Hippy Gourmet
Encyclopedia
The Hippy Gourmet TV Show is a United States Public Television Series that airs nationally on Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) and public-access television
cable stations. The show is based in the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco, but travels the world highlighting organic, sustainable agriculture
, alternative energy
and people making a difference for a better world. The series is known for its use of instrumental jam-band music from such bands as Transcendental Hayride and Rek.
in the Fall of 2000. The show stars Bruce Brennan, a one time flower child
and classically trained gourmet chef, who came out to the San Francisco area during the 1967 Summer of Love
. The Hippy Gourmet as a weekly television show was the idea of James Ehrlich, the producer and director, who creates each episode using an Apple Macintosh computer running Final Cut Pro
editing software.
home and kitchen of The Herb'n Inn, a bed and breakfast
in the Haight-Ashbury of San Francisco owned and operated by Bruce's sister, Pam Brennan. The show started airing on San Francisco Public-access television
and later spread to fourteen other Public-access television stations from Novato, California to Los Gatos, California
and ultimately into fifty-four Public-access television stations around the United States
.
, enabling the series to begin satellite
distribution efforts to public television stations across the United States. Currently, the show is seen in over one hundred public television stations nationally.
' are its features on worthy non-profit organizations and individuals making a difference in sustainable agriculture, organic and fair trade
markets, alternative energy, habitat and wildlife preservation and the like. For example, The Hippy Gourmet TV show has featured the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)- the nation's largest wild animal sanctuary, the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California that demonstrates how we can live and flourish on solar and wind power, the Monterey Bay Aquarium
- that teaches about sustainable aquaculture
to feed a growing planet, the Buckminster Fuller
Institute - which is an organization that is committed to a successful and sustainable future for 100% of humanity, and the National Audubon Society
- focused on preserving natural habitats and wildlife.
highlights recipes that are healthy, prepared with organic
ingredients and made to feed families and groups of friends for the week ahead. The series encourages people of all ages to join together in the kitchen, demonstrating how easy and fun it is to share the experience of making delicious foods. Every episode is created to remind people about the cycle of life by shifting their awareness on where each ingredient comes from.
, Habitat and wildlife preservation, Hemp
food and clothing and people who are inventing solutions to global environmental issues. The Hippy Gourmet is one of the first media entities in North America
to offer a Hemp DVD case, made from Hemp fiber and Hemp oil.
to Amsterdam
in the Netherlands
, all over Tuscany
, Sardinia
, Hawaii
and around the United States and Canada, including a recent visit to Vancouver
and Vancouver Island
, British Columbia
. The focus is on indigenous cultures, traditions and recipes from everywhere the show visits, discovering the roots of organic, sustainable, regional and home-style cooking around the world.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) and public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable stations. The show is based in the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco, but travels the world highlighting organic, sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
, alternative energy
Alternative energy
Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
and people making a difference for a better world. The series is known for its use of instrumental jam-band music from such bands as Transcendental Hayride and Rek.
The History of the TV show
The Hippy Gourmet began as a pilot filmed at Burning ManBurning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
in the Fall of 2000. The show stars Bruce Brennan, a one time flower child
Flower child
Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, especially the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and environs during the 1967 Summer of Love. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute flowers or floral-themed decorations to symbolize altruistic ideals of...
and classically trained gourmet chef, who came out to the San Francisco area during the 1967 Summer of Love
Summer of Love
The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a cultural and political rebellion...
. The Hippy Gourmet as a weekly television show was the idea of James Ehrlich, the producer and director, who creates each episode using an Apple Macintosh computer running Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
editing software.
The Birth of a Weekly TV series
The series began in earnest in the fall of 2001, filming every week from the restored Victorian styleVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
home and kitchen of The Herb'n Inn, a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
in the Haight-Ashbury of San Francisco owned and operated by Bruce's sister, Pam Brennan. The show started airing on San Francisco Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
and later spread to fourteen other Public-access television stations from Novato, California to Los Gatos, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and ultimately into fifty-four Public-access television stations around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Going national on PBS
In 2004, The Hippy Gourmet TV Show picked up the affiliation of public television station KRCB in Rohnert Park, CaliforniaRohnert Park, California
Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2010 United States Census was 40,971. It is an early planned city, modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the...
, enabling the series to begin satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
distribution efforts to public television stations across the United States. Currently, the show is seen in over one hundred public television stations nationally.
Media that Matters
What makes The Hippy Gourmet TV Show 'hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
' are its features on worthy non-profit organizations and individuals making a difference in sustainable agriculture, organic and fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
markets, alternative energy, habitat and wildlife preservation and the like. For example, The Hippy Gourmet TV show has featured the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)- the nation's largest wild animal sanctuary, the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California that demonstrates how we can live and flourish on solar and wind power, the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the former site of a sardine cannery on Cannery Row of the Pacific Ocean shoreline in Monterey, California. It has an annual attendance of 1.8 million visitors. It holds thousands of plants and animals, representing 623 separate named species on display...
- that teaches about sustainable aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
to feed a growing planet, the Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
Institute - which is an organization that is committed to a successful and sustainable future for 100% of humanity, and the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
- focused on preserving natural habitats and wildlife.
Family-Style Recipes
The cooking showCooking show
A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. The host of the show, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of the show, taking the viewing audience through the food's preparation showing all...
highlights recipes that are healthy, prepared with organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
ingredients and made to feed families and groups of friends for the week ahead. The series encourages people of all ages to join together in the kitchen, demonstrating how easy and fun it is to share the experience of making delicious foods. Every episode is created to remind people about the cycle of life by shifting their awareness on where each ingredient comes from.
Focus on Sustainability
The Hippy Gourmet features different aspects on leading a green lifestyle. Filming segments on Solar CookersSolar cooker
A solar cooker, or solar oven, is a device which uses the energy of sunlight to heat food or drink to cook it or sterilize it. High-tech versions, for example electric ovens powered by solar cells, are possible, and have some advantages such as being able to work in diffuse light. However at...
, Habitat and wildlife preservation, Hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
food and clothing and people who are inventing solutions to global environmental issues. The Hippy Gourmet is one of the first media entities in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to offer a Hemp DVD case, made from Hemp fiber and Hemp oil.
The Hippy Gourmet Travels
The Hippy Gourmet travels around the globe, from the rain forests of the Brazilian AmazonAmazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, all over Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and around the United States and Canada, including a recent visit to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The focus is on indigenous cultures, traditions and recipes from everywhere the show visits, discovering the roots of organic, sustainable, regional and home-style cooking around the world.