Real Food, Real Farms

  Cassie chats on location with Chef Anze Gumbac and restaurateur Dada Jerovsek of Evergreen restaurant in Slovenia. They plan a 7-course dinner as part of the US embassy's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, highlighting cooperation between chefs of Slovenia and the US. They also address some of the challenges in hiring young chefs straight out of culinary schools, such as Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, NC, as well as demanding customers who want their goulash for a very low price. Memorable quotes: “First [step to becoming a chef] – must learn how to clean the kitchen!” ~ Chef Anze Gumbac  

Cassie and Natalie chat with their hosts, US Embassy employees, about how the culinary diplomacy project came about, filming the TV show "Seasoned by Americans", Slovene foods that Americans would find surprising such as bear salami, and unique challenges Americans face living in Slovenia, including language barriers, searching for American-style coffee, and how to find good cilantro!

Leaving for Slovenia, Chef Parsons chats with Natalie Veres about prepping her restaurant's staff to run without her for three weeks and the exciting cultural exchange ahead. She says, we may not speak the same language, but "We do speak food and talent."