Michael Voltaggio fashions international detente through food on ‘Breaking Borders’
Imagine being a chef charged with creating a meal of local cuisine for a group of guests. Now imagine you’re not familiar with the city and the cuisine, have no idea where to get the ingredients and the guests might not get along. That’s the stress and the challenge chef Michael Voltaggio faced on Travel Channel’s Sunday series “Breaking Borders,” in which he goes to sites of international conflict such as Jerusalem or Northern Ireland to prepare meals for guests of opposing viewpoints. “I had to decompress after we shot each episode,” he says with a laugh. Voltaggio’s process begins when he arrives four days prior to the dinner. He would interview guests, find out which local restaurants and dishes they like, go there, sample them and make notes. “Then I just sort of get lost in the markets ...,” Voltaggio explains. “So there are moments when I taste something somewhere and a light goes off in my head and I get an idea. And so I keep writing these ideas down throughout the week, and then the day of the dinner I actually go shopping for the food and I try and gather all of those notes and thoughts and put them together and hopefully communicate that back to the guests in each dish that I prepare. ... For me, the food is my opportunity to share my experiences with everyone and I tell my story through the food that I cook.” The dinner is served and consumed, opposing viewpoints are exchanged and hopefully everyone comes away more enlightened. For Voltaggio’s part, he heard no negative reviews of his work. “It’s the comments and the compliments that came out of their mouths,” he says. “That’s when it hit home that I was cooking food for a much bigger reason. Not necessarily for people who are just entitled to eat or want to eat but in some cases needed to eat or needed to sit down to a good meal and have a conversation.”
Cooking Sunday 5:00 p.m. FOOD All-Star Academy Bringing back an eliminated contestant. 6:00 p.m. FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Savory starters paired with chocolate. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Hot sandwich; international dish. (N) 8:00 p.m. FOOD All-Star Academy Cooks use canned meats; mentors judge. (N) 9:00 p.m. FOOD Cutthroat Kitchen Egg salad; lamb dinner; carrot cake. (N) 10:00 p.m. FOOD Cutthroat Kitchen Meal prepared from a high chair. TRAVEL No Reservations Anthony Bourdain visits Australia. (N) Monday 5:00 p.m. FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Ingredients starting with the letter P. 6:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy travels to South Carolina, New York and Hawaii.
Muskogee Phoenix
BY GEORGE DICKIE
What book are you currently reading? “Alex and Aki, they have this website called Ideas in Food, and they just put out a whole book about gluten-free baking and basically gluten-free anything. And I don’t remember the name of it because I just opened it and started reading it. ... They’ve basically written recipes for, gram for gram, gluten-free flours that you can still cook with ... . To me this is a book that’s going to change the game.” What did you have for dinner last night? “Last night, we ate at a restaurant called Cosme. It’s a new restaurant in New York. ... Octopus with molé, we had duck carnitas ... and a husk meringue with a corn mousse inside of it. The guy is a genius and we definitely had some great food last night.” What is your next project? “To go back to my restaurant and focus on cooking and my staff and stuff like that for a while, and hopefully get back out on the road.” When was the last vacation you took, where and why? “I could say with all honesty that I don’t think I’ve ever actually just gone on vacation before. ... Usually when I travel, it’s related to work.”
6:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Meat and three sides in Nashville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives A dive bar; European comfort food. 7:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Beer with mussels; brisket sandwich. 8:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup 8:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives A nearly century-old chili recipe. 9:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup FOOD Food Fortunes (N) 10:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup 10:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Duck club with homemade garlic mayo. Tuesday 5:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped A fruit with two seafood ingredients. 6:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup 6:30 p.m. TRAVEL Man v. Food San Antonio.
7:00 p.m. KOKI Hell’s Kitchen Special lunch service for firefighters. (N) (In Stereo) 8:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Each round celebrates the sandwich. 9:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Spinach vinaigrette; chicken sausages. (N) 10:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Baskets contain a bit of Australia. Wednesday 5:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Southwestern green chili burgers. 5:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Meatloaf sandwich with compote. 6:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Fast food can still be good food. TRAVEL Man v. Food Adam visits the California State Fair. 6:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives The oldest restaurant in Memphis, Tenn. TRAVEL Man v. Food Adam visits Phoenix. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Mystery Diners Owner notices a decrease in sales. 7:30 p.m. FOOD Mystery Diners Fighting between cooks and a bartender. TRAVEL Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations Dim sum to congee to roast goose. 8:00 p.m. FOOD Mystery Diners Owner notices discrepancies in sales. TRAVEL Man Finds Food Al Capone’s marinara sauce. (N) 8:30 p.m. FOOD Mystery Diners Signature cocktail is served elsewhere. (N) TRAVEL Man Finds Food Hawaiian and Korean mash-up. (N)
For Temperature and the forecast visit muskogeephoenix.com EZ-Pay $1599 per month Page 8
9:00 p.m. FOOD Restaurant: Impossible Robert tackles fixing the Zest Bistro. (N) 10:00 p.m. FOOD Food Fortunes TRAVEL Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern Maine. Thursday 5:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Sports figures battle it out. 6:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Chinese dumplings; pawpaw deserts. TRAVEL Man v. Food Chicago. 6:30 p.m. TRAVEL Man v. Food Cheese-steak in Philadelphia. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Sweet chicken wings; cake; tomato soup. 8:00 p.m. FOOD Chopped Canada Instant breakfast treat; pheasant. (N) (In Stereo) 9:00 p.m. FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chefs Johnny Zone and Jumoke Jackson. (N) 9:30 p.m. FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Jen Biesty takes on Chris Lamphier. 10:00 p.m. FOOD Cutthroat Kitchen Martini glass is used to make banh mi. TRAVEL Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Discovering the meaning of life. Friday 5:00 p.m. KRSU Twice as Good Apple chips; mountaintop cherries. (In Stereo) FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Local country favorites. 5:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Viewer suggestions for the best. 6:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Restaurant from old buses; Florida bar. 6:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Places locals love. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Lau lau stew; Sicilian sandwiches. 7:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives BLT with homemade bacon; jambalaya.
8:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Pastrami dogs; braised pork tacos. 8:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Pirate barbecue; twist on hot wings. 9:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Burritos; bulgogi masa fries; ribs. 9:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Pickling, smoking, curing, fermenting. 10:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Homemade pretzels with beer sauce. 10:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Kraut burger; cous cous; fish taco. Saturday 5:00 p.m. FOOD Food Fortunes 6:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Restaurants recommended by viewers. 6:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Diners chosen by viewers. 7:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Authentic beef specialty; brisket. 7:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Crabstuffed flounder; baked ziti pizza. 8:00 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Pork chops; lobster mac ’n cheese. 8:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Lamb tacos; popcorn pork; Asian pork. 9:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy embarks on a tour of Tuscany, Italy. 9:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Traditional spots in Florence, Italy. 10:00 p.m. CNBC Restaurant Startup FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Fat Jerry sammie; abalone sliders. 10:30 p.m. FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Gourmet grilled cheese and porchetta.
April 5 - 11, 2015