myWHRO SIGN IN
If you missed the premiere of Cooking with A Southern Flame, don't worry. It is now streaming on PBS Passport. Follow the crazy cooking adventures of renowned chef Sydney Meers, as he travels the South in his old pickup truck, Butch, pulling together a great meal, one town at a time.
New to WHRO Passport?
WHRO Passport is a member benefit that gives you access to an extensive, on-demand library of television programming.
Become a member at the level of $10 per month or more to take advantage of this great member benefit -- and start watching your favorite shows.
About the Film:
Follow the crazy cooking adventures of renowned chef Sydney Meers, as he travels the South in his old pickup truck, Butch, pulling together a great meal, one town at a time. Along the way, he crosses paths with a host of colorful characters -- farmers, watermen, artisans, and other assorted foodies and eccentrics.
Quite a colorful character himself, Meers is not only known for his award-winning cooking skills but also for making people laugh.
"Working with Sydney, or Cowboy Syd as he’s been called, is a trip to another dimension where coming out alive on the other side is a victory of sorts," said Mark Atkinson, one of the show's directors. "No one can match his irreverent sense of humor, nor does he have any filters."
Meers, owner of Syd's Fish Pig Cafe in downtown Norfolk, is well known in Hampton Roads. In his new show, the self-proclaimed "greatest chef in the United States of America" is discovering culinary treasures throughout the nation one town at a time.
"I like collecting people and ingredients," he explains in the pilot episode. "I figure out what makes a place click and I give it a little Cowboy Syd spin."
The show is directed by Akinson, a local documentarian, and Jeff Fine, WHRO Public Media's vice president of production. It has been a long time coming. After five and a half years of gathering footage and working on editing, Meers said he is excited to release the pilot episode.
"Expect an episode every two and a half years because we’ve gotten better at editing," he joked.
For Fine and his brother Matt, who served as a producer, the project is something they have looked forward to for years.
"Creating the pilot with Sydney was a dream come true," Jeff explained. "My brother Matt and I have been talking about doing this for decades and we finally got the chance working with Mark Atkinson and WHRO Productions. You never know what Sydney’s going to say but you can count on it being outrageous and hilarious. We just had to make sure not to laugh out loud when the cameras were rolling."
The pilot episode features the cuisine and culture of Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Chef Sydney Meers enjoys a meal with residents he met during his travels along Virginia's Eastern Shore.
“I love the Eastern Shore food for its variety and working with the farmers to grow foods I use," Syd explained. "I love the soil, varieties of veggies, seafood and pigs they raise.”
His travels along the Eastern Shore take him to Pickett's Harbor Farms, Brown Dog Ice Cream in Cape Charles, artist Mama Girl's house, a university professor's house where he collects both figs and eels, Chatham Vineyards, Perennial Roots Farm and more. The episode ends with an outdoor waterfront feast prepared by Meers using the ingredients he has collected.
What does Syd think of the final product?
"Hey girlfriend, you got the bounty of the Eastern Shore, a talented film crew and yours truly. Those are some pretty tasty ingredients if I do say so myself."
