Here's to the local restaurants, to the chefs, owner operators, the staff, The ones who love being in the weeds night after night.

When we go to work each morning, that's who we have in mind From where we source our food to how we deliver it Here's to them, the ones who are out there cooking for us every day.

Restaurants are the heart of everything we do.

We are Performance Food Service.

Proudly supporting Food is Love Support for Food is Love is provided by Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood 100% fishermen family owned, Independent seafood sourcing.

catching, processing and delivering seafood directly to the consumer's front door.

From caught to bought wild salmon direct from the fisherman.

Information at WildAlaskaSalmonandseafood.com Long ago, I learned the importance of reflecting on your journey.

Looking back at where you've been to better understand how to get where you're going The best and worst experiences all have an important lesson about ourselves and each other.

We have an obligation to get the message, so to speak, to learn the lessons.

This past year, I visited new places, made new friends and ate so much incredible food that is dizzying.

All in a city that continues to show me parts of itself that I didn't know were there.

I met people who found better lives here, others who were living out their dreams in this place.

As I look back and reflect on all of the years experiences in an attempt to sum up what I learned I find that I don't get very far because all I can think about is the food.

As a chef, I need to stay curious in order to evolve.

For me, that means looking beyond a good meal to learn more about who made it and what inspires them to cook.

"La comida es amor" Every great city has great food.

I'm going on a journey around the world right here in St. Louis.

I'm on a quest to find passionate chefs who cook from the heart to prove that food is love.

It's going to be delicious.

Food is Love.

Love your food.

At this point, I'm just going to say it out loud St. Louis is indisputably a food destination.

The scene here is a mix of the old and the new that all seem to exist together at a rate of density that gives an endless choice of different places to eat, but its ultimately the people here that makes it the exciting foodscape that it has become.

I'm stopping in to spend time with the owner of Cafe Napoli, an immigrant that came to St. Louis as a teen, with no family connection and nothing to his name.

Italian restauranteur Tony Pietoso has been serving food in Clayton for more than 30 years now.

Even I would admit that I don't know a lot about Malaysia.

I grew up in Malaysia, which is a multicultural country.

Every part of the life are influenced by a different culture from Muslims, from Indian, from Chinese.

We are big melting pots, taking all the spices, food, style, technique, culture, everything.

At what point were you in Malaysia and decided you want to come to America?

Early 20s.

I think it's because of the 90210.

90210?

That one.

Well, you know, this is the wrong zip code.

It's the wrong zip code.

It is.

Family and service are the hallmarks of the Citizen Kane experience.

But the other big reason that people come here is for the meat.

To find out what makes steaks good enough for Citizen Kanes.

I'm up with the sun riding along with cattleman Brock Meyer of Meyer Cattle Company.

I'm with him this morning as he checks some of his herd.

Brock raiseses black Angus cattle.

Obviously, its very important what they eat, right?

Yes, very important.

We work with a nutritionalist that builds our rations for us.

So much like a human's diet.

It's balanced and.. Is it good?

It's a little dry, in my opinion.

DiGregorio's is an old school Italian grocer that has all the specialties mafilata, olives, meats dressings, just to name a few.

A lot of cheese.

Well, looky here.

There you go Danish Fontina.

Danish Fontina, right?

Its very good cheese.

Well I appreciate you saying that.

(Laughing) How can anyone not be a fan of this?

Everyone loves brunch.

It's very delicious.

Thank you very much.

And if you don't love little mystery dumpings filled with chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, then I'm not sure where that leaves you and I.

But I digress.

An d keep it playful.I think that's what it's all about.

All right.

Almost immediately, I'm seeing this is going in a direction I didn't anticipate.

How did I get into this position?

Literally?

Better yet, how am I going to get out?

This isn't what I had imagined.

Obviously, knowing nothing about jujitsu, I assumed I was going to be learning a couple of arm grabs, maybe some kind of little foot move to trip an opponent.

Something more flashy, maybe a little less chokey.

When we roll, you're basically wanting to make sure this end when it rolls hits this part.

Okay.

So from the side, you can see where I'm at.

And then you want to take your hands, your fingers up here.

So your thumbs are on the side, and then your fingers are here.

As you're rolling this up, you want to push this in.

Okay.

And kind of hit that spot Yes and then kind of squeeze in.

And then you're going to take this and then one more roll.

And then kind of roll it.

Yeah.

And then squeeze.

And then you want to make sure this part is on the bottom.

All right.

Yes!

Woah, look at you!

Izumi A tiny Japanese fire truck turned Sando pop up cart.

Chicken yakitori, and colorful milk bread.

sandos are a feast for the eyes.

I'm trying to mimic convenie food, which is convenience store food.

It's a lot more entrenched in Japanese society because they're always on the go, so they're always looking for something good.

So it's not the same sort of gas station food stigma that is here.

We actually get a really good meal at a convenie I do about 70, 80% pre orders, and they sell out very quickly these days.

And then I have a little bit for walk ups.

I've heard a lot about this food, but this is my first chance to try it, and I think we need more stuff like this.

Pure genius and evidence of the vibrancy of the food scene.

I've been going to restaurants all my life and they always have a basement where you're going to have chance encounters with whoever.

This is part of the romance of having a restaurant.

When you find the tomatoes treated as well as the wine, it's usually a sign the meal is going to be a good one.

For an Italian, tomatoes are just as valuable as the wine, so it has to be treated like the good wine.

Absolutely!

What is it about St. Louis that brought you back here?

I think first of all, St. Louis is my home, and I wanted to help kind of continue the already great trajectory of St. Louis restaurants.

I think that when I was younger, it's like maybe you thought you had to open a restaurant in New York or in Chicago or a big city like that.

And now I think more and more cooks are realizing that that's not the case, really.

There's great restaurants in smaller cities all over the US, and I think that that's really cool to see is just like this great food trends and great communities of chefs kind of banding together and creating their own culture within their hometowns.

And I think that's really awesome.

And I think St. Louis is an amazing chef culture and camaraderie and all of that.

And so I'm humbled to be a part of it.

Really.

Mac and cheese dog!

Oh, wow.

All right.

Here.

I'll give you half, and you'll give me half.

Awesome.

So what do you drink with a hot dog?

Cold soda.

Cold soda?

Yes.

That's what you have, too?

Yes.

Okay.

Would you like something to drink?

Cold soda, I guess.

(Laughing) How about a diet?

(Laughing) I guess I need a cold soda (Laughing) I'm trying to do everything the right way.

Right.

That's part of the experience.

All right.

Bacon bacon Jamaican.

It doesn't matter how old you are.

There's just something about a hot dog.

And we kind of just let it mix in, and then I'll just finish a little bit by hand.

Christy do you want to do the piping on these or should I?

No way!

Let me do it.

Oh, You can try your hand at it.

Yeah.

So we start kind of like about a half an inch above and just squeeze that.

And then the hard part is the cookies cook a little crazy, so we try to match them up as best we can.

The pastry chef in me can't help to take a bag and ice a few of them by myself, like riding a bicycle.

I grew up in a pastry shop I've done this a few times, too.

I'm getting in the spirit now.

You're hired!

Next, I'm going to Kevin's home to make pizzas in his backyard and meet his wife, Mina.

I couldn't be more excited.

As you might expect from an award winning chef, there's an oven in his backyard, and it's beautiful.

Kevin has his mise en place ready, and the oven is heating up.

By the looks of the spread, these pizzas are going to be good.

You probably don't have any problem getting people over when you cook you in the backyard.

I don't know.

It's fun.

It was something that I was like, you know, if anything, I can do in my backyard.

I wanted to do this because my kids are engaged.

They can do it with me, and it's fun.

It's something they always love to eat.

And then it's so versatile.

I can cook like porquetta.

I can do ribs.

I can do so many things.

Beautiful bread, and I clean the floor of it.

And you know how masculine that looks, too, when you shoot in there with that thing.

It does.

I traveled a little this year and realized just about anywhere you go, you can find a connection to St. Louis.

From Key West, Florida, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the food scene in St.Louis has branches that extend past the city limits in every direction.

I scoured the St. Louis scene for long enough now that being in another city feels like being in an alien landscape.

Tulsa is or feels like a little big city.

It's easy to get around here.

The nightlife is happening.

There's an art scene and the kind of eclectic places that makes a city hip.

There is no shortage of places to eat or grab a drink, all of them new to me.

I don't stop to darken any of their doors.

I'm looking for something more familiar, comfort food, if you will.

Something to make me feel like I'm back in St. Louis.

It almost feels like we're in the way, right?

No, you are.

We are, in the way.

Its good.

The dual kitchen set up could be a recipe for disaster, but here it's running like a well oiled machine.

This is what we all love, the craziness of a kitchen.

We are right in the middle of this restaurant, Kevin Nashan's restaurant, and this is what I live for.

I mean, there's a lot of things going on in here.

To hear Kevin talk about La Tertulia is to hear tales about the old city of Gold.

But it's not a myth.

Kevin has brought new life to something his grandparents created, and the food here is exceptional.

At the end of a long day, I'm glad I came to Tulsa to experience this myself.

I'm crossing the Seven Mile Bridge in search of the place that I've heard about in every Jimmy Buffett song, Each key bringing me closer to the feeling I've been chasing since first realizing that I was a parrot head.

I came here to get away.

Sure.

But what is it that I'm hoping to find?

Is it freedom, an alternate way of living?

The proverbial cheeseburger in paradise, maybe?

Or is it some remaining sliver of Hemingway's Key West that has drawn me here?

I'm not really sure, but it's a safe bet whatever I'm looking for has something to do with food.

Now, where exactly are we right now?

This is Boca Grand Island.

The Keys don't stop in Key West.

They keep going, continually west, it goes.

Keys Marquesas which are behind us and then the Tortugas.

So we're about maybe eight to 10 miles west of Key West.

This is George Hansford.

As the captain of courage, George flexes a disposition with his boat that leaves little doubt that he was born on one to see him, you might think you're looking at a modern day version of Ernest Hemingway.

And maybe you are.

The same kind of wondering spirit that led the fabled author to the Keys has found George Ping Ponging between his Rock Hill restaurant the Trainwreck Saloon and the Southernmost island of the US.

That's right.

George is a native St. Louisan.

In fact, his restaurant is the oldest operating bar in St. Louis county.

I worked out in Soulard back in the early 80s, and there was a place called Mike and Min's, that was there was just a real neighborhood Tavern and I loved it.

And I thought if I could find a building with an atmosphere and an antique bar like Mike and Min's in the county, that's what I wanted.

And I found the one that was actually really close to where my wife and I grew up in Brentwood, right there in Rock Hill that had been there since 1890, and it had a lot of history in the old bar.

And it was love at first sight.

To a lot of the world, traditional Japanese culture carries a mystical sense.

The kimonos, the rituals, the meaning assigned to everyday things.

This is Chado, or the way of the tea.

The art of the Japanese tea ceremony.

As a guest, I show respect for the host by paying attention to the preparations and my surroundings, every part of the ceremony is conducted with close attention to detail.

There is little talking, mostly focus and appreciating the small things, the details, like the flower arrangement, the heating of the water, the making of the tea.

There's meaning and beauty in all of it.

Even this building, an authentic Japanese tea house, was specially constructed for this one particular purpose.

Today I'm in Sei wa en garden, the garden of pure, clear harmony and peace.

But despite how it might seem, I haven't traveled to Japan to take part in a traditional tea ceremony.

In fact, I haven't even left St. Louis.

The diversity in St. Louis still surprises me.

Nearly everywhere you go, you can find food spots that focus on different kinds of cuisine.

But to me, when I see beautiful sushi or catch the smell of soul food cooking.

I think about the people and the family behind it.

Beets.

Beets are my favorite.

They are awesome.

What color are you?

What's your favorite color Beet?

Well, any beet.

(Laughing) This is just a little fresh.

And it's all vegetarian, all vegan.

Just the breadcrumbs, olive oil, salt, pepper on everything.

And then just the herb sauce.

You just roasted all the vegetables in the oven.

Yes.

The hallmark of a good food scene is inclusion.

Not just inclusion of food from other places but inclusion of foods for people with different needs, goals, diets.

It's not about really having a fully vegetarian, vegan plant based whatever word you want to use, restaurant.

It's more about normal restaurants offering all of these beautiful dishes for everybody so that we can all sit around the table together.

Can I make one?

Yes, absolutely.

Go ahead.

You can make any shape you like.

You know, I feel bad, I'm normally doing all the cooking.

Snap here in the middle, and then the first one is to go to the side a little bit.

Okay.

So now you have room to go further each crease.

You can make creases.

I see.

It's like making pies, right?

Pot pies.

Yeah.

This is a real story that my grandma told me.

Making dumplings is a very good way to tell your future daughter in law, what kind of person she is to get know her, because the dumpling that the person made have very few creases.

That means she's not detail oriented.

I see.

But you have too many creases.

That means this one is a little bit too meticulous and sometimes maybe hard to deal with.

(Laughing) See, I have a little bit of creases, not too many.

So I'm easy to deal with Yes, you are the perfect son in law!

(Laughing) You're not having any cake.

Am I the only one?

Oh, wow.

I didn't even realize that you had broke into it.

I dug a hole over here I'm really liking Jujitsu now, if this is how we refuel, cake and smoothie.

Yeah, that's how we do it.

Smoothies and cake after jujitsu.

That's hilarious.

An innocent question about chef pants.

And here I am.

A crowd is literally forming outside the curtains.

A dress up experiment for the whole shop.

You know, those pants will look great when you're not on camera, right?

When you're relaxed.

I have a Tiki bar at home.

It's more like the Tiki bar pant, right?

That's a Tiki bar pant.

That's a Tiki bar pants.

I like it.

Yeah.

Jimmy Buffett would approve.

Well thats all that matters.

This is something that I will never forget, and the irony of it all still gets me.

Lv and her family has never felt comfortable coming into my restaurant.

Just the same way that there are little to no white clientele going into Gourmet Soul.

The food is unbelievable.

Misconceptions close doors.

As restaurant owners, we face similar but opposite problems.

And still, in spite of problems and misconceptions, the truth remains that food is for everyone.

It can nourish us, comfort us, and like it has here today.

It can bring us together.

Sharing moments in the kitchen with so many incredible chefs is something that I do not take for granted.

Each time I'm learning something new and getting a glimpse into the mind and lives of other people, people that are just as sick in the head as me.

So in Italy that's what we do.

Every 15, 20 minutes, they stop at a bar and they have an espresso You wonder why Italian people are so nervous, talk with their hands?

Espresso helps you out!

Yeah.

I want to be an Italian!

Guerilla mac and cheese.

People think these simple things are simple.

They are, but they're not.

The pasta has to be cooked the right way.

There's a lot of things that goes into it to make it perfect.

You're exactly right.

That one there, that's my favorite.

You can't talk when you're eating hot dogs.

Oh, you want drumstick or thigh?

Either.

Thigh.

Thigh.

In Malaysia, in Southeast Asia, if you're a good boy, you have drumstick.

Yeah.

It's a reward.

I'll take a drumstick, then.

So you're good boy!

(Laughing) What, I'm not getting a drumstick after you said that?

This is a secret of youth.

Okay.

Gelatin, natural gelatin I need a lot of that.

I'm going to be 55.

Well, then have the whole thing.

Seeing others doing their thing out here is inspirational.

It also gives me more perspective on myself.

What inspires me to cook every day is to see stuff like this, its unbelievable.

It's a happiness Food brings happiness.

Look at this food.

I mean, wow!

Lots of love.

When I first started visiting chefs where they cook, learning about their culture through the food they love to make I hoped that I would see new things, find new techniques, ideas, and, of course, new insight into how other people see the world.

This show has been all of those things to me, and in every way it's been more Georges' knowledge on topics like cigars and Cuba lends to the romance of being here.

I think I'm really fortunate to live in both cities, which is nice.

Even though I'm there eight months and here, only, like three or four months, that it's a really nice lifestyle.

I'm looking at what you have done, and it gives me courage.

You can understand that, you know what, the risks we take in the restaurant business are only the risks that we take in life.

And so another risk down there was not a big deal for me because I've been doing this my whole life.

Courage.

Courage.

Food is love.

Food is love.

I think I get it now.

On the surface, the tea ceremony seems like it's about the tea, but in reality, it's about developing deeper appreciation for everything.

Noticing the details.

In older times, even the Samurai was required to leave his sword outside of the tea house because inside the tea room, no matter your stature in life, everyone is considered equal.

Food is love So tea is also love because we are preaching the same things.

Respect.

Tranquility.

Harmony.

Food has brought me to places I never would have gone.

Introduced me to new ideas.

To broaden your Horizons, start with an open mind and an empty stomach.

It was just a perfect day.

So at the end, what did I learn from it anyway?

Well, I learned that it's pronounced linguine linguini.

Linguini alla volgole.. LINGUINE!

Linguine I made Chinese dumplings for the first time, found out that mac and cheese does belong on a hot dog.

Discovered there is, in fact, no decent cheeseburgers in paradise.

I learned to roll sushi from a couple of pros.

I made pizza in Kevin Nashan's backyard, Separated two ribs, Ate a cake without cutting it, played cowboy for a day Learned to cook vegan, dug carrots on a farm, had my first snoot sandwich, and did my best to right an old wrong in my own neighborhood.

That's a pretty good year in review, if I'm allowed to say so At the end what I learned is simple, really.

The best way to put yourself in somebody else's shoes is to go where they live and eat what they eat.

That's exactly what it's all about is trying something different.

And once you try something different, you're all of the sudden open to a lot of other new things.

And that's how food is, food is a little gateway to another culture where you take the chance, you open the door, they let you in, and you get to see something completely different.

As far as food in this city, the possibilities are limitless.

There is a mountain of options, and we only visited a few, but you should really just explore for yourself.

You need that in the world.

You need to have more love.

And a great way to start with that is to start with something that you need every day and that's food.

Food is love.

The pasta has to be al dente, otherwise I can eat it.

You can't ask for any more, a good glass of wine, al dente pasta, good company.

Food is love.

Food is love.

How do you say that in Italian?

cibo è amore.

cibo è amore.

Food is love and family is love.

Cheers!

Food is love Food is love!

Cheers!

Food is love Cheers!

Food is love, Food is love!

Food is a peacemaker, Food is love Go Cook for somebody.

Here's to the local restaurants, to the chefs, owner operators, the staff, The ones who love being in the weeds night after night.

When we go to work each morning, that's who we have in mind From where we source our food to how we deliver it here's to them, the ones who are out there cooking for us every day.

Restaurants are the heart of everything we do, We are Performance Food Service.

Proudly supporting Food is Love.

Support for food is love is provided by Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood 100% fishermen, family owned, independent seafood sourcing.

Catching, processing, and delivering seafood directly to the consumer's front door.

From caught to bought, wild salmon direct from the fisherman Information at WildAlaskanSalmonandSeafood.com.