Original subtitles

(tense percussive music)

This stuff is lookin' better.

Oh, that is lookin' sexy!

For residents of Alaska,

most of their groceries are shipped up

from the continental US.

Being able to forage and going

and getting this stuff myself is just kinda common sense.

However, if you know where to look,

the state of Alaska is rich with delicious resources

from the land and sea.

Come on up and show yourself.

(laughing) It's just like pullin' in a Volkswagen.

People say, "Well, what's the next Alaska?"

There is no other Alaska, and there never will be.

Yeah!

When that last pot came up, and it was packed,

I didn't know what to do.

I was so excited!

I'll provide!

(wind whistling)

(cheerful bluegrass music)

Chef Bradley Ewing of Kodiak, Alaska

is known for using the ingredients available

at his fingertips to create gourmet dishes.

Amy, can you check on this stuff right here?

In Alaska, most produce is shipped in

on a long boat trip from Seattle,

but to get fresh ingredients,

Bradley heads to the shore to search for sea lovage

as the vegetable for his upcoming feast.

Sea lovage is super unique.

It's just got this nutty, seaweed ocean flavor

that's like you cannot hate on.

Oh man. (laughing)

Oh, look at this stuff.

This stuff is lookin' better.

Oh, that is lookin' sexy!

Yeah, buddy.

They're super cute, just little toppers.

They're adorable.

Now I'm hungry, so, it's doing me good.

Being here in Kodiak, we don't have

the best selection for like, ingredients.

Everything in Alaska

gets barged from Seattle or LA or San Francisco.

It's like there isn't true fresh, you know.

So being able to forage and going and getting

this stuff myself is kinda common sense; why not?

Boom, we're set, we scored.

Hell yeahs and high fives.

Hell yeah.

Humans first settled in Alaska

over 15,000 years ago, and these early Alaskans

quickly learned how to harvest the wildlife

on land and in the sea.

Today, you can still live off the land

by fishing and foraging for food in this amazing wilderness.

Local chef Bradley Ewing and his family

specialize in cooking gourmet meals

that are caught and picked in the wild.

But before Bradley can get to work in the kitchen,

he needs to gather his ingredients,

starting with a species of trout known as Dolly Varden.

Dolly Varden is essentially like Alaska trout.

It's part of the char family.

It's very delicate and lovely.

I think they're actually chillin' out

right here under this stump.

So we'll get a lot of really nice bites right there.

(groovy rock music)

Oh yeah, buddy, what up?

Woo, right there.

Yeah!

Tricksy little thing, aren't they?

But it was the one that got away.

(mournful string music)

Woo, that was fun, back to it.

Whoa, here we go.

Boom, that is the one, that is the one, yeah buddy!

You have no clue of the joy you're gonna bring people.

Boom, that is what I'm lookin' for.

This is gonna be an amazing addition to my native dinner.

Man, lovely. (smacks)

Mm, it tastes super fresh.

You are the first guest to my dinner party.

You are cordially invited.

Hopefully, you acquiesce to my request and come.

Oh, you do?

Lovely, see you there.

The meal will also include wild goat meat

that Bradley received as a gift from a local hunter.

Bradley and his sister Amy still need to find

one more ingredient for his feast, rose hips.

Oh wait, what are these?

Rose hips are the fruit that rose bushes bear

after the flower dies.

Yeah, let's just get up in here and see what we can get.

How far do you want to go down?

It's easiest to find rose hips, you know,

when everything's starting to die,

and you can start seeing the red berries, you know,

through the foliage, and it's kinda yellow and whatnot,

so it's, this is just kinda the perfect time.

Party zone over here.

Oh yeah, boom.

It's like a tomato and a cranberry, you know what I mean?

But a tomato that's just not got

very much love in its life. (laughs)

You know, it's like you think

about the fruit that you get out of this,

like 10% of this whole bulb we use.

Rose hips are a lot of work to dig out the seed

and scrape the little fruit that you do get from them,

so now I'm just thinkin' about

how much work I've made myself.

We need a lot.

I got a bug up my nose. (laughing)

You totally missed again. (laughs)

It looks like a lot of work, truthfully.

It is a lot of work.

But we'll sic Mom on that job.

I know the the time that they've put in,

and I'm good with them just handing them over to me.

I enjoy that part.

They did their work, it's my turn.

Bradley is ready to serve

an unforgettable meal to his guests.

Bradley is serving a traditional Alaskan meal

for a group of Aleutic natives.

Go time, guys, ready?

It is go time, yep. You ready? I'm ready.

I'm ready! Let's do this.

Oh, this is so beautiful!

Hi Sherri!

Oh, come on in and sit down.

Thank you for coming.

Course numero uno.

My braised goat, a ragout, French-style.

So here's our porcinis right here,

foraged locally in Kodiak.

Black-eyed peas.

And I'm gonna put a little bit

of kale and parsley in the pot.

I'm gonna put a little bit of red wine in.

The secret is always double down.

One for me.

One for the pot, boom.

And it's lookin' like this is done.

I don't want to saute that kale too much.

(smacks) Boom, I want all those vitamins to stay in there.

I want all that color to stay in there.

This right here is my braised goat.

I am ready to start plating.

Oh, so delicate, so amazing.

(funky rock music)

And black-eyed peas.

Parsley and rainbow chard,

little bit of green and purple right there.

Nice little porcini broth to just bring everything together.

That looks so good.

That smells good.

Did you make me a plate?

I think we're lookin' good.

Enjoy.

Thank you.

That is way better than I've ever cooked that.

Me too.

Well, from now on, we'll have Bradley

come cook and cook for us. (laughing)

Peasant food is what people

have been subsisting on forever.

It's like really what makes the world turn, you know?

Cheap cuts made amazing.

The first course was a hit.

Now it's time to move on to the second dish,

which will feature freshly caught Dolly Varden trout.

Boom!

While Bradley might not be

an amazing fisherman,

no one doubts his skills in the outdoor kitchen.

Second course, Dolly Varden, a risotto verde,

porcinis and cherry tomatoes.

Look at the color on that.

That is, that's heaven.

A little bit of salt, a little bit of pepper.

These bad boys are happy.

I'm trying to get, you know,

a high temperature on the pan

so I can just get a solid sear.

Here we go.

You need to either take this off or do somethin'.

I mean, you look good, but.

Just stick it in there.

Bradley's style, it's unique.

I would say he was hipster

before hipster was even like, a thing.

The Dollies are looking amazing.

I have porcinis and cherry tomatoes all sauteed up, risotto,

it looks great.

Take my salsa verde, cilantro and parsley,

just gob it in there.

And porcinis, little filets, little fish spatula,

ooh, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

All right, let's serve it, let's go.

(laughing)

How's that Dolly Parton?

Ooh, this one I kinda like.

I haven't even tasted it, but it looks good! (laughing)

(cheerful acoustic guitar music)

They're usually bait fish. (laughing)

Really good though, it's really good.

It's just like they just don't know

what a great dish they can make

with something that they catch,

instead of throwing it back or, you know,

they can seriously make something amazing.

Porcinis are good.

Fresh and local food.

Fresh is the best.

Just kind of inhaled that.

It's on to course number three,

a main course featuring several ingredients

harvested in Alaska.

This right here is course number three!

What!

We have a coconut barley to start off, curried goat,

and then I have a rose hip and apple chutney on top of that.

So right now I'm just searin' my goat,

makin' sure I get some nice crossed, you know,

I want to get that sexy, just, mm, darkness,

that caramelization, seared properly.

Oh my God, that smells so good!

I know, doesn't it?

A little salt.

A little pepper.

And of course, my favorite,

a nob of butter, what do you know?

Boom, how's that doin'?

It's good.

Turn it off?

Yeah.

This right here is just my little red wine sauce.

This is my coconut barley.

It's lookin' amazing.

It smells amazing.

It's lookin' really good.

Oh my gosh, man, I'm cutting into this,

and it is the perfect doneness, man,

just mm, could not be happier.

My endive, this is my veg.

This is my apple and rose hip chutney.

I got some Honeycrisp apples, rose hips,

a little bit of sugar, some red wine vinegar,

a little bit of lemon zest, salt and pepper,

and love, man.

We're ready?

Yes, they are chef, yes they are.

Okay, let's go.

All right, here we go.

Thank you.

That is really good.

Thank you.

I love curry.

I would never have put coconut with barley.

What did you say the pink stuff was?

Rose hip.

It's awfully good! (laughing)

When I tell people what we do, people are like,

"Oh my God, that's so awesome," and like, and it is.

When I saw them use their fork instead of their knife,

I knew Bradley had hit the nail on the head.

How is it, guys?

It is delicious.

It's wonderful.

Is it good?

Bradley surprised me. (laughs)

(smacks) It was wonderful.

And it's you know, just the community,

friends and reciprocal love,

and that's essentially what's on the plate,

and so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank you, this is wonderful.

Every year, salmon make their annual runs

up the rivers of Alaska to lay eggs and spawn.

Over 100 million salmon are harvested each year

by commercial and recreational anglers.

Here fishy, fishy.

(calm bluegrass music)

Oh, there we go.

Hello.

Come on up and show yourself.

It's just like pullin' in a Volkswagen.

(laughing)

Oh-ho.

I was gonna say that was awfully quick.

I'm sure he's got somethin' else planned for us here.

Havin' flashbacks, 15 years ago, huh?

Look at that.

Absolutely.

(splashing)

Bada bing! (laughing)

That looked good.

I like that.

Nice hen.

I love seein' those healthy hens

gettin' all the way up here.

Gosh, they're strong!

I guess when you got everything in the ocean chasin' you,

you're bound to be strong, huh?

Only the strong survive.

You say Alaska to a sportsman, and it just conjures romance.

It conjures epic snowfalls and survival in the wilderness.

I mean, there's, people say, "Well, what's the next Alaska?"

There is no other Alaska, and there never will be.

They don't make this stuff every day.

This is the place.

If you want to fish, or you want to hunt,

you come to the state of Alaska,

and you've come to the beginning.

This is the alpha, it all starts here.

(grunts) There we go, hey!

Nice chrome fish.

A lot of fight in that beast.

And that's why you come to a place like this

because you want a tiger by the tail

on the end of that line.

You want the fight of your life, you want lots of action,

and Alaska has all that and more.

What's goin' on, Matt?

Are you winnin'? (laughing)

Hey, when he comes up,

just ugly him with that sweater of yours, would you?

(laughing)

Just get him right in, but he's got other ideas.

Rainbow is not a big river like the Togiak,

so when you're connected with salmon,

it's a much more intimate experience.

Oh-ho-ho, yeah, baby.

It's been 15 years since I've been back here

to fish in Alaska, and it's just like I never left.

This place is better now than it was 15 years ago,

and you get 'em up here, and these are wild fish,

cold rivers, they're fighting current all the time.

They're ultra strong.

Alaska just has the diversity, has the volume,

and when you've got places like Bristol Bay Lodge,

where you've got these fly-out opportunities.

You can overnight out here in camps.

You've got different species

that are hot in different rivers,

so you get this smorgasbord of fishing experience

when you come out here

that just is not rivaled anywhere in the world.

We're fortunate at Bristol Bay Lodge

to have some of the best fishing

in North America, hands down.

(motor whirring)

Yeah, the weather in Alaska, it's the old saying,

just wait 10 minutes, it'll change.

In Alaska, that's really true.

And day one, we arrive, and I mean,

it's bluebird skies, beautiful sunshine.

It looks like, you know, something

that the chamber of commerce would've prescribed for us.

And of course, you know, we just soaked it up.

We know how rare it is this time of year

to have sun in Alaska,

to be able to just enjoy the beauty of it

without putting rain gear on,

and catch a lot of fish at the same time.

So we just lived in the moment, caught a lot of fish,

and lived a day we'll never forget.

Ooh, that's fishy lookin' water right there.

So this is the Agulopak River.

Some of the craziest, biggest bows

that we have here at Bristol Bay Lodge.

Not three minutes into it,

we were already hooked up with a nice rainbow.

You hook into one of these giant, leopard bows,

these rainbows up here, that are big, beefy,

24 to 30-inch rainbows,

that's a different kind of fishing experience.

I mean, it's like it's a different species.

I can barely fit my hand around her.

(humming Jaws theme)

After a great morning of action,

the team takes a break to enjoy an age-old tradition

amongst fishermen, the shore lunch.

Fresh salmon on the river, pretty hard to beat.

One of the great things about a fishing trip to me,

especially to the North Country,

whether it's Canada or it's Alaska

is the cultural phenomenon of the shore lunch.

I mean, you catch a fish, you clean the fish,

you eat that fish right then and there.

It's the freshest it'll ever be.

There's something about catching the fish that you're eating

that just connects the whole circle.

Carter made this amazing shore lunch.

It just doesn't taste like that in a restaurant.

He gave us a vegetable medley,

which I've never had from any guide,

sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes, and carrots,

purple, and red, and orange, and yellow,

along with several types of onions.

(sizzling)

Chef Carter at your service.

So this is just a real thin beer batter,

flour and cornstarch,

and I'll bread it up with this Panko here.

I think both Chris and I declared it

the finest salmon we have had.

It was just fish in perfection.

Unbelievably delicious.

Bon apetit, ooh yeah.

Let's see, cold cut sandwiches, or this, mm?

You're talking about a room with a view,

and then, when you're done, you're gonna be

right back out there tryin' to catch some more.

Look at that, wow! (laughing)

Carter, what a day, my man!

With all the great food

available for the picking in Alaska,

sometimes you need to find something to wash it down with.

And for local guide Bob Cusack,

he often drinks from an ancient soda spring

that was first shown to him

by a good friend and local native chief.

Haven't seen a damn thing yet,

but you never know, just cruisin' along, watchin' the shore.

Something could pop out,

and all kinds of excitement, you know?

We're gonna go over to the soda springs,

and get a nice, cold drink of effervescent water.

The region was once home

to another local legend named Chief John Nielsen,

who knew these parts intimately and shared the location

of the secret soda spring with his close friends.

The naturally carbonated water has trickled out

of these rocks for thousands of years.

Soda water, comin' right out of the ground.

Been this way for, forever I think, you know.

Chief said it would cure cancer.

Oh.

He did.

What'd he die from?

Cancer. Oh.

Maybe it caused it. (laughs)

It's good, it's really good.

Do you think that's the chief's mug?

Do you think he left this?

Absolutely.

Aw.

He's the only guy that was around here.

I, can I take it off, do you care?

Sure, he's my old buddy.

Let's have a little drink to him, huh?

Yeah.

Hold this, Tom.

You wanna get some?

You want to dip it out, or you want me to?

No, you do it, and then we'll all drink,

and the chief was gonna bring us a bear.

I'll drink and be merry.

That's kinda cool.

To Johnny Nielsen.

Yeah, I like it.

One of my best friends.

Johnny, my boy, bring us a bear.

Tom, you better have some.

Chief will bring you good luck.

Oh, it's cool that we found that. (laughs)

For good luck, all right?

Gonna put it back.

Now we've changed our luck.

I think he'd like that a lot too.

Let's get hunting.

Okay.

Alaska's home to brown bear,

the largest land-based carnivore on Earth.

These beasts can weigh almost 700 kilograms,

and the primary fuel for these furry giants

are salmon and blueberries,

which means any time you see one of these food sources,

you need to be alert.

We're a little bit late, aren't we?

Salmon are pretty much done running,

so now they're gonna start movin' into the berries,

and they're gonna be tougher to find, aren't they?

Yeah, we'll get some

on the river pretty soon though.

This is quite a bumper crop of blueberries, boy.

Judging from what we're seeing scat-wise,

they're feeding big-time on berries.

The blueberries are probably keeping 'em

out of the river right now.

One giant blueberry patch as far as you can see.

It's all blueberries out there.

They could be just about anywhere.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Brad,

there's a frickin' bear over here.

Shut up.

I'm not even lying, right over there.

(tense rock music)

Just kidding! (laughing)

It's not really that great of a joke

to do that to somebody when you're in the middle

of a berry patch, and I'm really kinda,

in the back of my mind, like, thinking about bears.

(laughs) Amy, you got jokes.

I gotta say, I like the fact

that they're feeding away from us.

We're less than a half a mile from our camp.

I guess we might put that food up away,

a little ways away from camp tonight.

And I like the fact that there's 600 yards

between us and her and those cubs.

Alaska is home to a bumper crop of blueberries,

and these outdoorsmen can't resist them

any more than the bears can.

As they gorge themselves on blueberries in the field,

and saving some for breakfast pancakes.

Let's pick us some

for some blueberry pancakes in the morning.

And have flapjacks in the morning?

Yup.

We picked a bunch of 'em.

Think we got enough?

I think so, I think we got enough.

Let's roll. (engine running)

And we continued down to base camp.

We made it.

Made it back safely

just in time for the weather to set in permanently.

So we had, the plan was to hunt out of camp,

but due to the weather, we decided to stay in camp

and stay warm and dry for the day

and enjoy our blueberry pancakes.

This is my Alaskan secret blueberry pancake recipe.

They were delicious.

Yes.

When summer comes to an end,

and Alaska prepares for its annual winter chill,

finding fresh berries becomes a challenging task

for bears and humans alike.

It's the end of the foraging season.

There's only so many possibilities,

so I'm a little leery on what I'll find.

Hey Brad, these are blueberries.

Blueberry bushes.

Blueberry bushes, yeah.

See any blueberries?

Actually, I see one right there.

(laughing)

Wait, wait, there's two blueberries.

I'll save that one for you. (laughing)

Oh dude, raspberries!

Yes, yes, you were right.

Nice.

Kodiak's weather's completely unpredictable

and changes from day to day,

and at this time of year, just frost coming in,

everything dying off,

it gets to be a very desolate environment.

This is like the last existing raspberry bush

in Kodiak right now.

This is the last bush in Kodiak,

and we found it. (laughing)

My mind's kinda like, goin' right now

because I didn't expect raspberries at all.

So now I'm like, hm, what should I do with these bad boys?

I feel like I almost got all of 'em.

Is that enough for you?

Do you think you have a tetch?

Totally, brah, totally.

I'm happy, I mean, if you're happy, I'm happy, girl.

Not all Alaska's bounties

are as easy to pick as blueberries.

If you want to catch wild prawns,

you'll need a boat, but fortunately,

Bradley Ewing has a good friend

who is a commercial fisherman,

and he will help Bradley harvest the ocean's bounty.

Today, I'm about to go meet up with my buddy Adrian,

go shrimpin'.

The only problem is he's kinda out in the Gulf of Alaska,

so I have to take a float plane out to visit him.

Womp womp. (engine running)

Personally I don't even like to fly,

and I'm definitely not very keen on

these little bush flights, but it's what I gotta do.

No risk, no reward.

Permission to come aboard, sir!

You bet, come on over, man!

Good to see you, man.

Good to see you, dude.

Oh, these are heavier than they look.

I know!

Personally, never done pot fishing.

They get heavy about the third string.

It's really hard work.

Oh yeah.

Oh, check this bad boy out!

Octopus unfortunately tear the shrimp up.

Look at that baby, ooh.

Wanted to make an Alaska bouillabaisse or somethin',

and this is gonna be the perfect ingredient for that.

And I shall provide!

The surprise of finding an octopus

means a change in the menu.

I don't think that our clients realize

what we go through to get our product for them.

Oh yeah, this is it, buddy!

Yeah!

When that last pot came up, and it was packed,

I didn't know what to do.

I was so excited.

Every part of these shrimp is seriously

like just nibbling on a piece of the ocean.

So sweet!

I mean, this is what it's all about, you know,

pretty much farm-to-table,

but there's not a farm in sight.

This is like Poseidon-to-table.

In case you're wondering how octopus tastes,

the guests gave the meal four stars, or eight tentacles.

I can hear the planes.

I can see the planes.

It's go time, our guests are arriving.

(upbeat whistling music)

Guests have arrived, time to rock and roll, man.

I'm starting the preparation for my octopus carpaccio.

I'm just cutting it into super-thin slices.

Octopus is super, usually chewy.

This stuff really, really, really, just tender.

I made a little relish out of Asian pears,

Fresnos, and some red onions.

It's got a little sweet flavor that I think is gonna add

perfect, little tints of love to that octopus dish.

These are the raspberries that Amy and I foraged.

And this is just kind of another little sweet component,

and then the color is gorgeous.

Ooh, I like that.

That's Jackson Pollock-y, I like that, that's nice.

Boom, we are ready to rock and roll.

Thank you. You're welcome.

Nice, thanks.

I've had octopus one time before,

but it was cooked wrong because it was really tough.

Yeah, this isn't tough, it's very easy to chew.

I've never had octopus before.

It's sweet but salty at the same time.

It's really good.

The food is a hit,

and success comes in many forms.

Providing new experiences to the local community

and teaching them the value of their local food resources

is just as gratifying as preparing a delicious meal.

What'd you think?

It was amazing.

This is so challenging, but the payoff is worth it.

I mean, look at my back yard here.

It feeds my soul.

Wilderness like this,

and to be able to eat something this fancy. (laughs)

I finished first again. (laughing)

Bush pilots, they're out and about in Alaska,

so they've seen it all,

and I think I gave 'em something that they haven't seen,

and that still has something to do with, you know,

their life, the landscape of Alaska.

(calm rock music)

(engine running)