The Return of the Artisans on PBS (Lidia Celebrates America)

[blue_dolphin]

I was just looking for something to distract entertain me while I separated Brussels sprouts leaves for a salad and decided to stream the hour-long PBS documentary The Return of the Artisans, part of a series of specials with Lidia Bastianich called "Lidia Celebrates America."  

The first story features Allan Benton of Benton’s Country Hams in Tennessee and goes on with segments on a master barrel maker in the Napa Valley, a heritage food incubator in Denver, a small jam company in Michigan and a coppersmith in Wisconsin.  

In this day and age when everyone seems to think they deserve a promotion every 6 months or can watch a few YouTube videos and declare themselves "experts," I found it refreshing to see the respect given here to craftspeople who took years to develop their skills and are now passing them on to young people to continue.   Maybe I'm being sentimental on Christmas Eve, but I found the pride that both the masters and apprentices took in their work was palpable. 

I recommend. 

[Alex]

That was a nice show. I was impressed by the barrel maker. And I've been buying American Spoon Foods products for a good three decades now, so I was tickled to see them on the show. (Back when, I used to play softball with Justin Rashid's brother, fwiw.)