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. After spending the morning milking goats, our chefs head to one of Detroit's urban farms, learning how these agriculture centers are re-growing communities and creating local sustainable food systems. Using their Motor City scraps, Joel and Max flip the iconic Detroit style pizza on its head, creating a retooled version of the city's most beloved food. Can they convince the ultimate 'za experts--kids--that a version with ingredients saved from the trash is even better than the original?

Joel strums his way into to Music City U.S.A--Nashville, Tennessee--and teams up with recent James Beard Best Chef Southwest winner, Tandy Wilson, to create a menu with food usually tossed in the trash. Our chefs venture outside the city to the lush pastures and rolling hills of the nearby farmland to try their hands as a chicken farmers, and source some slimy chicken hearts, livers, and gizzards--ingredients most home cooks throw away. With giblets in hand, Joel and Tandy tread on Southern holy ground--retooling the legendary Meat & Three in a scrappy way. Can they win over the heart and soul of Nashville--up-and-coming musicians--and get Music City to sing a different tune about food waste?

Joel gallops into the Derby City–Louisville, Kentucky–and pairs up with three-time James Beard semi-finalist, Anthony Lamas, to create a menu with food usually tossed in the trash. Their search for scrappy ingredients takes them to a watermelon farm to learn the untold secrets of melon harvesting, and behind the counter in a classic ice cream scoop shop. With rinds and peels in hand, Joel and Anthony create a new version of southern BBQ. But can they convince the most sophisticated and discriminating taste buds in the Bluegrass State–local bourbon experts and sommeliers–that their scrappy dinner is the winning bet?

Joel lands on the gorgeous Atlantic coastline in Connecticut to meet up with Jacques P pin, one of the world's most celebrated chefs. Jacques has spent decades educating home cooks about proper technique, while his recipes have inspired chefs around the world. Now he's on his latest mission: Cuisine Economique, or how home cooking with quality ingredients doesn't have to break the bank! The secret: you just need to get a little scrappy. Joel and Jacques spend the day at the beach and orchards gathering scraps, and use these often-tossed-away-ingredients to create an unbelievable dinner menu. But what will happen when our chefs host a dinner party with recipes made from things like fish bait and crushed fruit? Will P pin's toughest critics--his closest friends and family--be wowed by the food, and convinced to join the food waste movement?

Joel turns up in Beantown–Boston, Massachusetts–to join culinary forces with James Beard Award winner, Jamie Bissonnette. The native Bostonian is salty about food waste, and ready to prove the power of scraps by creating a dinner menu with ingredients most home cooks toss in the trash. After sourcing some fish heads at a fisherman's wharf and stale flat beer at a local brewery, the two chefs attempt to turn these out-of-the-box ingredients into an unforgettable meal. But can they convince the world's most finicky eaters–sorority sisters from a nearby college–that cooking is even more delicious when you get scrappy?

Joel breezes his way toward the rolling farmland and quaint shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont, reuniting with his culinary mentor, Sally Hiebert. The food waste champion and season one co-host has returned with even more scrappy tips and tricks up her sleeve. After receiving a hands-on lesson in the art of "cheddaring" and digging through the dirt of a pastoral farm, Joel and Sally find themselves with some unusual scraps–squash guts and whey. Can the chefs transform these ingredients into a gourmet dinner menu? And more importantly, can they win over the pickiest of picky eaters–teenage high schoolers–and get them to hop on the Scraps bandwagon?