Go behind the scenes at Back Forty West with Shanna Pacifico on this week’s episode of The Main Course. Patrick Martins sits down with Shanna to talk about kitchen maintenance, and the schedule of a chef in New York City. Learn how restaurant reviewers change the flow of the restaurant. How do front-of-house events affect the cooking in the kitchen? And why does the Department of Health frown upon fermentations in house? Find out what foods Shanna still has trouble preparing, and hear about Back Forty West’s upcoming events! Later, forager and American Spoon founder Justin Rashid joins the conversation to talk about “agriculture on the edge.” Learn about out how the lake effect in northern Michigan provides an ideal microclimate for growing orchard fruits! This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market.

“Fermentations, pickles- these are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years, but the health department doesn’t want to deal with them because they’re too complicated!” [20:45]

“There’s nothing simple about preparing and keeping the food consistent in a restaurant.” [31:30]

— Shanna Pacifico on The Main Course