Why From Scratch Is Different From Other Travel/Food Shows - Exclusive

In Season 1 of "From Scratch," actor and activist David Moscow found himself in dangerous situations around the globe as he attempted to forage and hunt for ingredients to replicate one restaurant chef's recipe per episode using the rawest means possible. Season 2 of "From Scratch" just premiered on the FYI Network, and in an exclusive interview with Mashed, Moscow opened up about his life-changing experiences making the series (and having the early support of the late Anthony Bourdain before he passed). In each episode, Moscow sets out to show what it really takes to put food on the table, by going to the very source. The food producers and farmers he encounters on his journeys are experts in their fields, and Moscow takes on the role of what he calls the "the average Joe to go in there and attempt to just do it," adding, "I want to make a show where you actually see what it means to know how to do something, to be an expert."

As Moscow acknowledges, sometimes he has failed (like the time he nearly drowned gathering sea anemones in Sardinia per Fine Dining Lovers). But what makes "From Scratch" different from, say, Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," is how emotionally invested Moscow gets with the people who "...are giving us the sustenance with which to live." In many of the places, there's no financial support structure for food producers. He noted, "Fishing is the most dangerous occupation in the world ... [fishermen are] living at near poverty or below the poverty line to feed people." Moscow's growing awareness of the inequities in the worldwide food system is one reason why "From Scratch" is unique. But it also really stands out in its — at times, graphic — depiction of what it truly means to live off of the land and sea. 

"From Scratch" is refreshingly honest about how hard it is to harvest plants and animals. In the Season 2 opener, host David Moscow scurries to gather a sack of acorns for a recipe, but only scrounges up a couple handfuls. In the same episode, he's fly-fishing in shockingly freezing weather for trout, and his frustration is palpable. The show's producers are apparently just fine with Moscow's angst, as he said in the exclusive interview, "They like the drama of me being put into situations that cause me distress or to complain. That's what people like to watch." But "From Scratch" isn't always fun and games — to be true to his mission, Moscow must reckon with hunting and killing animals himself. 

In Mexico, he shoots a wild pig; in Texas, he has to (humanely) slaughter and butcher a beef cow; and in Kenya, he participates in the Maasai ritual killing of a goat, as he discusses. "I wanted to be respectful of their culture, and so we slaughtered the goat the way they did it," he said. But Moscow admits that he can only go so far, and in Sardinia, he backed off from hunting a baby octopus, saying, "It was so cute. The biology of little animals ... we don't want to harm, we want to take care of [them]." 

Wherever Moscow travels to, his compassion always shines through, and that's what makes "From Scratch" different from other travel food shows. "We want people to watch it and learn without feeling like they're being preached to ... The people who bring our food to our table are heroes as we saw in COVID ... They were putting their lives on the line for us to get fed."

To watch David Moscow's continuing adventures into the unknown, tune in to "From Scratch" Sundays at 10/9c on FYI.