Bizarre Foods America’s Andrew Zimmern with Johnson & Wales University Chef Instructor T.J. Delle Donne, photo courtesy of Travel Channel

Followers, friends and fans of some of Rhode Island’s favorite restaurants, stores and farms saw a number of photos back in mid-December 2012 featuring culinary explorer Andrew Zimmern as he visited Rhode Island to tape an episode of his show “Bizarre Foods America.” The hour-long episode featuring the Ocean State is airing on the Travel Channel on Monday, August 5th at 9 p.m. EDT.

Zimmern travelled all over the area seeking out the things that make the Rhode Island regions food’s unique. Shops featured in the episode are Antonelli’s Poultry Co., Tony’s Colonial Foods and Venda Ravioli on Federal Hill. Zimmern also went out in the water of Matunuck Oyster Farm with owner Perry Raso, checked out the seafood from Brown Family Seafood and Bomster Scallops, stopped in Portugalia in Fall River, Mass., cooked sea Robin with Chef Matthew Jennings at Farmstead Inc. and spent the day in a culinary lab at Johnson & Wales University.

JWU Chef Instructor Branden Lewis enjoyed the television experience on Zimmern’s show saying, “It’d be fun to say that working on an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern was in itself a bizarre adventure, but it was actually quite surreal. Chef T.J. DelleDonne and I, along with a top notch squad of students were amazed at how organic the show ran with Andrew directly at the helm. We just started cooking and he jumped right in, camera crew and all.” One of Lewis’s students, Dana Reale, added, “It was a pleasure working with Chef Zimmern and his crew. I was proud to be able to showcase our school as well as sustainability in the culinary industry.”

Make sure you watch “Bizarre Foods America” on The Travel Channel on Monday, August 5th at 9 p.m. to see it all. The Travel Channel can be found in Rhode Island on Verizon FIOS channel 170 or 670 in HD, and on Cox Cable channel 33 or 1033 in HD.

UPDATED: Three video clips added to the “Bizarre Foods America” site.

Castle Hill Inn's table display

On May 15, Jonathan Edwards Winery held a Culinary Showdown between five restaurants from Rhode Island and five from Connecticut. Each of the ten dishes, as well as each state, was voted on by the over 300 people in attendance. The Daniel Packer Inne in Mystic, Connecticut won favorite overall dish. The Rhode Island team took the grand prize which was $1,000 for their charity, Farm Fresh Rhode Island. The Connecticut team’s charity, Connecticut Farmland Trust, was given $500.

The participating restaurants, each paired with a local farm, and their dishes were:

From Rhode Island:

Bistro 9, Chef Aaron Edwards & Watch Hill Farms – Poached lobster medallions with quail eggs, bottarga and champagne emulsion
Castle Hill Inn, Chef Jonathan Cambra & Simmons Farm – Native lobster and clam thermidor with spring vegetables
Nick’s on Broadway, Chef Derek Wagner & Blackbird Farm – Smoked barbeque braised beef short ribs with local spring vegetables, herb salad and buttermilk cornbread
Ocean House, Chef Jennifer Backman & Schartner Farms – Gateau of Moulard duck foie gras, telicherry peppercorn sable, radish glaze, victoria rhubarb, pickled ramps, Jeffrey’s greens and truffle syrup
Tucker’s Bistro, Chef Rick Allaire & Allen Farms – Duck rillette, pea greens, mango, mustard and braised sunflower seeds

From Connecticut:

Azu, Chef James Wyman & Four Mile River Farm – Porchetta on house made foccaccia with parmagiano reggiano aioli, sage caramelized onions, arugula and saba.
CW’s Chops ‘N’ Catch, Chef Cory Wry & Starlight Gardens and Beltane Farm – Goat cheese, arugula, asparagus and short rib spring roll with lobster cakes
Daniel Packer Inne, Chef Chaz Paull & Bomster Scallops – Truffled scallops served with DPI mashed potatoes croquet, topped with black truffle citrus butter, grilled asparagus and julienne roasted tomato
Octagon, Chef Paul Krawic & Maple Lane Farm – Pan seared Muscovy duck breast with currant marmalade and Aztec rice in a bibb lettuce wrap
Kensington’s, Chef Daniel Chong-Jimenez & Bomster Shrimp – Royal Red Stonington Shrimp dipped in a honey-amaretto emulsion and sprinkled with toasted walnut crumbs

Jonathan Edwards Winery was pouring five of their wines to accompany the dishes: 2010 Estate Connecticut Pinot Gris, 2009 Estate Connecticut Chardonnay, Stone Table Red, 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel and 2007 Napa Valley Petite Sirah

The winning team of chefs from Rhode Island

The favorite overall dish, Daniel Packer Inne's Truffled scallops served with DPI mashed potatoes croquet, topped with black truffle citrus butter, grilled asparagus and julienne roasted tomato

Ocean House's Gateau of Moulard duck foie gras, telicherry peppercorn sable, radish glaze, victoria rhubarb, pickled ramps, Jeffrey's greens and truffle syrup

Kensington's Royal Red Stonington Shrimp dipped in a honey-amaretto emulsion and sprinkled with toasted walnut crumbs

Nick's on Broadway, Chef Derek Wagner & Blackbird Farm - Smoked barbeque braised beef short ribs with local spring vegetables, herb salad and buttermilk cornbread

Jonathan Edwards Winery voting "booth"

Bomster Scallops

“Bizarre Foods America” featuring Rhode Island Airs Monday, August 5, 2013 – UPDATED

Jonathan Edwards Winery Culinary Showdown 2011