Scraps

Host Chef Joel Gamoran arrives in Big Sky country to team up with food waste champion, Eduardo Garcia, affectionately known as the “Bionic Chef.” Our chefs set their sights on a bold culinary challenge: make a better version of an iconic cowboy dish using ingredients usually thrown in the trash, and recruit multigenerational Montana ranchers into the food waste movement. Joel and Eduardo’s Montana adventure takes them wading through chilly mountain streams and galloping horseback over rugged ranchland–all in the name of saving scraps. But does their ambitious menu filled with bizarre beef offcuts and fried fish bones pack enough taste punch to satisfy the headstrong cowboys?

Joel Gamoran visits the postcard perfect Pacific Coast to team up with fellow food waste warrior, Brooke Williamson, the queen of beachside gourmet cuisine. Our chefs set out on a bold mission: reinvent the iconic Southern Cal fish taco using ingredients usually tossed in the trash, and convince L.A. natives to permanently join the Scraps movement. After reeling in a few “trash fish” and handpicking some busted citrus, Joel and Brooke attempt to transform the otherwise wasted ingredients into an unforgettable meal. But does their scrappy makeover have what it takes to win over the ultimate beachside fish taco experts?

Joel arrives in the Second City–Chicago, Illinois–and meets up with Michelin-rated chef, Beverly Kim, to create a dinner menu featuring ingredients that usually wind up in the trash. Our chefs’ mission to find scraps sends them all over town, from a steak processing facility to a northside Polish deli. Joel and Beverly then give a scrappy makeover to classic recipes that have been featured in restaurants across the country for more than hundred years. Their goal: convince heritage brand business leaders–firm devotees of tradition–to forever change the way they look at food waste.

Joel is back in the Bay Area where he honed his culinary chops and learned to respect ingredients as a rookie chef, teaming up with Bon Appetit senior editor, Andy Baraghani. The Bay Area may be the epicenter of the farm to table movement--a place where perfect-looking produce reigns supreme-- but our chefs are here to save the bruised, ugly and forgotten. After scouring the Bay Area for the most imperfect produce they can find, Joel and Andy attempt to transform the rejected fruits and veggies into a gourmet meal. Their ultimate goal: open the eyes of local culinary school students to the importance and power of scraps. These are the chefs that will forge the next big food trends, and Joel and Andy need them to believe in the ugly, the rejected, and seconds. If they can't convince them, the scrappy mission could die out.

Thanksgiving is the most American holiday. It doesn’t matter where you came from or what you believe, it’s about gathering with family and friends to show thanks and share some amazing food. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming and it doesn’t have to be wasteful! When you cook scrappy, you stay happy! This year Joel has invited a bunch of friends from Season One–plus some new faces–to an epic Thanksgiving weekend in beautiful Vermont. By Thursday night your belly is full, the fridge is packed with leftovers. But that big feast is just the start of the fun! You’ve got three more days with friends and family, so we are going to help you have the scrappiest Thanksgiving weekend ever! Joel and his friends will show you how to cook for the entire weekend, and how to avoid any food waste from hitting the trash.

Joel motors into Motown, Detroit, Michigan, and joins forces with celebrity chef Max Hardy to come up with a dinner using ingredients most home cooks toss in the waste bin. Included: milking goats; learning how agriculture centers are re-growing communities and creating local sustainable food systems. Joel and Max flip the iconic Detroit style pizza on its head, creating a retooled version of the city's most beloved food.

In Nashville, Tenn., Joel teams up with chef Tandy Wilson to create a menu with food usually tossed in the trash; the chefs travel outside the city to pastures and rolling hills where they source slimy chicken hearts, livers and gizzards.

Joel gallops into Louisville, Ky., to pair up with chef Anthony Lamas to create a menu with scraps; their search for ingredients takes them to a watermelon farm and an ice cream shop; Joel and Anthony create a new version of southern barbecue.

Joel lands in Connecticut to meet up with celebrated chef Jacques Pepin; they spend the day at the beach and in orchards gathering scraps and using them to create a dinner menu featuring recipes made from things like fish bait and crushed fruit.

In Boston, Joel joins forces with chef Jamie Bissonnette who is salty about food waste; after sourcing some fish heads at a fisherman's wharf and stale beer at a brewery, the two chefs attempt to turn these ingredients into an unforgettable meal.

Joel visits the shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont where he reunites with mentor Sally Hiebert; after receiving a lesson in the art of cheddaring and digging in the dirt, Joel and Sally must use squash guts and whey to create a gourmet dinner menu.