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Jamie’s American Road Trip on BBC AMERICA Jan. 3, episode guide

By April MacIntyre Dec 29, 2011, 20:12 GMT

Jamie Oliver - On January 3, Jamie Oliver (@JamieOliver) returns to BBC AMERICA with a new six part series, Jamie’s American Road Trip. © Away! / PR Photos

On January 3, Jamie Oliver (@JamieOliver) returns to BBC AMERICA with a new six part series, Jamie’s American Road Trip.

From BBC AMERICA

In a country as diverse as the United States, Jamie has found an opportunity for the ultimate food trip - a chance to explore places, ingredients, food culture and traditions. This epic journey takes Jamie to the heart of America: its people, culture, music and most importantly, its food.  Jamie’s American Road Trip premieres on Tuesday, January 3, 10:00pm ET/PT.

With the intent of unearthing the heart of great American food, getting past the junk and super-sized portions, Jamie set out on what he knew would be an inspiring trip. Jamie’s instincts were right on. From New York to New Orleans, the dynamism of Los Angeles to the big skies of Wyoming, he found what he was looking for - some of the most diverse and delicious recipes he has ever come across.

Jamie delves deep into American society to uncover fascinating personal stories, try real American food and meet the most interesting but unsung chefs and food producers the country has to offer.

On a journey of discovery into parts of this vast country that few visitors rarely see, Jamie meets cowboys in Wyoming, an alligator-hunting grandmother in Louisiana, ex-gang members in LA and high-society ladies in Georgia. He finds Native Americans fighting to preserve their food culture in Arizona and experiences New York's 'melting' pot.

SYNOPSES

Episode 1 - Los Angeles

Los Angeles is synonymous with glitz, glamour and the American dream. But, just a few miles east of the Hollywood sign lives America’s largest concentration of Mexican immigrants. Jamie isn’t in LA living it up; he’s living the LA lifestyle for real. East LA is notorious for gangs, drugs and violence, but alongside these problems Jamie discovers a community proud of its food, committed to family and striving to make the American dream a reality. Episode 1 - Los Angeles - premieres on Tuesday, January 3, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Episode 2 - Wyoming

The ultimate boy’s trip. Jamie wants to see if the clichés of Hollywood westerns are all they’re cracked up to be. He’s always wondered what life as a cowboy is like and in Wyoming, he finally gets to find out. His trip begins in Sheridan, where Annie Proulx conceived the idea for her novel, Brokeback Mountain. Jamie visits a rodeo before heading into the wilds upstate to see if he can cut it living and working on a real American ranch, and cooking for proper cowboys. Episode 2 - Wyoming - premieres on Tuesday, January 10, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Episode 3 - New York

Even though Jamie has been visiting New York for over 10 years he has never ventured out of Manhattan. This trip takes him away from the high-end restaurants and 5-star hotels he’s used to and drops him in the middle of the world’s most ethnically diverse area: Queens. Jamie uncovers things he’s never imagined: a restaurant run in a family’s living room and another making home-cooked Colombian food for illegal immigrants. He also stumbles across an ‘anti-restaurant’ scene, where people open their homes to strangers; provide them with restaurant quality food for wallet-friendly prices and send them away happy. These are known as supper clubs. After exploring the Egyptian, Peruvian & Szechuan communities in Queens, Jamie decides to host his own supper club, with a menu that pays homage to New York’s eclectic mishmash of food cultures. Episode 3 - New York - premieres on Tuesday, January 17, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Episode 4 - Louisiana

Jamie touches down in Louisiana just weeks after Hurricane Gustav has wreaked havoc in New Orleans and the surrounding area. On a quest to understand why people continue to live in a place that keeps getting battered by hurricanes, Jamie finds a state full of people who use food as a way to celebrate life and keep the party going through adversity. In New Orleans he meets ‘gumbo queen’, Leah Chase, whose Creole restaurant is finally back on its feet after Hurricane Katrina. He also meets local jazz star, Kermit Ruffins, who is famous for his street barbecue and knows the city inside out. Jamie journeys into Cajun country where he spends time with an alligator-hunting grandmother, Sydney Mae Durand. He tastes and cooks his way through the Cajun and Creole staples before coming across a restaurant where the party has abruptly stopped. McGee’s Landing has been destroyed by the recent hurricane; the roof and kitchen ripped away. Can Jamie help put the Louisiana spirit back into McGee’s and get the party going again? Episode 4 - Louisiana - premieres on Tuesday, January 24, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Episode 5 - Georgia Road Trip

Jamie goes in search of the best cheap food in America. He starts his journey in Georgia, one of the country’s poorest states and the birthplace of the civil rights movement. Despite the recession, Jamie finds a hopeful nation following the election of President Obama, and a people determined to make the best food possible with limited finances and ingredients. His journey becomes an exploration of communal dining: pot-luck church dinners, street parties, ladies’ tea parties and family roasts. Edging down the Georgia coast, Jamie hears about a huge barbecue competition in Florida. With a team of people he’s met along the way he decides to try his luck against some of America’s most experienced barbecue cooks. Episode 5 - Georgia Road Trip - premieres on Tuesday, January 31, 10:00pm ET/PT.

Episode 6 - The Navajo Reservation

With no experience in backpacking or roughing it, Jamie finds himself in unknown territory during the harsh Arizona Winter. He leaves the tourist trail to spend time with the Navajo Indians on the largest reservation in America. Staying with Mayor Elect Roy Kady, who also happens to be a sheep farmer, Jamie witnesses Navajo traditions up close: from butchery, to overnighting in a hogan, and cooking with elders. He also gets a crash course in Navajo spirituality. It doesn’t take long before Jamie realizes that, despite being the original American people, Native American’s are in danger of losing their food culture completely. Isolated from the rest of the country and with no mobile signal, Jamie ventures into some of the most unchartered terrain in the US. Episode 6 - The Navajo Reservation - premieres on Tuesday, February 7, 10:00pm ET/PT.