Episode 44: America’s First Foodie

At last there will be a full-length documentary on James Beard! Learn all about it on a brand new episode of All in the Industry. Shari Bayer is joined by Director/Producer Beth Federici and co-producer Kathleen Squires to talk about how the idea for the film came to be how it’s coming along. Shari is also joined by Ronnie Rodriguez of the Chef’s Dinner Series. “America’s First Foodie” is a feature length documentary chronicling a century of food through the life of one man, James Beard. Beard, dubbed by the New York Times as the “Dean of American Cookery,” was a Portland native who loved and regaled the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. He spoke of the importance of localism and sustainability long before those terms had entered the vernacular. At a time of “all things French,” Beard appreciated what America had to bring to the table. That tradition continues today and is embodied via modern culinary masters. A cookbook author, journalist, television celebrity and teacher, James Beard helped to pioneer and expand the food media industry into the billion-dollar business it is today. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“Making a documentary is a lot like writing a story — you’re doing the research, you’re doing the interviews and you’re going through transcripts to tell a story. I was surprised to see how similar the process was.” [13:00]

–Kathleen Squires on All in the Industry

“I never could have made this film if Kathy wasn’t so connected in the food world.” [10:00]

“The hand of James Beard has been at work here in terms of the serendipity and the generosity of the people involved in the project.” [12:00]

–Beth Federici on All in the Industry

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