FoodBackwards: The DooF Glob (blog)

In 2004, after 20 years in the kitchen at Chez Panisse, I moved back to our family farm in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, where I’d spent all my summers growing up. I didn’t really understand the importance of those summers on the farm until I moved back.

Summers during my Youth

During the school year we lived in Los Angeles, but every June we would pack up the Studebaker and later—as our family expanded—the Chevy station wagon, and drive the 400 miles up Highway 99. When we stepped out of the car at my grandparents’ house, and I could smell the red earth and the tarweed, I always felt at home.

Things to Do on the Farm

It was a place where I never lacked anything, not food, nor companionship—and certainly not things to do.

• Chores - My uncle and grandpa were in charge of the fruit orchards, the main occupation of the farm. But my grandma, mom and us kids took care of a lot of the rest. There were chickens to feed, eggs to collect, cattle to tend and weeds to hoe.
• Planting - We planted a huge vegetable garden and spent much of the summer canning corn, beans, tomatoes and other things that would be needed for the winter.
• Canning - The orchards provided mountains of cull fruit that we turned into gorgeous jars of applesauce, peaches, pears and apricots.

Sometimes, late in the afternoon when our chores were done, my older brother and I had time to hike down to the creek and try our luck catching the flashy and elusive rainbow trout.

Times in the Kitchen

The best times for me were in the kitchen, helping with the daily cooking, especially preparing the main meal, our midday dinner. I dutifully peeled potatoes, shucked corn and washed greens. But I really wanted to make desserts. Every once in a while my mom or grandma would take the time to teach me. Pies were my specialty. In the farm kitchen I learned to make first-rate pie dough, working quickly with a light touch and ice water to make sure it turned out tender and flaky. Lemon meringue was my masterpiece.

Somehow we never had to worry about healthy eating or whether we were getting our vitamins or enough exercise. The life of the farm took care of all that. When we went back to the city in the fall I would always ask my friends about their exotic trips to summer camp or family vacations. I never thought of our trip to the farm as a vacation; it was just part of everyday life.

The Call of DooF

My experience with food and togetherness taught me respect for the land and the people around me. And while most kids do not have a farm to come home to, by cooking with their families, and understanding that real, live people grow their food, they can discover practices and values to sustain them throughout their lives.

Shortly before I left Chez Panisse to move back to the farm, I heard about DooF. I couldn’t ignore the invitation to get involved. Food backwards, they said.

It seems more like food forward to me.

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When we started DooF a few years ago, it already felt like an overdue response to the barrage of fast-food advertising and rapidly accelerating rates of childhood obesity. Corporations, schools, health care providers and government agencies were all getting on board with initiatives to address this critical health issue. Yet none of it seems to have worked. A recent review by the Associated Press of 57 federal programs to promote healthy eating in schools found mostly failure. Click to see the USA Today article

The programs brought fresh, healthy food into schools, where previously burgers, candy, soda and vending machines covered all of the ‘basic’ food needs. When the choice was made for them, the kids ate the healthy food, but once the adults turned their backs, the kids went back to the food they knew and loved. The reason is obvious. Fast food is fun! Healthy food…not fun.

Of course we know different. Healthy food IS fun, but it doesn’t do a very good job of advertising that fact. One of the points of the article was the advertising that bombards children on a daily basis. And it’s true — the fast food industry uses everything at its disposal–tie-ins, packaging, animated characters, product associations, television airtime, and pure entertainment–to make sure kids get their message.

Which is exactly what we want to do with DooF, only with a few more tricks up our sleeve. We know that the magic of growing, picking, preparing, and cooking good food makes for very entertaining TV. Putting this all in a package that’s fun and credible for kids is a challenge we relish.

And as if we didn’t know already, we got even more confirmation in 2007 that we’re on the right track. In October we brought FoodBackwards magic to nearly a thousand people with our first ever DooF-a-Palooza at Google. The event featured hands-on food activities with the kind of growers, chefs, and purveyors we feature on DooF.

Right now, it looks like we’re on track to produce thirteen new episodes of DooF in 2008 (more on this in a future post). So DooF and DooF characters will be coming to a television near you, this website, an electronic game, and a host of other merchandise, along with those beautifully packaged items–apples, oranges, grapes, pears, potatoes, etc.

We’re betting that more kids will choose these items, at school and at home, once they’ve seen how much fun it is to discover and prepare good food themselves…on TV, that is.

One thing we love to do with DooF is collaborate with schools and organizations that share our mission to get kids excited about good food. As media content creators, we play a special role in bringing attention to the work they do. Recently, we collaborated with the Farm and Garden Program at Le Conte Elementary School in Berkeley. One of pioneering programs of its type in Northern California, Le Conte involves kids deeply in the story of food from garden to table. ‘Farmer’ Ben Goff and his colleagues Brenna Turman and Katherine Russell teach a curriculum that includes gardening and cooking, and also manages to incorporate vocabulary, math and social studies skills. Even with all the Three Rs stuff, the kids seem to relish the classes the way some kids relish Phys. Ed, as a break from their normal classroom activities. As we’ve learned from DooF, the magic of food offers a way to teach without seeming like you’re teaching. Our experience with Le Conte also showed how this type a partnership can offer unexpected bonuses to its participants as well as wonderful content for DooF.

The idea of a classroom full of brash kids taken over by an engaging if slightly incompetent teacher struck us as perfect for DooF. After considering several possible programs, we met with Ben and his colleagues to talk about collaborating. Our plan was to place our ‘English Food Expert’, played by DooF animator Josh Kurz, in the classroom with a group of handpicked kids from the program. Handpicked, for although we weren’t interested in anything scripted, we would be relying quite heavily on the kids to be knowledgeable and amusing. And Josh, neither food expert nor–beyond some very entertaining spoof material–Borat, was still something of an unknown quantity. For his character, we asked him to draw from the English tradition of names that are also foods, e.g. Mr. Bean, Mr. Mustard, Mr. Chips.

After getting the blessing of Le Conte Principal Cheryl Wilson, Ben selected twenty-five third and fourth graders to meet with us for filmed interviews. We ruled out fifth graders, as we planned to continue the program in 2007-08. Our hope was to find eight kids with the right combination of charisma, food knowledge, self-confidence and consideration to handle our ‘English Food Expert’. Discovering ’star quality’ among a random sampling of elementary school children may be a stretch, but from the first interview, where young Efijon shared his philosophy about Jolly Rancher candies, we knew we were onto something special.
jolly-rancher-warning1.mov

Next we met with Ben, Brenna, and Katherine to talk about how School of Broc should unfold. All good television, whether sit-com, docu, or reality-based, relies upon some sort of narrative. Our plan, going in, was to work within the structure of the Le Conte School program to ensure a degree of culinary pedagogy. But would it be entertaining? And suppose the kids clammed up under the lights and refused to share what they knew. Also, how much should we divulge to them about our fictional ‘food expert’. Borat and his Ali G brethren famously duped a number of politicians and celebrities by passing themselves off as real interviewers, but we were not interested in doing anything at the kids’ expense. We would rely upon the familiarity of the scenario—hapless substitute armed with a lesson plan they all know, a traditional dish called ‘Hoppin John’—and hope things didn’t get out of hand.

Before jumping into the classroom sequence, we filmed the kids talking about cooking techniques, Hoppin John, and what they would do if suddenly confronted with a substitute. Since we’d only have one ‘take’ to capture the cooking class, we decided upon a three-camera set-up, with multiple microphones. As the kids entered the classroom, a Mr. Worchestershire (pronounced ‘Wister’) in mismatched sweater, golf pants and a tweed vest, squeaked his long name across the white board.

The first reaction most children have to a substitute, especially one who doesn’t know what he’s doing, is to go nuts. But here’s where that combination of self-confidence and consideration proved especially crucial. One kid, Sri Raj, announces to the camera, “We have to teach him.” And teach him they do, about knife skills and hygiene and ‘Hoppin John.’ Someone reminds Mr. W that he’s supposed to be in charge of the cooking. To which he reacts like any sensible person confronted with a situation for which he’s completely unqualified. He panics. But the kids gather round the stove and a gentle choreography unfolds. Our three-camera set-up, which nearly fell apart in the early classroom chaos, suddenly starts to pay off. In the foreground, a cooking wok transforms like a canvas as onions go in, then bell peppers, then collard greens. In the background, kids chop, slice and gather ingredients while Mr. Worchestershire, so confused only moments ago, finds his inner adult and directs operations.

As clever as we thought we were when we conceived of DooF, there was one thing we never wanted to lose sight of. Yes, story and narrative matter, as do performance and production values. But the main consideration is really quite simple. You point the camera at the food as it cooks and people watch. It wouldn’t appear to be anything so extraordinary. Yet as ingredients are placed in pots and skillets and grills and ovens we witness a transformation which, to many devotees, is something akin to alchemy. This happens for viewers and, most importantly, for kids as they participate. Even in the presence of all the equipment, with a film crew hovering just out of frame, our made-up character, Mr. Worchestershire, and eight handpicked food experts from the Le Conte Elementary School Farm and Garden Program, experienced something magical, and a genuine lesson took place.

And unlike the oft-repeated cliche of clowns, magicians and stunt people, you CAN try this at home!

doof_le-conte-lesson-plan-for-hoppin-john.pdf

It was only a matter of time before DooF joined the other 57 million bloggers in cyberspace. But actually, no. We’re not a blog, we’re a glob! If you want to find out where things come from–like food–you gotta go backwards, or sideways. DooF, the food show for kids, has attracted a great deal of attention as a fun and innovative new way to get kids excited about good food. For those of you unfamiliar with DooF, here’s the ketchup.

Three years ago, an incredible group of filmmakers, foodies, and health educators joined together to create media that changes the ways kids think about food. We began with children in local schools, bringing food-based video content featuring farmers, market-sellers, restauranteurs, and kids like themselves exploring the wonders of food at its source. Next we created a website, and the prototypes for an exciting new television series.

None of this could have happened without the time, effort, and creativity of an amazing group of DooF professionals. We’ve also been fortunate in having the support of some of the true revolutionaries in the food and public health communities.

Alice Waters was an early supporter of DooF and recently her Chez Panisse Restaurant helped us put on a luncheon for some of the folks who are helping DooF achieve its mission to do for eating what Sesame Street did for reading.

Dr. Anthony Iton and the Alameda County Department of Public Health did something highly unusual for a government agency. They funded our television pilot in the belief that positive media like DooF is one of the most effective ways to target childhood obesity. DooF does this by making good food fun!

As we take the next steps towards broadcasting DooF nationwide, we’ll give you details of film shoots, events, recipes, and some amazing food experts. And one last thing which is actually the first thing, only we’re backwards…the kids!