foodTALK, which launched in May, is the newest food show to come to the East End via LTV. The show is meant to educate, inform and excite viewers about local food, farms, restaurants and personalities on the East End. Each episode features three on-air personalities including yours truly and two guests from the local food and farming industries. I will chat with chefs, farmers, restaurateurs, food writers—basically anyone who is passionate about food. We’ll get to know some of the people behind the scenes, as well as demystify certain menu items. It’s not a cooking show, but an easy to prepare dish will be be featured each episode. The show is light, lively and features informative conversations. foodTALK will air on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and Fridays at 7:30 a.m.
In our fourth episode I had the pleasure of hosting our very first female guests: Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s Bread and Katie Baldwin, half of the Amber Waves Farm team. Gluten seems to be a daunting word for this generation, but when it comes to the wheat milled at Amber Waves Farms and then baked into delightful bread by Waechter, it becomes a little less daunting let alone tastier. Waechter explains there are number of reasons why people are allergic to gluten, especially mass-produced products sold cheap. (Think unnatural fillers.) Read more about Carissa’s Breads here.
This led us to an amazing starter Waechter received as a gift from an Amagansett man her first year on the East End. We learned how Amber Waves and Carissa’s Bread have been in collaboration for years; Amber Waves grows the wheat! It’s worth viewing just to find out who the five people Baldwin would invite to dinner, then she hipped us to the greens that are ready now: broccoli rabe, mizuna, lettuces—and the news that wheat is “heading” and ready for harvest this month! We reminded viewers what CSA stands for: community supported agriculture, which means members pay for a share of the harvest and understand the shared risk and reward of agriculture. Carissa Waechter brought us an abundance of loaves: honey oat, Salty pickled soured rye and sweet potato bread. The two share that it is not just about making or growing food but educating people and building a connection. The bread was devoured!
