The Mind of a Chef – Season 2
Season 2 features two culinary masters: Sean Brock and April Bloomfield. In the first eight episodes of season two, Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s and Husk spotlights southern cooking with heritage varieties of rice, beans and grains. In the second half of the season, Chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig follows up with an innovative, refreshingly straightforward take on food.
Episodes
Southerners
A spotlight on the regional variations of southern cuisine. Chef Steven Satterfield makes okra and grits. Chef John Currence makes tamales. Chef Ed Lee creates a dish using bourbon, sorghum and country ham. Pastry chef Lisa Donavan makes a buttermilk pie. New host Sean Brock is joined by the Lee Brothers to make deviled crab
Seeds
It all began when Sean Brock went looking for Jimmy red corn. That simple journey turned into a lifetime of searching, archiving and reviving lost crops of the South. His partners in crime are legendary owner and operator of Anson Mills, Glen Roberts, and University of South Carolina professor David Shields — a trifecta of seed nerds hell-bent on preserving Southern food heritage.
Rice
The resurrection of Carolina gold rice, which disappeared following the Civil War era, is examined. Included: making pilaf and Hoppin' John fritters. Also: Louisiana chef Donald Link makes jambalaya; and Senegalese chef Fati Ly makes pilau.
Louisiana
A look at Louisiana cuisine features a visit to Middendorf's Restaurant in Akers, La., with food writer John T. Edge; and a frogging excursion with chef Donald Link.
Preserve
Preservation techniques that play an important role in Southern culture are discussed, including drying, salt-curing, canning and fermentation.
Roots
Host Sean Brock prepares a typical Appalachian dinner; cooks chicken dumplings with his mother; visits with chef Joseph Lenn at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee; and learns how to make fried okra and country ham.
Low Country BBQ
Host Sean Brock prepares an outdoor feast on a friend's farm, where he's joined by barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott, who roasts a whole pig; and Steven Satterfield, who makes Savannah red rice. Brock also prepares frogmore stew
Senegal
The influence of West Africa on Southern cuisine is explored during a visit to Senegal. Historian and chef Fati Ly leads a tour of the markets in Dakar and M'Bour; and cooks theibou yapp, a traditional Sengalese dish.
London
Chef April Bloomfield visits London, where she began her cooking career. Cooking walnut tagliatelle with chef Ruth Rogers. Making rabbit pie with chef Fergus Henderson, and enjoying a pint and scotch eggs with chef Rowley Leigh.
Sea/Salt
Focus on April’s love of the sea, which is deep and fully realized.
Curry
Explore the origins of curry and England’s versions of this historic cuisine.
Italian
Explore April Bloomfield’s deep love for Italian cuisine and its influence on her cooking.
British Classics
Review some of the signature dishes of UK cuisine: bangers and mash, fish-n-chips, and pies.
Farmer
April travels four hours outside London to Cornwall to visit and cook with farmer and chef Tom Adams on his farm. Tom raises the cute, furry and delicious mangalitsa pigs. April and Tom butcher and cook the entire pig piece by piece: loin, shoulder, belly and head.
Leftovers
This episode aims to prove that nasty bits have been given a bad rap and deserve to be on the kitchen table along with meatloaf and mashed potatoes. In the kitchen, April cooks faggots, bubble and squeak and pig parts; Fergus Henderson works his offal magic on kidneys.
Restauranteur
Chef Bloomfield wrestles with the questions every aspiring new or expanding veteran chef has to confront. April and her business partner, Ken Friedman, explore the challenges of opening their first out-of-state venture in San Francisco: Tosca. April is inspired by a local morning bun, and she’s busy in the kitchen testing and tasting dishes for her new menu.