The Main Course

Tune into a sweet episode of The Main Course as host Patrick Martins sits down and chats with Rising Star pastry chef Jenny McCoy. Jenny talks about her experiences working with desserts and gives listeners some insights into the process of a pastry chef. Learn how you can make elaborate desserts at home and find out why she thinks you dont always have to follow recipes exactly as written. Hear about how salts and savory flavors are finding their way back to desserts and hear about Jennys personal journey into the world of pastries! This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures. There is definitely an uptick in savory ingredients in deserts lately. Salt has become a focal point in some desserts. You can make elaborate and delicious desserts at home quite easily. Recipes are strong guide, but you dont have to follow them to a T. --Pastry Chef Jenny McCoy 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 Eaters Manual. He tells listeners 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 weeks episode of The Main Course was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards and Sons The fear of hunger [in the world] has encouraged people to over-eat...Forcing your children to finish whats 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 wont be able to find a way to get out of this until we find a way to get money in peoples 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

This week on The Main Course, Patrick is joined by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan of The Purple Yam and Cendrillon fame. Amy teaches listeners about food from the Philippines and how heritage meat plays a huge role in replicating the tastes and traditions of the tropical country. Learn about Ang Sariling Atin, an institute founded to teach connect the culinary heritage of the Phillipines and help develop the palates and cooking techniques of young chefs with an emphasis on nature based cooking. Learn why cooking with clay pots and banana leaves is so much better than aluminum pans and how the new wave of gastronomes and young chefs can re-connect with the heritage and traditions of the older generations. This episode was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards and Sons Food from the Philippines is based on nature - Amy Besa on The Main Course, 12/11/11 Do you really think putting a bunch of MSG in your adobo will make it better? - Amy Besa on The Main Course, 12/11/11

This week on The Main Course, host Patrick Martins has a conversation with chef, writer, and artisan food producer Paul Bertolli of Fra Mani Handcrafted Salumi. They talk about his experience opening Oliveto Restaurant and Cafe, working with Alice Waters and his new line of salumi, Fra Mani Handcrafted Salumi. Later on the show, Patrick and The Heritage team get ready for the 2nd annual Robertas Beer Fest. Also tune in for a leftovers themed edition of the Week in Review. This episode was sponsored by Robertas.

This week on The Main Course, Patrick is joined by Nicole Taylor aka The Food Culturist, host of Hot Grease. Patrick and Nicole have a heated discussion in the wake of Thanksgiving about food access in low-income communities. Are people responsible for making good choices on their own, or should they be given more access to good food? Later in the show, they shift the conversation to the Occupy Wall Street movement as it relates to food. Finally, Patrick plays a pre-recorded segment with Red Wattle pork farmer Larry Sorrel of Lazy S Farm. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market.

Patrick Martins and the Heritage Foods USA team are knee-deep in Turkey season and todays episode of The Main Course focuses on just that. Patricks first guest is Frank Reese of Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch, a HFUSA collaborator for over 10 years, who explains the history of heritage breeds and heritage turkeys to listeners. Find out what makes the heritage birds different than commodity birds and why genetic modification is an entirely different process. Later on the show, Daniel Honig and Andrea Trabucco-Campos of Heritage Foods USA call in to give an update on the project. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market.

Patrick Martins is joined by Robert Finn, chef at Fatty Crab Downtown, for a lively discussion on Roberts experiences with the Fatty Cue team and his culinary journey. Learn how culinary school can really help aspiring chefs and why some of the high end restaurants are just not that fun to work at. Later on the show, Michael Dimin of Sea2Table speaks about shrimp and sustainability. Michael tells listeners why 90% of shrimp in the US is imported and how we can help promote more sustainable varieties of Americas favorite seafood. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market.

This week on The Main Course, Patrick is joined by Terrance Brennan, the Chef-Proprietor of the successful and acclaimed restaurants of The Artisanal Group, including Picholine, Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar and Bar Artisanal. Patrick opens the show with some thoughts and clips from the recent Occupy Against Big Food Rally and discusses why he thinks there should be a maximum wage and why anybody working at Goldman Sachs should be ashamed. Later on, Terrance explains how he took his idea for a local bistro into the world of fine dining. Tune in to hear how hes implemented artisanal cheese in his restaurants and learn how his cheese caves and affinage ensure maximum quality. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

The Main Course introduces a new segment, the HRN Week in Review; where Patrick and HRN Executive Producer Jack Inslee re-cap the week in radio and discuss current events. Later on the show, Liz Clarke, head butcher and chef at Bubbys, comes on the discuss her experiences with butchering and the challenges she faces trying to make use of a whole steer every week at her restaurant. Tune in as Liz gets to the nitty gritty of butchering, explaining which cuts are good for which dishes and also helping listeners understand why whole animal cooking is so important. Also on the show, Ed Litvak and Traven Rice of The Lo Down NY. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

This week on The Main Course, Patrick sits down with friend and chef de cuisine at Fatty Crab, Corwin Kave. Corwin explains how he bolted Long Island to become a chef and recalls his experiences with culinary education at NECI. Find out how Singapore influenced Corwins culinary style and hear what hes up to today. Also on the show, Director of St. Johns Bread and Life, Anthony Butler. Anthony shares how Bread and Life helps feed thousands of New Yorkers in need. This show was brought to you by S. Wallace Edwards and Sons.