EP 1074B - Food Americana: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes

Have you ever wondered where American cuisine traditions came from? How did bagels get so popular? Where did the national fight for the best slice of pizza come from? All the answers are in Food Americana.

In it, David Page, former investigative journalist, and Food Network producer goes in-depth about American food, and famous spots around the country that embody our cuisine.

David Page changed the world of food television by creating, developing, and executive-producing the groundbreaking show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". Now, the two-time Emmy winner David Page has made his passion project a reality.

Food Americana, an entertaining mix of food culture, pop culture, nostalgia, and everything new on the American plate. His book features different Mexican-American foods and their roots, how Southern barbecue came to be, and even recipes of some of his favorite recipes around the country.
EP 1074B - Food Americana: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes
Featuring:
David Page
Two-time Emmy winner David Page changed the world of food television by creating, developing, and executive-producing the groundbreaking show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Before that, as a network news producer based in London, Frankfurt, and Budapest, he traveled Europe, Africa, and the Middle East doing two things—covering some of the biggest stories in the world and developing a passion for some of the world’s most incredible food.

Page walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin the night the Berlin wall opened, but his favorite memory of the eastern side before reunification remains the weisswurst sold under the S-Bahn elevated train. He was first served couscous by Moammar Khaddafy’s kitchen staff while waiting in a tent to interview the dictator in Libya. Blood oranges at a three a.m. breakfast with Yasser Arafat. Wild boar prosciutto in Rome. Bouillabaisse in Marseille. Cheese pies in Tbilisi. Venison in Salzburg. Nonstop caviar in Moscow. He even managed to slip a few food features in between the headline stories, such as a profile of Germany’s leading food critic, which turned out not to be the oxymoron one might assume.

Once back in the states, Page has pursued his passion both personally and professionally. Show-producing Good Morning America, he was involved in a substantial amount of food coverage, including cooking segments by Emeril Lagasse. Creating Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and hands-on producing its first eleven seasons took him deep into the world of American food—its vast variations, its history, its evolution, and especially the dedicated cooks and chefs keeping it vibrant. His next series, the syndicated Beer Geeks, dove deep into the intersection of great beer and great food. It is those experiences, that education, the discovery of little-known stories and facts that led Page to dig even deeper and tie the strands together in Food Americana.