Flavor NC | UNC-TV

Lots of farms have fish ponds, but not a lot of farms take that fish pond and turn it into a high tech low impact sustainable fish farming operation. That’s exactly what the Taylor family did on their family farm in Cedar Grove. We’ll find out what makes their tilapia operation unique then head into the kitchen at Pazzo Restaurant in Chapel Hill to turn that tilapia into mouthwatering dishes.

Becoming a farmer doesn’t always require investing in lots of lands and equipment. Sometimes it only requires a little ingenuity, a few greenhouses and some water. We’re off to LL Urban Farms in Wake County to see how two old friends turned an idea into a successful Hydroponic farm.

What would your dinner plate look like if there were no pollinators at work in our farm fields? Nothing like it looks today, that’s for sure. Pollinators account for as much as one third of the food we eat. In this episode we’ll find out what makes these bees, butterflies and wasps so important and find out what we can all do to keep them healthy and busy on the farm.

A chicken is a chicken is a chicken right? Wrong if those chickens are a special breed known as Poulet Rouge naked neck chickens. We’ll find out what makes this European transplant to North Carolina’s Piedmont so special and turn that boring basic chicken recipe on it’s ear with Chef Sean Fowler of Mandolin Raleigh.

No matter how you pronounce them, pecans are a staple of the southern table. We're off to Sampson County to meet one of our state's most successful pecan growers, then into the kitchen at Plates in Raleigh for some inventive pecan recipes. They're not just for pie anymore!

What's small, round and ranks as one of our top ten wild harvested seafoods? Clams of course. We're off to Sneads Ferry and a lesson in clamming the old fashioned way with fisherman Tom Burgess. Then it's into the kitchen with award winning chef Keith Rhodes of Catch in Wilmington.

There’s a whole lot more to a pumpkin than a spooky Halloween face. We’re off to Currituck County to pick a passel of pumpkin and just maybe change the way you think of pumpkins for good once Lisa and restauranteur Daniel Pennington of Pass the Salt Café are done. Scallops with pumpkin risotto sound good? There’s a whole lot more to a pumpkin than a spooky Halloween face. We’re off to Currituck

In this episode we head for the North Carolina mountains and apple country. From Jonagold to Granny Smith and McIntosh you’ll find them all growing strong in Henderson County. We’re off to Skytop Orchard for a lesson in apples 101, then into the kitchen with Chef Stuart Partin

They say the military marches on its stomach, and if so, then the forces stationed in NC are marching strong! We’re off to Wayne County to see how our two biggest industries – agriculture and the military are working together to help tar heel farmers. Then it’s into the mess hall to get a taste of what our Marines favorite dishes. Trust us, this ain’t your daddy’s mess hall anymore!

Lots of NC farmers are turning from tobacco to tomatoes, corn, beans and a whole world of fruits and vegetables. In this episode host Lisa Prince heads to Franklin County to visit Vollmer Farms and sample their pick your own blackberry operation. Then it’s into the kitchen with Chef Trey Cleveland of Top of the Hill Restaurant in Chapel Hill for a lesson in inventive blackberry recipes.

We’re heading for the hills in search of a fish that swam with the dinosaurs when host Lisa Prince drops in for a visit at Atlantic Caviar and Sturgeon in Caldwell County’s Happy Valley. Then it’s on to Boone and a visit with Chef Sam Ratchford at Vidalia for a lesson making redneck sushi – among other things!

What do you get when you take two musicians with a passion for gardening and a desire for new careers? You get J&B Herb Farms in Person County that’s what. We’re hitting the herb farm learn about the exotic and the everyday in the world of herbs, then host Lisa Prince meets up with Chef Joseph Fasy of Tony’s Oyster Bar in Cary to learn how to use herbs creatively in some mouthwatering dishes.

You might not think of truffles as a North Carolina product…but these days you would be wrong. That’s right, that most French of the funguses is gaining ground here in the Tar Heel state! We’re heading to Stokes County on a truffle hunt and then into the kitchen at Josephine’s Bistro in Greensboro for some mouthwatering recipes featuring this exotic ingredient.

What happens when the bottom falls out of the business at a turf farm? You grow Asparagus instead! We’re off to Currituck County to learn just how asparagus grows – we guarantee it’s the most unusual field crop we’ve shown you yet. Then it’s into the kitchen at the Dragonfly Inn in Corolla where Chef Evan Hayes of Island Thyme Catering unlocks the secrets to amazing asparagus recipes.

We’re off to the wheat fields of Moore County and Carter Farms to see just what goes in to growing great wheat – the most important building block of our most fundamental of foods. Then host Lisa Prince rolls up her sleeves and gets a lesson bread baking 101 - and French pronunciation - from renowned master baker Lionel Vatinet of LaFarm Bakery in Cary.

North Carolina’s State Fair has been celebrating the best of our agricultural heritage for well over a hundred and fifty years. Not only that, our State Fair is the largest in the entire country. In this episode we celebrate all things ag related at the State Fair – including award winning state fair recipes with host Lisa Prince.

In this episode we're shelling out the facts on a new way of farming oysters in North Carolina. We're heading to Cedar Island to meet Jay Styron and find out how he's helping restore the Carolina oyster to it's rightful place on our dinner tables. Then it's in tot he kitchen at Raleigh's 42nd Street Oyster Bar to whip up some tasty oyster recipes that'll have you bellyin' up to the oyster bar.

Picture a vineyard in your mind and chances are there's no beach in sight - but once you see Sanctuary Vineyard in Currituck County that just might change. Host Lisa Prince takes us to the coast to see how a farm family with deep roots on the Outer Banks is growing a thriving business in the world of wine, then shares some fabulous wine infused recipes.

It's a peach of an episode when we hit the road and head to Candor and Johnsons Peaches. The Johnsons have been growing perfect peaches for almost 80 years. Host Lisa Prince leanrs the secret of the perfect peach, and then of the perfect fried peach pie from Chef James Clark of Crossroads Restaurant in the historic Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Can't answer that one, but we can answer just about any other egg question when host Lisa Prince takes us to Nashville and Braswell Foods cape free egg operation. Then, she scrambles it up with David Brigham of Brigs Restaurant in Cary and samples the "prince" of egg dishes.

Farming is hard. Breaking in to farming is even harder. In this episode host Lisa Prince takes us to Clayton to meet a couple carving out a life in farming for themselves - one acre at a time. And digs up the dirt on the humble potato. Then Chef Chad McIntyre of Raleigh's Market Restaurant shows viewers how to take that potato to a whole new level.

Moonshine is coming out of the shadows and into the mainstream. In this episode host Lisa Prince introduces viewers to the guys behind Lenoir's Carolina Distillery and Carriage House Apple Brandy. An old family recipe and great local apples - it's a match made in heaven! Then it's off to the Wine Cellar and Bistro where Chef Susan Collins shares her favorite apple brandy infused recipes.

In this episode we're off to Race City USA - Mooresville for a quick trip to Carrigan Farms strawberry fields. It's a beautiful strawberry operation keeping the good times rolling all year long by turning the natural beauty of the land into a special events destination. Then Chef Tim Groody of Charlotte's FS Food Group fires up the grill to share some great al fresco recipes.

We head for the hills of Wilkes County and Apple Brandy Beef. Host Lisa Prince learns the story of this farm family and how they care for gheir herd and their land - including tgheir scenic pastures on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then it's on to Blowing Rock and in to the kitchen with Chef Andrew Long of Storie Street Grille.

We're celebrating the bounty of the farmers market in Flavor, NC. Host Lisa Prince visits with a farm family sharing the fruits of their labor at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh and learns the secrets of shopping a farmers market with Chef Joseph Fasy. Then Lisa and Joe put on a show, cooking up a storm at the Growers Market of Fuquay-Varina. recipes.

in this episode we head to Beaufort and Harkers Island to learn the finer points of flounder gigging with fisherman Lin Chestnut. We stop off at Fishtowne Seafood market to see how the local fishing community is working together to save their livelihoods, then meet up with Chef James Clarkson of Clawson's 1905 and Aqua to whip up some tasty flounder recipes.