"So why America? What can Americans teach us when it comes to food? Sure, everyone thinks of Italy and France - and now Japan - as culinary centres, but America, really? You would be wrong, very wrong to think that America comes way down the pecking order when it comes to the quality of their food. Forget pretzels and doughnuts, this place has so much more to offer!"
1 Napa Valley
James Martin starts his American adventure with a visit to one of his favourite places in the USA: The Napa Valley. James visits one of the world’s best restaurants “The French Laundry” and blends his own wine at an exclusive vineyard.
2 Santa Cruz
His Adventure continues with a cruise along California’s Pacific Coast to Santa Cruz. James shops at a local farmers’ market, cooks at a family run artichoke farm and tries his hand at surfing only to be upstaged by a surfing dog!
3 San Francisco
James arrives in the city of San Francisco where James cooks on a former warship. James gets inspiration from the famous Chinatown and a chocolate festival takes centre stage.
4 Sonoma County
James Martin continues his American adventure with a drive on his much-loved Harley through Sonoma County. As well as cooking at a vineyard, James also visits Single Thread, a farm and restaurant run by a passionate husband and wife team.
5 Sonoma Raceway
James continues his adventure with a high-octane pit stop at the world-famous Sonoma Raceway where preparations for the IndyCar season finale are taking place. And it’s the perfect backdrop for James to cook.
6 Los Angeles
James Martin enters Los Angeles driving a vintage Porsche. After a visit to an incredible food market in Santa Monica, James drops in on his old friend, chef-to-the-stars Wolfgang Puck at his Beverly Hills restaurant CUT and cooks on Santa Monica’s famous beach.
7 San Antonio
James begins the Texan leg of his American adventure by visiting a place with more than a hint of Mexican spice: San Antonio, which was once a part of Mexico. James tries a barbecoa (Mexican barbeque), fresh chorros and Mexican style chilli.
8 Austin
James continues his American adventure in Austin, Texas. James starts with a breakfast taco at iconic Torchy’s, followed by a cowboy themed shopping spree. He then cooks in front of a mural dedicated to his favourite ingredient – Butter!
9 Fort Worth
James continues his American adventure with a full on Cowboy onslaught around Fort Worth. After trying some of the best barbecue meats on the planet in Angelo’s, James dusts off his dancing boots to take part in line dancing at Billy Bobs: The World’s largest honky-tonk. To finish off his time here, James discovers a riverside oasis to barbecue some glorious Texan meats.
10 Dallas
James Martin’s American Adventure reaches Dallas, with a trip to Southfork, the ranch made famous in the world-renowned TV series Dallas. Whilst in town, James visits the location of the Texas State Fair and gets to try two Texan classics: The corny dog and deep fried butter!
11 New Orleans
James drives into New Orleans in a 1970’s Pontiac, continuing his American Adventure. And he’s in for a massive foodie hit, in the city known as “The Big Easy”. After delving into a roadside seafood market, James cooks in the famous Louis Armstrong Park and meets The Songbird of New Orleans, singer Robin Barnes. Lunch is courtesy of local favourite The Palace Café, where redfish is on the menu. And no visit to New Orleans would be complete without a taste of local specialities like the po boy sandwich and sweet beignets. James finishes his stay here by cooking on a balcony in the centre of The French Quarter and a sip of one of the local cocktails.
12 Plantation Country
Louisiana’s lush plantation country is the next stop on James Martin’s American Adventure. Famous for sugar its productions, the area boasts beautiful plantation houses, rich in history. James arrives in style in a red Mustang and visits historic Houmas House where he cooks in the house’s beautiful gardens before sampling local speciality, gumbo at the hands of the house’s resident chef. Along with a rich history come the ghosts of the past, so James is taken on a ghost tour to find out about the people who once lived and work on the property.
13 Lafayette
James Martin’s American Adventure continues with a drive towards Louisiana’s swamplands, where he ditches his car for a high-speed boat! The unique watery wonderland provides James with the perfect location to cook a stunning recipe. He just has to make sure he avoids the alligators! James also discovers nearby Lafayette, a city with a great foodie legacy, where he visits family run smokehouse Johnson’s Boucaniere. There he meets father and daughter Wallace and Lori and tastes their traditional homemade sausage For dessert, James tries ice cream from the legendary Borden’s ice cream parlour. Once back on the swamps, James tries to find the local wildlife and cooks one final dish.
14 Avery Island
James continues his American Adventure with a trip to an island that’s not actually an island. Avery Island is a large salt mound, and the home of the chilli peppers used to make Tabasco Sauce. James meets the family who farm the peppers, make the sauce and run the Tabasco company and he’s even granted access to the pepper fields to cook two amazing dishes. James experiences an epic trip on a fan-boat and gets to the mash house, where the peppers are turned into sauce.
15 Baton Rouge
James ventures into Louisiana’s state capital Baton Rouge on his American adventure, to experience a unique American phenomenon: Tailgating. It’s the day of a big football match at Louisiana State University, and the LSU Tigers are playing in front of thousands of fans. But the party gets started early!… It seems the whole city is out to play and ready to tailgate!”. Surrounded by people barbecuing, cooking and sharing food from the back of their pick-up trucks, James joins in and cooks up a storm ahead of the game. He also takes time out to visit a Baton Rouge based oyster restaurant specialising in North American varieties. Hunger satisfied, James gets back to the game to see the LSU Tigers play.
16 Boston
James hits the East coast of the great US of A with a visit to the historic city of Boston. James’s American adventure in Boston starts with a shopping spree in the public market ahead of cooking with local ingredients. James also visits an innovative restaurant where cocktails are often inhaled rather than drunk. And baked goods are supplied by Joanne Chang, the Harvard graduate who has made a name for herself with a string of successful bakeries around the city. And James’s tour of the city wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox, where he gets to live out a boyhood dream.
17 Salem
James Martin’s American Adventure brings James to Salem, on the east coast of the USA and made famous by the witch trials of 1692. Things get spooky as James is visiting on the approach to Halloween. We hear from Salem’s official witch Laurie Cabot, and James meets a love Clairvoyant, and her dogs! But Salem isn’t just about witchcraft, James visits a unique spice shop and picks up some spices to cook with. James also meets a seafood artist and makes a stop at Turners, a family run seafood restaurant where he experiences shellfish heaven. But sweet treats are also on the menu thanks to the bewitching Ziggy’s doughnut shop.
18 The Hamptons
The East coast stretch of James Martin’s American Adventure takes him to The Hamptons. Known as being the playground of wealthy New Yorkers, the area has a rich farming history. James taps into this by visiting Amber Waves Farm where he borrows their outdoor pizza oven to cook for the farmers using seasonal local produce. As well as being famous for the beautiful Montauk Point Lighthouse, The Hamptons has an abundance of great seafood restaurants, so James visits The Dock House in Sag Harbour to try one of the best seafood chowders around. And finally, knowing that the area is famous for lobster, James joins a fishing boat and cooks a deceptively easy and impressive lobster speciality.
19 Philadelphia
James Martin’s American Adventure continues with a visit to Philadelphia. “The City of Brotherly Love” is the perfect backdrop for his foodie adventure with Reading Terminal Market providing all manner of ingredients for both of his cooks. And the market even has its own kitchen, so if he forgets an ingredient, that’s not a problem! James ditches the car to take a tour of the city’s famous murals. But vehicles with more power await! Philadelphia is home to one of the most impressive car collections in the world and James gets a spin in a very special car. Philadelphia is also host to an upcoming movement of vegan eating. “Charlie was a Sinner” is at the forefront of this and we see what makes a restaurant like this so popular.
20 New York
James ends his epic, coast-to-coast exploration of the great US of A with a visit to one of his all-time favourite foodie hotspots: New York City. After a bite of pizza at a popular pizzeria in Greenwich Village, James cooks on one of New York’s famous piers. As New York has a wealth of French fine-dining restaurants, James can’t wait to take a bite of the action. He chooses his favourite pair “Daniel”, run by his old mate Daniel Boulud and Le Bernadine, where Eric Ripart is in charge of the hobs. And at the end of the day James cooks back on the pier as sunset approaches and reminisces on his journey of over three thousand miles.
