Special | 56m 31s | Video has closed captioning.
Join Lidia Bastianich this holiday season, as the renowned chef, author and food ambassador journeys across the country to explore how food artisans and artisanal crafts are gaining momentum in the U.S.
Aired: 12/20/19
Expired: 01/17/20
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♪ ♪ >> LIDIA BASTIANICH: An artisan is a precious person for me.
It is a person that with passion, love, and commitment creates a product that is beautiful, a product that reflects culture and tradition.
Growing up in Italy, we were privileged to know many talented artisans.
We would visit their shops and buy everything from bread to copper pots to aprons.
When I came to America at the age of 12, shopping was quite different.
I couldn't believe that most of the things were ready to buy, and we didn't have to wait to have things made to order, unless we chose to.
At the end, there was something missing for me.
There was that person, that face, that's behind that, that product.
I want to meet some of America's artisans.
And what is for lunch today?
Tell me.
I want to know who they are and what inspires them.
>> And I didn't know that I would like it as much as I do.
>> LIDIA: I am also curious how these talented craftspeople light a spark in others who will follow in their footsteps.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Hi, Jason.
>> Hey, great to meet you.
>> LIDIA: Hi, Kevin.
My journey across America begins this year just a few miles from my home, in a classroom at August Martin High School in Jamaica, Queens.
A pleasure seeing you all, guys.
Oh, they look so sharp, huh?
The first mentor, Angelo Vivolo, dear friend, restaurateur.
And of course, this is Paul Neuman of Paul Neuman Kitchen.
The rigatoni first, both of them in this...
I'm here with students in the school's culinary program, part of a vocational training initiative implemented in a bid to turn around the underperforming school.
>> Good job.
>> LIDIA: To become a chef, you just don't fall in the position of a chef.
You need to get your basic education, and then you need to apprentice, or you can get to the chef position just by apprenticeship, and that's what happens in, in Italy most of the time.
>> A little more, keep going, and now swish it around.
That's it.
Start with that, you can always add a little more.
All you're doing is creating a base that the onions will sauté in.
>> One of you is going to dice the onion, and you can slice it... >> LIDIA: When I see these kids cooking in the kitchen, you can see how enthusiastic, how thrilled, "Yeah, I can do this."
They're coming out of their cocoon, if you will.
There's an opening to the real world and the real possibilities that exist out there.
Just squeeze them in your hands.
Our industry, the food industry, is the second-largest employer in the United States.
And it came to me, you know, what other opportunities are there across America?
>> Salt.
>> It needs some salt.
>> So what would happen if you left it on the fire for half an hour?
>> It's going to dry out.
>> Exactly.
>> LIDIA: From old-world apprenticeships to vocational tech... >> Keep going.
>> LIDIA: ...to informal training programs, I leave August Martin eager to see what other opportunities exist across America.
You think we're going to have any left?
I don't think so.
(laughs) ♪ ♪ My first stop is the tiny town of Madisonville, Tennessee, to meet a man who is devoting his life to the art of curing meats.
While smoking pork was a means of survival for his family for generations, to start the business, he had to teach himself the craft.
(sniffs): Mmmm...
The smell, the perfume, the aroma!
Hi, Allan, how are you doing?
>> I'm delighted to get to meet you, and we're so excited that you're here to visit us.
>> LIDIA: The smoke from the back was permeating in this store.
So it reminded me very much of the artisan places that I would go with my grandmother and my mother-- the close connection between the finished product and the actual product.
In America, that tradition became less common in response to demand.
Today, there's a growing market for specialty food and artisanal products.
Shops like Benton's are thriving and providing a new training ground for food artisans.
In the more than 45 years that Allan has been in business, he's gone from two employees to as many as 20.
While this may not seem like a lot, in this rural part of the country, where jobs are scarce, people welcome the opportunity.
>> This young man is Coby Webb.
>> Hello, Lidia.
>> LIDIA: Hi, Coby.
Coby Webb is one of the young apprentices Allan has been training.
Is Coby ready to... >> Coby's ready to show you how we make country ham.
>> We try to do everything here that we can in the traditional way.
>> LIDIA: So, first step is?
>> The first step is, whenever we get our meat in-- it comes in on a Monday... >> LIDIA: Allan recognizes that it takes time to learn the art of curing.
>> What I'm about to do is re-rubs, which is, after a week of fresh ham sitting in this bin, we take them back out.
>> LIDIA: Coby is learning every step of the process, starting at square one.
And so what do you have in here?
>> It's only brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and very slight amount of nitrites just to help with preserving it for as long as we use the hams for.
This will stay on for close to two months.
>> LIDIA: With no ready supply of people who know how to smoke meat, the key is to find people passionate about learning, and then mentor them and teach them the craft.
>> We're looking for people to hire that don't know what they're doing and realize they don't.
Because then, they're willing to learn.
>> LIDIA: When you began working with Allan in this industry, how much did you know about meat, butchering, curing?
>> Honestly, very little.
>> When I hire a new employee, I can teach them the basics of what I do in maybe a month's time.
But it usually takes one to two years.
It's part art, part science.
And you have to get to where you instinctively know how much cure to put on a ham.
>> LIDIA: How long have you been working with Allan?
>> Close to five years.
>> LIDIA: Five years.
And how did you get interested in doing this?
>> Well, honestly, I'd known Allan all of my life.
I've lived here all of my life.
So, he actually just asked me one day, he said, "Would you like to come work for me?"
And I didn't know that I would like it as much as I do, but I fell in love with the job really, really fast.
>> I try to hire people who want to help me produce a world-class product.
>> And this is our jowls.
>> That's our goal in this business every day.
We want to make it as good as anybody's making it.
And if we hire people that don't have that same desire, it doesn't work.
>> So what's in here is our bacon.
>> LIDIA: Oh la la!
>> Which, all you can smell is hickory.
>> LIDIA: It's the magic, the magic happening.
And how long will the bacon stay in here?
>> About three days.
>> LIDIA: Three days slow smoking?
>> Yes.
>> LIDIA: Ooh, yes, it's... it is still very fresh.
>> (chuckling): Yes, it's very fresh and still very pliable.
>> LIDIA: Okay.
I need to get a breath of... >> Yes, ma'am.
(Lidia laughs) >> All right, one smoked bacon and one unsmoked.
>> LIDIA: If you're passionate, and if you really know a product, you dedicate yourself to that and you worked at that, you can develop a successful business and you can multiply it.
>> Thanks for coming in and doing business with us.
♪ ♪ Pork was sustenance food for people all over Appalachia and all over the South.
When I was a kid growing up, until I started to college, we butchered pigs on Thanksgiving Day.
That was traditional hog-killing day in the mountains of Virginia.
We made our own ham, bacon, and sausage.
And I never once thought about trying to make a living curing country hams.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Allan tried his hand at curing meat as a young boy.
His grandparents smoked bacon and ham inside a small log smokehouse located just behind the house where he was born.
Today, he's using the same recipe his grandparents used for his own business.
And Allan's little business has become a success story, with his bacon and hams in demand by restaurants all across the country.
Today, Allan and his wife, Sharon, have invited me to their home for biscuits and ham.
...the Appalachian-- is that what that is right there?
>> That is.
>> I was trying to make biscuits that would go well with our country ham, like a piece of country ham on a biscuit.
And I know how to make a flaky biscuit, but that's not what we wanted.
You know, when you bite into a piece of country ham on a biscuit... >> LIDIA: That has a bite to it, yeah?
>> You want the biscuit to stay with you.
>> LIDIA: Exactly.
>> You don't want the biscuit to be falling off in your lap.
Had to start making biscuits to work with his country ham.
>> LIDIA: While the biscuits are being prepared, Allan is frying up some country ham and his famous smoky bacon.
>> Most people dramatically overcook country ham.
>> LIDIA: I see, I see the mellow... kind of the light heat that you're giving this ham.
Nice and easy.
>> Well, and it takes very little cooking.
Typically, if the grease is good and hot, 12 or 15 seconds on each side, and it's ready to take up and serve.
Most people cook it to death.
>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.
>> And it doesn't require that.
>> LIDIA: Put it on this... Are you afraid I'm going to take a little piece?
I see you're putting it on that side.
>> We're going to let you have a sample.
>> LIDIA: I can't even wait to sit down.
Could I cut a little corner here?
>> You got to try some to see what you think.
And we're going to put it on a biscuit in a few minutes.
>> LIDIA: Mm, this is delicious.
Mm, the smoky... Mm, so delicious.
I also want to sample some aged ham similar to the prosciutto I grew up with in Italy.
You know, I'm a prosciutto kind of gal.
>> I'll give you an advanced heads up on this, Lidia.
>> LIDIA: Uh-huh.
>> This is from a 29-month ham.
>> LIDIA: 29?
>> Yes.
And it's going to be a bolder flavor than the prosciutto that would come out of Italy.
>> LIDIA: Do you smoke it a little bit?
>> We do, but I trim everything off before I slice it.
>> LIDIA: Mm.
Delicious.
>> I'm glad you like it.
>> LIDIA: What I see evermore is the chefs really recognizing these artisans and supporting them.
And that's what Allan said was his basis of growth, that the chefs spread the word, you know, spread the gospel.
>> The quality of what you eat, it matters to me.
I mean, I think you are what you eat.
>> LIDIA: Absolutely.
>> And we try to start out with good pork and make it the right way.
And thank goodness that we were able to start doing business with chefs like yourself that have used our products.
Because I don't think my business would have survived without it.
>> LIDIA: I don't want a big, big slice.
No, what do you think, something like this?
>> That's, that's fine... ♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: It's simple.
>> It is.
>> LIDIA: But it is so delicious, between the biscuits... As demand for Allan's artisanal products continue to soar, we head to Knoxville to see them center stage.
Delizioso!
Buono!
Buono!
♪ ♪ At Emilia's restaurant, Benton's bacon is featured on the menu.
(sizzles loudly) I met with their executive chef, Matt Gallaher.
>> My mom opened a catering business when I was nine years old, so I started with that.
But my family, for the most part, and teachers, and principals, and then guidance counselors, push you to...
I was good at math and science.
So, they said, "Go be an engineer."
And, you know, part of me wishes somebody, when I was 17 years old, said, "You should stick with cooking."
>> LIDIA: But you know, it's...
There's such a great opportunity for young people.
And not everybody has the opportunity to go to college... >> Mm-hmm, right.
>> LIDIA: Or maybe the drive, or maybe, you know, being the readiness of going to college.
But yet, they need to find a job.
They need to find a purpose in life.
And your suggestion to young people is, "Follow your heart."
>> Right.
>> LIDIA: But now, the proof is in the pudding.
>> Sure.
>> LIDIA: I want to taste.
>> Sure.
>> LIDIA: All right.
Oh, these both look good.
>> Bridging that gap between Southern products, Italian products, and our take on Italian food.
>> LIDIA: You talk, I'm going to eat.
>> (laughing): Okay.
>> LIDIA: You want to taste it?
>> Absolutely.
>> LIDIA (chuckling): Okay.
>> Cheers.
>> LIDIA: To your continued success.
>> Thank you so much.
>> LIDIA: The chefs pride themself in having found that artisan and put their name right on the menu.
I mean, we love that, you know, the consumer is assured there's a real person behind this.
♪ ♪ I travel next to Napa Valley, California, to meet a barrel maker, Ramiro Herrera, who 20 years ago was sent all the way to France to master the art of barrel making, better known as coopering.
Ramiro spent four years working as an apprentice learning how to make barrels entirely by hand.
He then brought his talent back to America, where he now holds the distinction of being one of the few master coopers in the world.
Ramiro is also the sole barrel maker for a small winery.
To get a sense on how a young person starts learning this craft in the United States, I head down the road to Demptos Cooperage, a 200-year-old French company that opened an American facility in the early 1980s.
Master cooper Will Jamieson runs the operation.
>> So what we're doing here is assembling American oak.
>> LIDIA: Starting at the first station of barrel making, the coopers need to bend beautiful oak planks into shape.
So he knows where to put them.
>> Correct, you don't want to put too much narrow ones or too much wide ones together.
You have to mix them all up.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Alfonso has been working here for two-and-a-half years, step by step learning the trade.
What do you love about your job?
>> Just look at this barrel.
We started from scratch, and now look how beautiful it is.
And a lot of people are going to love their wine on there, and it's just, it's just amazing, the feeling you get when you come here, you look all these barrels that you just started from scratch, and now they're ready to go.
>> LIDIA: That's what an artisan is, that they ultimately make a product.
Yes, there's a system, but they make it with their heart, and they make it with their hands.
>> Yes.
Yeah, you got to make it with your heart, or else it won't count.
>> LIDIA: Doesn't work.
>> No, it doesn't work.
(chuckles) >> LIDIA: The food industry, it's not just cooking food.
The different opportunities that lay for these young people ahead are endless.
They have to choose, and they have to apprentice, and learn the art.
They have to have the passion to learn.
But to do that, they have to be given an opportunity and a mentor that will care enough to show them and take them there.
>> Now, that's the way to go.
(machinery running in background) That's it.
>> LIDIA: Will, what makes a good cooper, and how do you train somebody that wants to learn the trade?
>> I think it's a passion.
Like any other trade, you have to have a passion for it, a love for it.
But obviously, you need to love working with wood, and you have to pay attention to detail.
And it takes a long time to learn to be a cooper.
It's not something you can do in a couple of years.
I've done it for 51 years.
It's like any other trade.
You're learning all the time.
>> LIDIA: A critical part of the process involves shaping the barrel.
>> So what we're doing here is, we're warming the shell of the barrel up-- we call it the rose.
And then we bend them on these machines here.
>> LIDIA: So you warm up the wood so it becomes pliable.
>> Correct.
>> LIDIA: And then you pull it together here.
♪ ♪ And then carefully toasting the inside.
To complete the barrels, a seal is added to the top and bottom and the barrels get a final sanding.
What I notice here is the incredible physicality of the work and also the pride that the team members take in the quality of the barrels they are making.
It's amazing to see how a team of coopers can carefully craft hundreds of barrels a day, all of which are needed to keep winemakers in business.
♪ ♪ What I found most intriguing from this visit is the complex art of toasting a barrel.
To learn a bit more, Ramiro invites me to travel just few miles north to see him at Caldwell Winery.
Ramiro stumbled into barrel making at the age of 20, when he took a job at Seguin Moreau, one of the only cooperages in America.
He worked there for a while, until one day, his bosses recognized a special talent that Ramiro didn't even realize he had: his nose.
>> He told me, "You know what?
"Everywhere we put you, you do a great job.
"I would love to send you to France so you can become a master cooper."
And I'm, like, "What is that?"
I mean, I didn't even have a clue what that was.
>> LIDIA: As an apprentice in France, Ramiro learned how to build a barrel the traditional way, using only hand tools.
But there was another critical part of coopering he still needed to master: the art of toasting.
>> The teacher told us, "We're going to go toast barrels today.
"I'm going to number each barrel, "and grab a piece of paper and a pencil, "and go smell every barrel.
And you're going to write down exactly what you smell."
Like, an hour later, the teacher said, "I'm going to call some names, I want you to stand up."
He's calling names-- 32 of them, and I wasn't one of them.
"All you 32 students, "I don't want to waste your time, "and I don't want you to waste my time.
"What you smell out there is way off "what you're supposed to smell.
"So that tells me you don't have a nose.
"And if you don't have a nose, you can never ever become a master cooper."
>> LIDIA: Out of a class of more than 40 apprentices, only Ramiro and one other young man successfully finished the four-year master cooper program.
♪ ♪ So, yeah, I smell the mocha now.
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: The level of toast inside a barrel will determine many of the final flavors the wood imparts to the wine.
Okay, so where are we here with the... >> Yeah, so, you can see here the color of the barrel is already changing.
>> LIDIA: Oh, it is!
Working over a low fire, the toasting process takes anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour, depending on the desired level of toast.
>> All the way around like this.
>> LIDIA: While we wait, I want to see some of the tools Ramiro worked with in France.
>> So this is called a cutting knife.
A lot of these tools we have to build it ourselves.
This is an axe, more than a hundred years old.
>> LIDIA: Wow.
>> In the old days, people used to use this to build canoes.
You'd use half of the axe to do the outside of the barrel, and then kind of like the middle to do the inside, to shape the barrel so we can make the, the groove to insert the head.
>> LIDIA: As we check on how the toasting's going, sure enough, you can start to smell many of the distinctive aromas.
>> The next phase will be spicy.
>> LIDIA: Ah, I see.
>> Then that's where your eyes start tearing, and... Once you get into the spicy, in between the spicy and chocolate, that where the cabernet gives you the best flavor of all.
>> LIDIA: I do like...
I like chocolate in merlot.
>> There you go.
>> LIDIA: Where would you put pinot noir?
>> Pinot noir, you put them right now.
>> LIDIA: Right now.
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: Between the coconut and... >> The spicy.
>> LIDIA: The spicy.
>> Because pinot is already spicy.
>> LIDIA: Ah-hah.
>> So you don't want to add too much spice in this.
Otherwise, it will taste like a Mexican chili pepper.
>> LIDIA: It's like creating a harmony between these flavors and the character of the varietals itself.
>> Exactly.
So to make a good wine, it's not only the wine maker.
Since the barrel is close to 50% of the taste, if everyone else make great job, and you don't build a nice barrel or a good barrel, you can basically ruin their job.
>> LIDIA: With the barrel toasted, Caldwell Vineyard's owner, John, and wine maker, Marc, invite me to sit and sample the wines that aged in the barrels that Ramiro made.
You are Mr. Caldwell himself.
>> I, I am.
>> LIDIA: This is your winery and you are very much into...
This is a passion for you, as well.
>> This is a passion.
It has been for almost 40 years now, yeah.
>> LIDIA: 40 years.
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: And you love it.
>> I love it.
>> LIDIA: Marc, the actual toasting of the barrel, how important is for you in deciding how you are going to vinify a certain wine?
>> It's, I would say, as important as when you pick the fruit.
You don't want to overdo a delicate varietal, and you don't want to underwhelm a powerful varietal.
You want them to work in harmony.
>> LIDIA: I'm honored to be able to taste wines that are deeply influenced by the nature of the barrel-- barrels carefully crafted by a master cooper and the product of years of training, Ramiro's training.
What should I be looking for in here?
>> You should be getting some vanilla and a little bit of coconut.
>> LIDIA: In my olfactory, in the nose, right away, you smell the vanilla.
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: And there, there...
I felt some, I smell also some, kind of a little bit of tropical aromas.
As I let my nose experience all of the subtle and different aromas of these beautiful wines, I couldn't help thinking like a chef.
I love wine, but basically I'm a food person.
So for me, I look at wine-- okay, what food?
>> What comes to mind?
>> LIDIA: You know, I think a nice roasted chicken in the summertime.
>> Mm, yeah.
>> LIDIA: And rosemary and even sage.
>> Some lemon and sage.
>> LIDIA: Yes, yes, yes.
That would be great with this.
♪ ♪ >> What really makes me proud is when people taste the wine, and they say, "Oh, this wine is good."
And I know I'm 50% part of that.
That makes me really, really, really proud.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: I travel on to Denver, Colorado, to visit Comal Heritage Food Incubator, an innovative training ground that provides an alternative approach in the culinary arts.
It began when a group of women wanted to transform their home cooking into marketable skills.
>> They were all fantastic home cooks, but we needed to teach them how to take that scale to the commercial level, and then also teach them how to run the business.
>> So, to help the kitchen out, what we're trying to do is say, "Okay, first customer wants the lamb.
Second customer wants..." >> So, it made perfect sense to actually launch a restaurant, a space where they can come learn and cook at the same time.
>> Perfect.
>> Yes!
>> LIDIA: An incubator for both cooking and business development, Comal has developed a curriculum that serves a low-income, mostly immigrant population.
As soon as I arrive, I head for the kitchen to meet Vian, an Iraqi-Syrian refugee who is on the line as the lead chef.
This is wonderful.
Your origin is from... where are you from?
>> Iraq.
>> LIDIA: Iraq.
>> Yep.
>> LIDIA: And you cook the food that you love.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> LIDIA: From your family?
I see... >> Yes.
>> LIDIA: Pomegranate is one of the... >> Yes, pomegranate fruit.
>> LIDIA: And what is for lunch today?
Tell me.
>> We have chicken leg.
>> LIDIA: Chicken legs.
>> Yep.
With the sauce.
>> LIDIA: At Comal, women are paid while training.
It's an arrangement that organizers say is crucial to advancing their earning potential.
>> I often hear this misconception out there that community we work with does not take advantage of free education.
And my response to that always is that free education is really not free, because you have to forgo income during that time.
>> All right, so we got a large fattoush salad, add chicken, tzatziki... >> LIDIA: Arden Lewis is the executive chef at Comal.
He mentors the women as they acquire the skills necessary to move through the program.
>> Think about meat, raw-- can't touch anything else.
On a typical day, we have a lead line cook who's passed our curriculum to make it to that point from order, to prep line cook, to lead line cook.
And it's their job to come up with the specials for the day and to tell the rest of the staff participants what it is they're making.
>> Pepper paste.
>> Like, spicy?
>> It's spicy.
>> Spicy.
Like harissa?
>> It's not too much.
>> Like harissa or... For Vian to be able to mentor and to get into that role of leadership, and to be able to understand what it is to be a chef... Because being a chef means, "Yes, I know how to cook something," but being a chef also means that "I can teach other people how to cook something the way I want it cooked."
>> LIDIA: Hi.
>> Hello.
>> LIDIA: Sarah, right?
>> Yes.
>> LIDIA: After they pass the written and practical tests centered around skills needed to work the back of the kitchen, the women then train in the front of the house.
And I understand that the chef, Vian, that's your mom.
>> Mm-hmm, yes, she is.
>> LIDIA: So, there's two generations of you.
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: Ah... Did you work in the kitchen, too?
Did you apprentice?
>> Yes.
I used to work in the kitchen a year ago, and now I work front of house.
>> LIDIA: So you want to learn the front of the house, too?
>> Yes.
>> LIDIA: And what do you want to do when you're finished with all of this training?
>> I would say maybe we would go for a catering business, and then, hopefully, if we have the opportunity, we can have our own restaurant.
>> LIDIA: So, do you do any catering now, you or Mom?
>> We do caterings, yeah.
We do caterings through Comal.
>> LIDIA: They learn everything-- from how to plan and present a menu, scaling up for a larger crowd, and how to deal with customers.
Everything looks so good.
I certainly would like hummus and pita, no?
>> Yeah, for sure.
>> LIDIA: And the plates here-- jaj bl firin.
So, that's the chicken leg, eh?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> LIDIA: How do you say that?
How would you say that in Arabic?
>> Jaj bl firin.
>> LIDIA: Jaj bl firin.
Okay.
And then... oh, you have a sampler, too.
This great concept of taking, specifically, women and making them proud of the talents that they have and teaching them how to turn them into a profitable job, and even, ultimately, open their own business.
>> And the Middle Eastern plate's coming right out.
>> Thank you.
>> LIDIA: Finally, it was time for us to sample Vian's Middle Eastern dishes.
Excellent!
>> Excellent?
Thank you.
>> LIDIA: Delicious.
>> Thank you.
>> Really good, Vian.
>> Thank you.
>> The chicken is amazing.
>> Spectacular.
>> Thank you.
>> LIDIA: And the hummus is spectacular.
How do you say "good luck" in... >> In Arabic?
>> LIDIA: Yes.
(Vian speaking Arabic) (Lidia repeating Arabic) >> Yes!
>> LIDIA: Okay, so... (all repeating in Arabic) Okay, good luck to you.
>> Thank you so much.
Enjoy, please.
>> LIDIA: Thank you.
♪ ♪ Since its inception, Comal has put more than $600,000 in the pockets of its participants.
It also gives women a strong support network that helps them build the confidence to start their own business.
Hi, Erika.
>> Hi.
>> LIDIA: How you doing?
Como estas?
I met one of the recent graduates of the program, Erika Rojas.
I am excited for you.
>> I'm excited and nervous.
(chuckles) >> LIDIA: She came to show me how to cook her most popular recipe, birria.
Birria?
>> Birria is beef with spices.
And... my customers love it.
Onion.
Garlic.
>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.
Sesame seeds?
>> Yeah, sesame seeds.
>> LIDIA: Looks great.
>> Ginger.
>> LIDIA: Ginger.
All right, I'll do ginger.
>> And oregano.
>> LIDIA: Oregano.
>> This is chili, California, and tomatoes.
Everything in the blender, and then I need to put on the meat.
>> LIDIA: And then you cook slowly.
>> And cook it slowly for two hours, two hours, 15 minutes.
We're gonna do two soft tacos and two crispy tacos.
>> LIDIA: With her training at Comal and a grant the organization helped her apply for, Erika was able to attain one of her dreams.
>> You want to put just the meat.
>> LIDIA: Owning her own food truck.
She's invited me to join her selling tacos outside a small soccer arena.
This is how you do it on the truck?
>> Yeah, when the people want those tacos, like this.
>> LIDIA: All right.
Oh, that's the crispy on both sides.
>> Yeah, I like this.
In Guadalajara, every morning, the people eat this for breakfast.
I learned to cook from my mom when I was eight years old.
She talked to my older sister, she say, "Come to cook with me, you need to learn."
And she say, "Uh-uh, I don't want."
And I am there every day, and I learn every recipe, and now, my mom and me cook, like, the same, and she help me now.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: To support her family, Erika still works her regular job delivering newspapers.
But with her Comal training, she's now developing a growing business.
♪ ♪ >> On my first day, when I sell just $100, I fill with many feelings.
(laughs) Because it's just a couple dollars.
In the next week, I sell more, $150, and I say, "Okay, it's more, it's okay."
And I know, when I start, I can't expect to sell a lot.
And it took time, and I'm fine.
I want to try to spend more time, more and more and more, to be success.
>> LIDIA: I think when you begin a business, you always certainly are unsure.
Will the people come?
And certainly, Erika, with the, the food truck, I felt that little nervousness.
If you do the right thing, the customers will recognize it, and the word will spread, and success.
>> One soft taco.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> LIDIA: That smells good.
That's delicious.
At the time of my trip to Comal, there were four more women who were ready to graduate the program and start their own catering business.
♪ ♪ >> How's the birria?
>> LIDIA: Bueno.
This model for training is sparking an interest all across the country from people wanting to follow in Comal's footsteps.
♪ ♪ I head to the northern banks of Lake Michigan, to the small town of Petoskey.
There, nearly 50 years ago, Justin Rashid was trying to figure out how to make a living back in his hometown.
>> My wife and I moved back here in 1978, and when you decide to live in northern Michigan, you first have to decide how to make a living here.
>> LIDIA: As luck would have it, Justin would soon meet Larry Forgione, a chef in New York City-- a pioneer in the American farm-to-table movement.
Larry was looking for someone who could supply him with wild morel mushrooms.
>> I said, "I'm your guy.
(chuckles) I've been picking them since I was 13 years old.
And so that's how I met Larry.
>> LIDIA: So, Milo, what kind of mushrooms are we going to find this time of the year?
>> Oysters.
>> LIDIA: Oysters?
I join Justin foraging for mushrooms with his grandson.
Grow on trees, right?
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: Who's going up there?
>> Me!
>> We need a long enough stick.
>> Yeah, like this, maybe?
>> You need to get on my shoulders.
Whoa, okay.
Now, I'll get close.
You tell me if you can reach it.
>> LIDIA: That's the one.
I'm going to try to catch it.
Yeah, twist it.
Oh, there it's coming.
Oop!
I got it!
>> Oh!
Way to go, Lidia, good hands.
>> LIDIA: Mmm.
Oh, that's a beautiful one!
This is the garlic, this is the ramps.
I love seeing Justin pass on the love of nature and foraging.
Chop those mushrooms in there, and we do a little pasta, and we have dinner.
Okay?
All right.
♪ ♪ Justin tells me that when Larry first came out to visit in the early 1980s, he was amazed by the bounty of the region.
>> He had never been to the Midwest.
He kept looking along the road and saying, "We've been passing all these trees that are growing in perfect rows."
I said, "Well, Larry, those are orchards.
"This is one of the premier microclimates "for fruit culture in the world and, you know, we grow cherries, apples, plums."
And the very next thing he said was, "Really?
Can you make jam?"
(laughs) And I said, "Well, I grew up helping my mother make jam.
I'm sure I can make jam."
>> LIDIA: It wasn't quite as easy as following a recipe, but Justin found his way through trial and error.
>> We learned the hard way.
We just kept experimenting, and, you know, after a while, we nailed it.
>> LIDIA: Then, in 1982, with just two copper kettles, Justin and Larry started a jam company in the basement of a candy shop where they filled each jar of preserves by hand.
They called it American Spoon because they felt their jam should be spooned on, not spread with a knife.
I'd seen Justin pass down his passion for fresh products to his grandson.
Now I want to see how he is passing down the passion for jam to the American Spoon employees.
Lidia, this is Chris Dettmer.
>> LIDIA: Good morning, Chris, how're you doing?
Very nice to meet you.
>> LIDIA: All right.
We're going to invade your little test kitchen here.
>> Let's make some jam.
>> This is where the magic happens.
>> LIDIA: So a strawberry and rhubarb jam?
>> A preserve.
>> It's a classic.
Rhubarb, macerated, and then some of the Earliglow strawberries macerated.
So just with a little sugar and lemon juice.
>> How can you get the juice out of the fruit without smashing it or pressing it?
>> LIDIA: Well, that's chemistry.
>> That's the chemistry of the osmosis.
>> So we have all this very flavorful liquid.
What we want to do first is, we're going to drain it all.
>> LIDIA: Okay.
>> And so we have all this.
it's very flavorful, but we want to put that syrup in the pan first and reduce it down.
>> LIDIA: Mmm.
Delicious.
>> So the great thing about this two-stage is that most of the pectin is still over here.
>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.
>> So you can get to a higher temperature without sticking or scorching in the liquid phase.
>> Now we just put our mix of strawberry and rhubarb in there.
What we want to do now is just heat this all up together.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: After 45 minutes over a low flame, the jam is almost ready.
>> One of the first ways we can start telling it's done is, when this first came to a boil, it had all that pink foam.
As we see it diminish we see that it's still, that small ring of foam.
That's one of the ways we can tell it's done.
The more traditional way is just putting a plate or a spoon in the freezer, dropping a dollop of jam on it, seeing how it sets up.
>> LIDIA: Now I can taste it?
>> Yeah, then we can taste that.
>> LIDIA: Delicious.
>> So good.
>> LIDIA: Wow.
I can taste the strawberries, the, the rhubarb... Everything separate and yet a beautiful harmony all together.
And so now it's ready to be jarred?
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: Oh, okay.
>> You want to make sure that everything is sterile in that pan.
>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.
>> And then the heat from the product is going to actually sterilize anything in the jar.
So we can be confident that in January or February, when we pull this out of the pantry, it's still perfectly safe to eat.
A little taste of summer in the middle of winter.
>> LIDIA: That afternoon, I take a tour of the American Spoon kitchen, which makes jam to order and ships almost three-quarters-of-a-million jars each year.
>> I think of this as Willy Wonka's jam line, in a sense, because nobody makes jam, that I know of, at this scale.
We're not tiny, but we're not a big process.
>> LIDIA: You're not mega.
And who is the leader here?
This needs constant watching.
>> Well, there she is.
>> I'm April Butters, and over the years, I've done a lot of everything.
>> LIDIA: So this is your domain?
Your... >> That's what they tell me.
>> LIDIA: I hear you've been here how many years?
>> I'm coming up on 20.
>> LIDIA: Are you teaching this to younger apprentices that are... >> I am teaching this to Molly and James and Chantelle.
They are our current team for down here, and I supervise them.
They can do it.
They're getting there themselves, but I'm just here to be their safety net.
The hardest part of training is training the intuition part.
You know, we use thermometers and refractometer.
We have tools, but really, it's your eyes and your nose and your sense of timing.
"I turned these on, and I have this long to get the next one ready."
And then I have to start looking at the colors and the smells.
Even some of our products we listen to when we cook them.
(laughs) People say, "You listen to it?"
Well, you can tell the difference in sound between juice and syrup when it's in the kettle.
As it thickens, it makes a different sound.
So the hardest part of teaching people is that they have to be totally tuned in to what they're doing.
And that's why it takes more than a month.
That's why it takes years.
(laughs) You've put yourself into every step.
So that's a pretty cool thing.
>> LIDIA: The beauty of an artisan is just that, that it goes beyond a recipe, beyond a technique.
It incorporates all of the senses of that artisan, and that makes that product special.
I like blackberries.
We used to have it in the middle of the yard, and... Our sorbet's ready?
>> They are ready.
>> LIDIA: Wow, does this look beautiful, huh?
The ultimate satisfaction and gift that an artisan can do is make sure that that art is not lost, that it continues, and share it with the next generations, be it family or be it workers.
Can you taste the strawberries?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Mm, delicious.
I'm going to eat one of mine.
>> LIDIA: Ah-hah.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> LIDIA: And I like them, you know, when they're a little rusty.
You know, when they have those specks.
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
♪ ♪ >> LIDIA: Moving on to Wisconsin, I met up with a woman who found her passion for copper in history books.
Sara Dahmen has her foot in two worlds.
Her historical fiction writing inspired her to become one of the world's only female coppersmiths-- manufacturing cookware the way they did hundreds of years ago.
>> I realized that a lot of what I had been researching for the books was about what had been used in the kitchen in pioneer America, and I started to think, "Wow, like, you can't get that anymore."
You can't walk down the street to a coppersmith, or a tinsmith, or a blacksmith.
(sizzling) It's not really done that way anymore.
Nothing is made here like that anymore.
>> LIDIA: After researching for her novels, Sara found herself wanting to find out more about making copperware-- an art that soon turned into a new career.
>> "Hi, I know nothing about cast iron.
"Hi, I know nothing about copper.
"Can you make this?
Can you do this?
What are the terminology?"
It was literally baptism by fire trying to piece together this American cookware line.
>> LIDIA: Sara searched the internet and happened to find a master tinsmith who lived 15 minutes down the road.
I'm really interested in these copper pots.
We met up with her mentor, Bob Bartelme, at his shop, where he has been working with copper for decades.
...the masters who teach this art.
So will you show me?
>> Sure, yeah.
>> LIDIA: Okay!
>> Let's go in the shop.
(chuckling) >> LIDIA: Sara soon found herself going to Bob's two or even three times a week, always learning something new about the craft.
>> He's, like, "Next time, you can help me with X, Y, Z."
And all of a sudden, I realized he's telling people, "This is Sara, my apprentice."
And I'm, like, "You're right."
I am his apprentice.
And so for three years now, I go up, and I help Bob use tools from the 17- and 1800s, and we make cookware like the old-fashioned way.
And from that, I was able to bring all the copper cookware production in house, in my garage, and make it myself.
>> LIDIA: Bob's specialty is historical reproductions working with copper and tin.
>> What Bob does is extremely rare.
There's a handful of retired men who do a lot of it.
There's a few women who are tinsmiths, but not coppersmiths.
They get orders from all over the world because there are so few people who can still do it and know how to do it.
>> We're going to reproduce this mug that a customer sent me.
This is a tin mug-- he would like it in copper.
>> LIDIA: So first thing, what do you do first?
>> So to do this, what I would do is, measure the diameter.
And then, because it has what we call a crimped seam, where you take the tin and bend it around, and you bend the other side around, you put them together, and then you set this seam down, and it cannot come apart.
♪ ♪ >> Ready?
>> Now what that machine, and what that wheel is doing, that die is doing is folding that copper down around there.
Okay, now you want to cut it off.
>> LIDIA: It takes all of your senses to make it great, to create it.
And when you finish, you look at it and you say, "I did this, I did this."
And there's a, a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
Is your finger out of there?
>> Yep.
>> There you go!
>> There you go!
>> LIDIA: All right.
(Sara and Bob chuckling) >> LIDIA: There's a human spirit.
There's a human pride behind the product that makes that product special.
>> And you see how it starts to set that seam down.
>> LIDIA: Ah!
♪ ♪ Wow!
Good job!
(laughing) >> This operation here is what the tinsmiths and coppersmiths find the hardest to do.
Doing a circle, raising that burr on that circle.
>> There you go.
(snapping) >> There it goes.
>> LIDIA: Wow.
And this is, this is nice and tight.
Now you have to fold all this over?
>> Yep.
>> Twice.
It is precision work, but it's also, like, kind of going with your gut.
>> Everyone doesn't have to go to college.
You can get an apprenticeship.
There's a multitude of skilled trades out there-- the plumbers, electricians, pipefitters, steamfitters.
To a technical trade school, and get an associate's degree in two years, and you can be earning $70,000, $80,000, $100,000 a year, and that's good money even in this day and age.
That's good money.
>> LIDIA: Absolutely.
>> We've created this atmosphere that the only way to be successful is to have this four-year degree, and it's not true.
And I think we've lost a lot of, not only our country's manufacturing knowledge and jobs to overseas, where people are willing and able to do these trades, but it's something we can't get back if we're not careful.
>> There it is.
>> LIDIA: Wow!
>> A beaded mug.
>> LIDIA: Look how beautiful... Great job.
And you know, you can't help but see that it is handmade.
♪ ♪ Before calling it a day, Sara invites me back to her house to see her workspace at home and to meet the kids.
>> Hi, Mom!
>> Hi, honey.
>> LIDIA: I understand that you pulled them alongside and you want them to feel the sense of learning something with your hands.
And even at five, six, seven years old.
>> Yes, they've been coming to the shop since they were really little.
And when Bob first was, like, "You have kids!"
And I'm, like, "I have to bring them or I can't come."
He's, like, "There's a lot of tools in the shop."
And now they walk in, and they just go, they grab scraps, they start banging around.
They're, like, "Can you solder this, Mom?"
They just come in and take over the machines, and I'm hopeful that that will translate, if not to a job, to at least a hobby to keep it alive if they don't want to make it.
>> LIDIA: It's an addition to them as individuals.
>> Yes.
>> LIDIA: Of being creative, as making something.
♪ ♪ Then, using one of Sara's own copper pans... >> I don't even know where they are.
>> LIDIA: ...we served up some ganache for Sara's kids and their friends.
You ready?
>> Yeah.
>> LIDIA: Chocolate or vanilla?
Who wants chocolate and who wants vanilla?
>> Vanilla!
>> LIDIA: As I watched the kids gather around and decorate their cupcakes, I think back on all the people I have met on my journey.
>> I'm delighted to get to meet you.
We're so excited that you're here today.
>> LIDIA: Yes, they were all different, but they had common qualities-- this intense pride in what they did, this yearning for more knowledge, and the sharing of their knowledge with somebody that was interested.
Somebody's doing an extra-special mountain there.
Looking at those children, I says, "I, I hope that they have a calling, "a passion for something special they want to do, and I hope they fulfill that passion."
Who wants more?
>> Me!
(Sara laughs) >> LIDIA: Everybody wants more, Mom.
>> They can just lick the pan.
(chickens clucking) (bleating) >> LIDIA: I've decided to host a dinner at Ironbound Farm in Asbury Township, New Jersey, in celebration of the artisans who opened their doors and their lives to us.
I can't resist the chance to celebrate one more apprenticeship program before we eat.
Opened as a cidery only a few years ago, the farm has a big mission: training members of chronically underemployed populations with valuable farming skills to bring back to their communities.
>> These two rows over here... >> We created an apprenticeship program where we're connecting mentors and mentees in all areas of agriculture and food production.
>> LIDIA: You take young people and you train them.
People that have maybe fallen through the cracks at some point, and you train them to really farm, to connect to the earth, and ultimately to food and to cooking.
>> What we see coming out of the apprenticeship program is, as the men and women in this program start to gain their own independence financially, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, that they start to become real contributing members of the larger community.
>> LIDIA: The farm team has been gathering vegetables for our celebration dinner.
Tomatoes.
Beans.
Peppers.
>> Here we go.
>> LIDIA: All right.
I join them to pick herbs we will use to flavor the feast.
Oh, I see oregano, I see thyme-- oh, nice, nice parsley!
>> This variety of parsley, they call it giant Italian parsley.
>> LIDIA: The farm's mentor, Alec, works with the team, which includes his wife, Lauren, Derek, and James-- both of whom were previously incarcerated.
>> So we're going to harvest some purple and green basil.
My goal is to not only train Derek and James how to be farmers, but to teach them how to be educators, as well.
Because there's always going to be a demand for people that know how to grow their own food and work the land in a responsible way.
>> I've been incarcerated.
And when I came home, all I was trying to do was just trying to find an honest living.
I want to have something where, where my kids could be, like, "Well, damn, my dad did this."
I just want to really appreciate the hard work, and show people that, that hard work really pays off.
Beautiful lunchbox peppers.
>> My goal is to really bring this down to the inner city.
Teaching the kids and letting them show that you can prepare, grow, and, and feed your own family.
I think that's just something they're missing.
That's like a bond between parents and kids.
>> LIDIA: Wow.
I think I have all I need, so let's get in the kitchen and do some cooking.
Okay, you're gonna take that?
With the herbs gathered, we need to head inside to get dessert in the oven-- one of my favorite for this time of the year: fruit tart.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Okay.
And what's beautiful about this, you know, you can make it in any form that you want-- small like this, large.
And a great dessert with a mound of ice cream or whipped cream.
And I'm sure everybody will enjoy it today.
(insects chirping) The farm is definitely buzzing with activity as we come together for what feels like a true potluck celebration.
While I am making my tarts, there's a nearby forager gathering wild herbs for tea.
>> Snap a couple of those off.
A sweet sassafras flavor, really lemony.
>> LIDIA: And wild mushrooms for dinner.
>> I'm going to go right to the prize of the day, which is some hedgehog mushrooms that were picked yesterday.
>> LIDIA: Oh, my God, what is this?!
What do you have, what do you have here?
The Ironbound head chef, Gunnar, shows me how to cook the mushrooms on what they call the "mother fire," an incredible 30-foot-tall outdoor grill.
>> We have these beautiful mushrooms.
>> LIDIA: Wow.
>> So we'll just put a little bit of olive oil on there.
>> LIDIA: Mm-hmm.
>> Toss with some salt and pepper.
And then some of our fresh herbs that you picked this morning.
>> LIDIA: Some thyme... >> Yes, please.
>> LIDIA: Just like this.
So Gunnar, what's the next step here?
>> Well, some of these big mushrooms, we're gonna go ahead and throw on the grill.
Some of the smaller ones, we'll put in the skillet with a little bit of oil.
So, some of the big guys we just want to get on there and get them searing.
>> LIDIA: So now the rest goes in there.
>> So we've got that nice smoky flavor on them.
We'll put them down, get a nice little char.
>> LIDIA: Oh, the smells, the aromas.
I just, you know... >> We've hung a few chickens here, locally raised.
>> LIDIA: Ooh, they look nice.
>> And then I made a compound butter and cider that we've been basting it with.
It just brings out the tenderness of that chicken.
>> LIDIA: Finally, everything is ready.
We start with a platter featuring Benton's smoked ham, American Spoon's mustard and pumpkin seed salsa, and chicken wings inspired by Vian's jaj bl firin, cooked to perfection on the mother fire.
How're you doing?
>> How in the world are you?
>> LIDIA: Oh, a pleasure having you here again, seeing you again.
>> Good to see you.
>> LIDIA: Hi, Mr. Benton.
Hi, Justin, how're you doing?
>> Good, great to see you.
>> LIDIA: Thank you.
Pleasure having you here.
>> How are you?
You, as well, thank you.
(talking in background) (laughing, talking) >> LIDIA: You having a good time?
>> I'm having a wonderful time.
(talking in background) >> One, two, three.
>> LIDIA: All right!
Before dinner, I ask Chef Gunnar and Ironbound bartender Brittney if they will sing for the guests.
>> ♪ Amazing grace ♪ ♪ How sweet the sound ♪ ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost ♪ ♪ But now I'm found ♪ ♪ Was blind, but now I see ♪ ♪ 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear ♪ ♪ And grace my fears relieved ♪ ♪ How precious did that grace appear ♪ ♪ Was blind but now I see.
♪ (song ends) (cheers and applause) >> LIDIA: Buona sera.
What a pleasure having you all.
For me, a table full of food and friends is the best place to be.
And I am so grateful and so proud of all of you, because we all have a story to tell and to share with America.
And we are going to do just that.
But tonight, we are going to eat and drink.
So...
Salute, and as I say, "Tutti a tavola a mangiare, e buon appetito!"
Cheers.
For dinner, we serve polenta, wild mushroom foraged in the woods nearby, green beans with mint pesto, a green salad, as well, a roasted beet salad, all grown right here on the farm.
And braised short ribs, inspired by Erika's birria recipe.
♪ ♪ And for dessert: a selection of cookies and my tart, all made with American Spoon jams.
Salute, all together!
Come on, pick up your... And what a feast it is!
Okay, chin chin!
>> ALL: Chin chin!
♪ ♪
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To celebrate and the adventures she had making 'Flavors That Define Us', Lidia organizes a potluck-style meal, in Washington D.C., where immigrants, now new friends, share food that is meaningful to them.
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