The second-season premiere of “Chef Driven,” starring Denver’s own restaurant mogul Frank Bonanno, airs at 1:30 p.m. (our time) Sunday. The travel and cooking series, which consists of six episodes, will profile a variety of Colorado-based companies, chefs and purveyors. Each episode also features Bonanno’s tips for entertaining at home.
“This season is mostly about Denver. We tried to really focus on what Denver has going on, and why it’s one of the best food cities in the country,” said Bonanno, who operates six restaurants, two bars and a pie shop in Denver. “We picked six areas of focus and tried to profile the people that are at the forefront of each one. After each visit, I try to make the topic applicable to someone at home. I love sharing the stories behind some of Colorado’s best producers, but it’s also important to me that the food system be relateable, and that people get excited to seek some of these places and products for their own enjoyment.”
This season Bonanno focuses on Colorado craft beer, cheese, soul food, pizza, foraging and fishing. The premiere episode of “Chef Driven” explores Denver’s craft beer industry, with visits to Great Divide Brewing Co., Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Dry Dock Brewing Co. and Wild Goose Canning in Boulder. Bonanno also calls on Denver chef Mary Nguyen of Luca Restaurant Group to cook some beer-friendly dishes at his restaurant Bones. While the season primarily focuses on Denver, Bonanno points out there are a couple exceptions.
“We did go to Silver Plume to meet with Shae Whitney of DRAM Apothecary for the foraging focus, and to Canon City to meet with the team running the Colorado Corrections Industries for our fishing episode, but both locations have strong Denver ties. I know people may wonder what on earth the food connection might be with the state prison system – I know I was. It’s actually a great example of what ‘Chef Driven’ is all about – telling the stories that sometimes don’t get told about where some of the items in our kitchen and behind our bars come from, and how they’re elevating the state,” Bonanno said.
On Sunday, Bonanno will host a premiere party at Lou’s Food Bar from 7 to 9 p.m., which is open to the general public. Tickets can be purchased at www.imbibe-events.com/event/chef-driven-premiere/, and cover food, drinks and special viewing.
Frank Bonanno, right, cooks beer-friendly food with chef Mary Nguyen of Luca Restaurant Group for his PBS series, ‘Chef Driven.’ (Photo by Bonanno Concepts/Chef Driven)
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