We’ve met many unique foodCrafters in our journeys, but no matter their story they all have one distinct commonality: passion. Passion for quality, passion for flavor, and a definite passion for the product; in this age of workplace drudgery, it’s beyond inspiring to see the little guys fighting to do what they love. We’re busier than beavers as we are editing Season 1 while shooting Season 2, but I’m having an awesome time working alongside the artisans and learning their stories. Behold a few peeks of our discoveries:
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- foodCrafters find: North Fork Potato Chips
Yes, that is a large mound of freshly kettle-cooked chips and, yes, they were as delicious as they look. We traveled so far east on Long Island that I could’ve sworn we were in Europe when we got out of the car, but the product they cook up at North Fork Potato Chips is definitely 100% New York — they even use potato varieties that are only farmed in the Hamptons. We went from farm to fried on this story as we harvested potatoes then traveled down the street to the family’s fryer to cook them up. I don’t even like fried food that much and I unabashedly finished off a whole bag.
foodCrafters find: gingerbread yogis
Namaste, yoga gingerpeople! No, that isn’t what we made but seeing as I’ve been more and more into yoga lately, I was pretty excited to see these hanging around in Patti Page’s work studio. Her newest thing are these itty-bitty gingerbread houses that take dexterity and patience to assemble. I borrowed a seasonal apron and feigned my best elfin ways — you’ll have to tell me how you think I did once it airs.
foodCrafters find: rice pudding ramped up
My little brother had a legitimate obsession with pudding when he was younger and we’d have to keep SnackPacks around at all times. Well, he missed out when I got to make vats and vats of flavored rice pudding in the SoHo kitchen of this shop that specializes in nothing but, you guessed it — rice pudding!
foodCrafters find: handcrafted hard candy
foodCrafters find: bees and booze
This season we’re hitting up all parts of the country from the coasts to Kentucky and, most recently, Illinois. We donned head-to-toe beekeeping suits to protect ourselves as we got honey from a bee colony located on the top of a hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. We’re just halfway through filming and have plenty more stories to tell but I’ll keep you posted as our adventures unravel!
