Makes fourth award in three seasons. Host Chef Walter Staib takes home another Emmy!
This makes the fourth Emmy Award for the show A Taste of History. This year, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences bestowed a 2012 “Best On Camera Talent Program Host” award to Chef Staib for his excellence in the show in front of a hearth fire and in historical locations.
Chef Staib narrates each recipe as he demonstrates it. While working with a live fire, cast iron “Dutchy” pots that weigh up to 60 pounds and authentic ingredients, Staib talks to viewers as if they were in the room next to the roaring fire. He shares his passion for the past and for authentic ingredients and tales that are behind the history books about famous founding fathers and mothers.
This award recognizes his talent in season three. Highlights of the 13-episode season include exotic favorites from the 18th century, including baked stuffed sturgeon, pickled herring bonne femme, curried tofu with shrimp and beef tongue with caper sauce. In season three, Staib cooks at the homes of George and Martha Washington and James and Dolley Madison.
He tells the story of tofu traveling to America and colonials making due with rye as coffee during the war. Staib pays a tribute to reenactors and visits Jamaica and Exuma to discover how exotic seasons came to 18th century America through trade routes.
The show is currently airing in its fourth season nationwide on PBS. In this latest season, Staib creeps through the halls of a haunted Jamaican plantation great house, walks the gardens with James Monroe, recites poetry with Paul Revere, meets John Adams at his original home and more.
He voyages to learn the origins of some of America’s favorite dishes and sauces that became well loved in the colonial era. A trip to Malaysia reveals the history of catchup while a jaunt to Jamaica shows off island influences and a journey to Guyana enlightens viewers about the significance of rum as a currency.
Multi Media Productions and Staib are filming season five now. Expect more culinary adventures and time traveling with recipes to come — this season will feature more exotic and familiar favorites from the 18th century.
Chef Walter Staib is a world renowned chef, the proprietor of City Tavern Restaurant in Philadelphia and author of four cookbooks.
