the ultimate mushroom patch is high stakes for the
hundreds that forage and for the buyers who supply the best restaurants
in the world with the edible booty.
Eps #5064
You get what you Pay for
Ever
wondered why the plate of food in front of you costs $27.99? How did
they arrive at that price? What goes into the pricing of restaurant
food? Earl’s Restaurant is a leading upscale casual dining chain
and Michael goes with Earl’s Chef Michael Noble behind the scenes to
see for himself what makes that Blackened California New York Striploin
cost $27.99. From products and ingredients to staff to
breakage and beyond, a menu item is broken down to show where that
price comes from.
Eps #5065
The Screaming Avocado
Join
Chef Michael Smith as he tackles a real tough crowd: high school
students mandated to eat in an unorthodox school lunch program.
Chef Paul Finkelstein runs The Screaming Avocado café in
Stratford, Ontario and his competition is the traditional cafeteria
down the hall. Chef Paul and Michael take on the challenge as
they collaborate on lunch service and a special fundraising dinner.