The Main Course

This week on The Main Course, Patrick is joined by “The Julia Child of Ireland”, Darina Allen. Darina is an award-winning author and runs the world-renowned cookery school at Ballymaloe in County Cork, Ireland, which she founded with her husband in 1983. Tune in to learn more about the 12-week courses she offers at the school and why the first thing she teaches students before working in a kitchen is composting and seed sowing. Find out why nothing compares to Irish butter and hear Darina tell the fascinating story of her family history. Learn more about Darina, the Ballymaloe school and more here.This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

“You don’t have to go out of your way [to cook good food], just look at what’s in your garden. You can make a great meal with just potatoes and cabbage. Take good ingredients, and it’s so easy to make it taste good. If you start with mass-produced food, then you have to be a magician.”

“The first thing we show our students how to do is sow a seed. It’s an important lesson, because they suddenly realize how long it takes something to grow. It teaches them to have a respect for the food.”

“In Ireland we can grow grass like nowhere else in the world because of our climate. The quality of our butter is fantastic because of the grass feeding of the animals.”

“There is a perception that farmers markets are more expensive. Look how much depends on the food we eat. We have to remind ourselves that our food should be our medicine, instead of buying bottles of pills. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but you have to be able to cook.”

–Darina Allen on The Main Course

On a lively episode of The Main Course, Patrick Martins is joined by chef and friend of the show Shanna Pacifico, who has just announced she’ll be leaving Back Forty for Back Forty West, and Zak Kell chef du cuisine at Community Food & Juice. Tune in for a conversation on everything from the culture of destination restaurants to the process of changing venues as a chef. Hear what Shanna expects from her new gig and why she’s so obsessed with the cumari pepper right now. Listen as Zak explains what makes his catch of the day so important to him and how he had to make adjustments coming from Clinton Street Baking to Community Food & Juice. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

Photo 1: Shanna Pacifico, Photo 2: Community Food & Juice

“The new space [Back Forty West] has three floors, a basement, the main floor and a prep kitchen upstairs. I’m in for a challenge.”

“For me, a lot of times its about recreating a dish I grew up with.”

“I’m hoping that people go back to carnal eating.”

–Shanna Pacifico of Back Forty West on The Main Course

“Anything at any point should be appetizing. The meat should look good off the truck, while I’m grinding it, when it’s on the grill, etc.”

–Zak Kell, chef du cuisine at Community Food & Juice

On a special edition of The Main Course, Patrick Martins sits down with food titan Michel Nischan to celebrate his week as guest editor on Food Republic. Tune in to hear a spirited conversation about our food system and the various ways in which we can improve it. Should Wall-Mart be criticized or embraced for going green? How can subsidies be re purposed to promote local and fresh produce? Find out some of the sustainable companies and restaurants that inspire Michel and learn more about everything from Victory Gardens to the role shareholders play in sustainable food. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

“A lot of subsidies that have been given to processed foods give the products an unfair price advantage which is why you can buy fast food much more inexpensively than fresh produce, which we should have 5 servings of a day.”

“In 1949, at least half of the fresh food consumed in the United States came from victory gardens. Then it became more convenient to buy from supermarkets.”

“The only way to get returns at the level shareholders expect is to drive down the cost of goods and labor.”

“I’m not freaked out Wall Mart saying they want to go green. I’m cautious, but if they put 1-2 million dollars a year into food access issues and trying to make local more affordable you have keep an eye on it.”

–Michel Nischan of Wholesome Wave on The Main Course

Legendary food activist, journalist and acclaimed writer Michael Pollan joins Patrick Martins for a very special episode of The Main Course. Michael shares some of his new “food rules” as featured in his latest book, “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual”. He tells listener s why they should eat close to the earth, serve vegetables first, remember that milk is a meal and stop acting as “short order cooks” for their children. Later in the show, Patrick asks Michael a variety of questions from Heritage Radio Network hosts including concerns about population growth, the decline of cooking from home, elitism in the sustainable food movement and political influence on our food system. If you are at all interested in the way we eat and the way we affect our planet, this is a must listen. Also on the show, Robert Stehling of Hominy Grill. This week’s episode of The Main Course was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons

“The fear of hunger [in the world] has encouraged people to over-eat…Forcing your children to finish what’s on their plate is probably not such a good idea. We should be learning how to leave something on our plate, symbolically, in order to get in control of our appetite.”

“We accept a hierarchy of taste everywhere but food.”

“There some recent studies that suggest sustainable agriculture could feed 9 billion people.”

“When you outsource the cooking of your food to corporations, your health suffers.”

“The cheapening of our food has subsidized our falling wages. We won’t be able to find a way to get out of this until we find a way to get money in people’s wallets so they can afford real food.”

“Michelle Obama has done a lot to raise the profile of good food. I wish her husband would back her up a little more strongly with policy.”

–Michael Pollan on The Main Course

If you’re curious about the processes involved with starting a restaurant, tune in to this episode of The Main Course. Host Patrick Martins revisits Heritage Radio Network’s trip to Bonnaroo! Tune in to hear a post-produced piece about the Manchester, Tennessee music fest- created by HRN president Jack Inslee. Jack talks about the local and sustainable focus of the food vendors at Bonnaroo, and interviews members of Das Racist and Dispatch about food on the road. Corey Cova of ABV Kitchen and Wine Bar is in the studio, talking with Patrick about house-made ketchup and his experiences building and creating ABV Kitchen. Hear about Corey’s start at Momofuku Ssam Bar and creating a cheese menu at Earl’s Beer and Cheese. Listen in to hear what it takes in terms of tools and personnel to create a restaurant from scratch. Hear about some of the menu items at ABV Kitchen, as well as Corey’s affinity for deserts and pastries. This program has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

“You have to have a good imagination if you’re going to open any kind of restaurant.” — Corey Cova on The Main Course