Author Bio
The Hippy Gourmet TV series was born in the Summer of 1997, at the 30th anniversary of the Summer of Love in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California – with a pilot show that we filmed at our restored Victorian home in the famed Haight-Ashbury district.
Our premise was simple: Create a television series that invites family and friends to join together in preparing and enjoying organic, sustainable, healthy and delicious recipes. We also made it our cause to blend in (like visual sorbet) segments on worthy non-profit organizations and individuals making a difference for a better world.
James Ehrlich (Producer and Director) began filming Bruce Brennan (The Hippy Gourmet) every week, as he traveled around to his favorite local food growers, producers and shops and then returned to cook up a giant feast for a house full of hungry people.
Then starting in 2000, the Hippy Gourmet TV series began airing on public cable stations around the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly spread to over 54 public cable stations around the nation. In 2004, the Hippy Gourmet began broadcasting across the country on PBS stations and has now spread to over 156 public TV stations all around the U.S.
Starting this fall of 2007, we have a new syndicated series coming out for commercial television called "Organic Living with the Hippy Gourmet," which only accepts advertising from sustainable and green-facing companies and products.
Bruce's main influence for cooking wild foods comes from Euell Gibbons and his book "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" (1968). Euell Gibbons was a naturalist and expert on surviving on wild foods foraged in the woods.
James's main influence for producing, filming and editing cooking shows came from Graham Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet), who has written many books including: "The Gathering Place: Informal International Menus that Bring Friends and Family Back to the Table" (1997).
If you spend some time reading what Euell Gibbons has to say about the discovery of wild foods that are life sustaining, and then pair that with Graham Kerr's established warmth and hospitality for bringing great recipes together, you begin to see how it is that the Hippy Gourmet TV series shapes itself each week.
We're also really thrilled about Farmer John Peterson's book "The Real Dirt on Vegetables," which is the cookbook part of his award winning documentary film "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." The Hippy Gourmet is honored to have our episode #111 featuring Farmer John and Lesley Littlefield being bundled with their cookbook "The Real Dirt on Vegetables."
Finally, we just love Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential," and were fortunate enough to run into Chef Bourdain on our recent filming excursions up in Vancouver Island, British Columbia.