Salt, Fresh & Field – Bold New Food Series Journeys Across Wilds of Western Canada
Salt, Fresh & Field is a new lifestyle series that takes viewers on gourmet adventures from hunting for venison in lush West Coast forests to ice fishing in northern Alberta.
The digitally focused program features an intrepid cinematic treatment of exploring food sources, communities and culture in Western Canada. Produced in partnership with TELUS Optikâ„¢ Local through their Community Access Grant Program, the first season of Salt, Fresh & Field premiers as three 22-minute episodes launching exclusively on TELUS Optik TV on Demand for free on May 31, 2014.
In each episode host Chad Brealey journeys into unexpected locations across B.C. and Alberta in search of fresh fare to feed his friends and family. Along the way, he encounters the people involved in producing, gathering and preparing the food he seeks, exploring the relationship between nature, communities and culture – and brings this all back to the table. Each episode is set to a soundtrack of music from talented emerging musicians indigenous to the areas Salt, Fresh & Field is shot in.
In Episode 1 (Salt) Chad searches the ocean around Victoria BC for the reviled and revered sea urchin. Once successful he teams up with a local sushi chef, Kozo, to create an inspired meal with Uni as the guest star.
Episode 2 (Fresh) takes us to Slave Lake, Alberta to drill holes in four feet of ice in hopes that some of the ugliest, tastiest fish in the world decide to bite. Local chef of Top Chef Canada fame, Tony Geisbrecht aims to create a meal inspired by the northern Alberta landscape.
In Episode 3 (Field) Chad takes Chef Jeff Van Geest of Miradoro restaurant in Oliver BC hunting for whitetail deer. Known for his farm to table cooking, Jeff has never killed for his own table. Will he be successful in feeding a restaurant full of hungry guests?
“Giving up-and-coming content producers the financial resources to bring diverse, local, community programs to our customers is the core of Optik Local,” said Prem Gill, Director of Content Programming at TELUS. “We’re excited to add Salt, Fresh & Field to our On Demand line-up showcasing a creative, new way of looking at local food sources and how that transcends to the family kitchen.”
“Through the TELUS Optik Local Community Access Grant Program, TELUS is providing unique support to emerging content producers,” says Mary Kellough, Co-Executive Producer. “We aligned perfectly with TELUS in the sense that our subject matter is locally-focused and we both aim to explore community stories at the ground level.”
Chad Brealey, Host and Co-Executive Producer says, “The TELUS Optik Local team has been supportive in all areas and have as much passion for this project as we do. It really is a great partnership.”
