Support for Food is love is provided by Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood 100% fisherman family owned independent seafood sourcing catching, processing and delivering seafood directly to the consumer's front door from caught to bought, wild salmon direct from the fisherman Information at WildAlaskaSalmonandSeafood.com.

Over the course of the last year, I set out to explore St Louis culture through food.

I met new people, tasted new things.

I was inspired to push my own boundaries.

Like anyone else in the industry, I had to learn to adapt or throw in the towel.

It's been tough to put it lightly.

It was a year that none of us saw coming.

But still, I can't help to feel grateful for the good things that came of it.

The best journeys often take us somewhere we never expected to go.

But then again, you can say the same about the worst.

As a chef, I need to stay curious in order to evolve.

For me, that means looking beyond a great meal to learn more about who made it and what inspires them to cook.

Every great city has great food.

I'm going on a journey around the world right here in St Louis to find good food and experience other cultures.

I'm on a quest to find passionate chefs who cooks from the heart because food is love.

Food is love Love your food "Here's to the ramen stock, pork stock."

Hanging out in different kitchens everyday has its advantages.

But it does come with a certain amount of risk if you have if you have a weak constitution.

So this is the blood stew.

Okay, we better get another plate I think.

This is usually, its pork, but then there also will be included tripe and there's probably so..

I mean, it's all bits, all different kinds of cuts of pork.

The pig's ear, they cut it up into slices, and that's,.

when you go to bite it and you feel a little crunch.

It's usually the cartilage from the pigs ear.

Okay,.. sounds delicious.

Sweetbreads to me is one of the best.

This is the part where I can quote a line from the classic Anthony Hopkins roll from the famous 90 psycho thriller..

But I won't, because I'm sure you get the reference.

but in reality, it's quite delicious.

Sans the fava beans and served here with chimichurri.

The best way to eat this is right next to the grill.

So go like that with it chimichurri, And I think it's the best.

You let me know.

You can taste the lemon, You can taste the salt, the tenderness of the sweetbread.

What does it mean?

Kimchi?

Kimchi is the fermentation or pickling of vegetables.

The idea of making kimchi was to preserve it for a longer for a longer period of time.

I'm in Scandinavian.

We do sauerkraut.

Sourkraut is your kimchi.

I think people are hesitant to try kimchi.

You know, it's all like well, it doesn't smell good or it's strong, but it's really good So this is where it all happens.

Here's the line, mom's making some chicken feet to eat.

If you uhh.. Chicken feet?

You actually eat them?

Sometimes, but.. You trimmed the nails.

Yes we trim the nails Okay?

You can taste one, if you want Try one!

No, I'm sure I like it.

Just eat it like this.

Dont eat the bone, leave that to the dog.

You just throw me in right off the bat on.

I don't know, mom was making them, you just happened to walk in when it happened.

Wow, that's awesome.

If I can stress anything, let it be known that I'm not suffering any lack of diversity in my diet.

The restaurant owner, on average, is mostly an optimist.

How else can you explain the desire to open a business that flirts with chaos on a daily basis, operates on a thin margin and invites guests in even despite the occasional scathing review, it can be a thankless job.

I remember it when I was leaving the Ritz, and it was, Aren't you scared?

Like, what if the business fails?

I thought about it for a second, and I'm like, I'm more afraid of not trying.

Like, if we open on the first day, if those doors open and the first customer walks in, it works.

You know, the quality of what you're doing is what drives the business.

And that's the whole thing.

There is love behind it.

I agree.

I don't know if you ever heard the term food is love.

I've heard it someplace.

Yeah, and that's why we're certain breed of people in the restaurant business.

You know, you have to be certain kind of person or personality.

I think that something went wrong when we were created because we're all a little crazy.

Or maybe it went well.

Maybe it went well.

Yeah, I like that version better and something is wrong with everyone else.

But the ones who do it for any real amount of time, are in it for something more than just gratitude and almost certainly not for the money.

This is what I was bred to do because I genuinely love the community.

I like people, and I appreciate everyone coming in, spending their hard earned money with me or spending the time their kids birthdays.

I mean, 12 year old kids.

They can go to Chucky Cheese, but they want a tofu and lemon grass dish from Mai Lee..

I'm like, This is insane, but it's such a beautiful thing because that's what food does.

In St Louis, I'm proud of the food community here.

I enjoy cooking.

I enjoy cooking for people, cooking for my friends.

I love cooking.

Like you said, food is love.

So it's how you transmit.

Like, our hearts are kitchens and we feed everybody from our hearts.

I like that.

That is the Olmec tradition From the Olmec Tribe.

They say the our hearts are kitchens.

So it started with you trying to please your husband that's why you did all this cooking.

We had a conversation where, like a few women that I know, they end up marrying somebody from another culture, and then they're missing the food or there's nobody cooking it or whatever the case may be, you find yourself wanting to make that for them.

I told you yesterday I am fulfilling my mom's dreams for me, but they're also for herself.

Yeah.

She never got to own their own restaurants like that.

When my mother cooked at a heart of their career in the 80s and early 90s women were not respected as much as men, and that really hurt my mom's career.

And I think that a lot of my ambition, a lot of what I do.

I do because of my mother.

I wanted to prove to the world that she's the best and I'm I'm fulfilling her dream.

She never got to do what I do.

She never got to own restaurants and several restaurants and get James Beard nominations and all that stuff.

She's never had the opportunity to do it.

Nobody gave her time of day.

They didn't call her chef, they called her a cook.

A lot of intolerance for other people, Racism is born out of ignorance.

My mother and my phone father, they directed me on what I would say.

I grew up in the Church.

The Church family directed us on how we should act, what we should do, what we should say.

And I saw a generation of kids coming that didn't know that anymore, that I could dedicate myself to being a role model, my intentions and my messages And what I really wanted to do with this restaurant is a dream come true.

So it's kind of a little bit like a Church for some of these young kids I love to teach was sort of a natural fit.

If you look at the history of Cajun and dining, if you look at the history of Creole dining and so forth, that's what it was, a diversity of food, a diversity of taste coming together to make something really make it one and a diverse group of people too.. A diverse group of people.

And it was so that people could find the flavor that they love in it.

It was somewhere and it wasn't 100% what you've eaten But there was that morsal of something that you really love, and it made you have a higher tolerance for the thing in there that you didn't love.

And it doesn't matter what the flavors are, what the colors are.

It can go together beautifully, which is a little bit a little bit like people.

There have been moments of magic on the show where something happens on camera.

I take these little moments of spontaneity like they are signs Im sitting here in a room in St Louis.

And I just so happen to see this book.

It was up here.

Culinaria, that's a great book by the way, a great cookbook.

This story is about Denmark and this is my past..

I'm looking at this picture, and it's my dad in the book.

And I mean, what's the chances of finding this book on this very shelf in St. Louis next to this book, St. Louis, Then and Now, here I am, exploring all this wonderful food..

It keeps teaching me things, how we're forever connected to the past.

I don't know.

Is it an omen, or is it a lesson?

One of the coolest things was when Qui Tran, from Nudo House, was showing us the original location of his family's restaurant.. As we walked past the door, it just happened to be open.

He hadn't been inside for over 10 years, and it became a really cool moment that just unfolded on TV.

Oh, it's open.

Oh, no, it's not.

Oh, it is open!

Holy cow!

How about that?

Are we trespassing?

We are.

But it's okay.

Okay, holy cow... Let me tell you something.

This is crazy.

I haven't been in here in 10 years.

Wow.

So when we left, Holy cow, like, this is a very like, I'm getting, like, goose bumps.

I've been in this building in 10 years.

This is the first time I've been back inside.

Like, I've driven past, but I've never been inside of this.

I will have to take pictures myself, but, Yeah.

So.

Wow.

Holy cow.

So we redid this whole thing, and the hole was here.

Wow.

The hole is here.

So you come in and order, and you could end up sitting at the counter.

The the cash register was here.

I mean, the cash register was back here, and you could just order.

Holy cow, this is crazy.

But for 25 years, we were here.

So we did a little remodeling.

But this is crazy.

This is where I grew up, Chef.

Wow.

25 years.

I can't believe the door was open.

I was like, Whoa.

I looked.

I was like, Is that door opened, and I was like, It is open.

So, I mean, look at this.

This is the walk in cooler was here.

So the hood was there.

We cranked it out.

And crazy thing was to take out the trash, You have to go down the stairs, you go down the stairs.

And that was a nightmare.

I haven't been into this space over 10 years.

Wow.

We left here November 2009.

So that was the last time I was here.

Wow.

That's crazy.

I can't believe that door is open.

So there's a lot of memories here.

Look at those murals.

We open as a Chinese restaurant, because that's what we were selling.

Yeah.

So, you know, I was like, Okay, we're going to do Chinese food, but how do you distinguish yourself?

How do you distinguish yourself as a Chinese restaurant?

So at that time, Mom goes, Well, we're Vietnamese.

Why don't we sell Vietnamese food?

So we started with, like, six item menu of Vietnamese food.

And in 86, we started to build upon it.

And then in 87, a man named Joe Pollock, he was the St. Louis post as fast food critic.

He came in and he ate.

And then he wrote an article, a review saying I've never had Vietnamese food before my life.

But everybody should get down here and eat it because it's amazing.

It's noodles, soups and all these herbs and whatever.

I've never had anything like it.

And so from there, the rest is history.

This is great.

This is great.

I haven't walked in here in over 10 years.

I can't believe that door is even open.

Well, it was meant to be.

It's meant to be.

You're meant to be.

Well, it's because of you.

Thank you.

Because if I'm not with you today, I don't walk into this place.

I left over 10 years ago.

My whole childhood was here.

Everything.

I picked up a walk at the age of 12.

I took my first dish here.

Well, come on.

Alright, Let's leave before we get in trouble.

Can you believe this place was open?

Dude, I haven't been here.

I like literally had goose bumps!

When we started filming Season one of Food is Love.

It was not our intention to document the effects of a worldwide pandemic, but a couple of months in it seems like covid, but would be an unavoidable subject.

We saw some great food spots, close and watched how decades of hard worked unravelled in the course of a few months.

But in spite of the elephant in the room, I set out to tell the story of the people who's been driving the growth in St Louis.

Come, what may.

We decided that nothing was going to stop us.

So business wise, how are you doing now?

With all these restrictions, covid restrictions?

Not good.

Every customer cost you more now.

Take safety precautions but come out and support the restaurants.

It is tough.

I am Super grateful for our platform of friends and customers.

They kept patronizing with us (dramatic music) They become the core of this business for me because no matter what, there's always support with that particular support for me, it keeps me going.

I see that in my restaurant, people come in and they're spending money that they normally wouldn't because they know we're in trouble..

The revenue and the money and under the expense.

Even now, we cannot catch up.

But we will rebuild in the future.

The greatest city of St. Louis We overcome many obstacles and many disasters.

We are one of the greatest city in the nation from the 18th centuries, all the way to the 19th centuries.

This is it.

This is the core and the hub of everything's happening around us.

1804, Louisiana Purchase, which that opened up the door wide for, like a gateway to the West to become Gateway to the West, like St. Louis becomes the spotlight.

On the Mississippi River we have like a mile of steamboats, sometimes third way into the River, sometimes like one mile, 2 miles on the banks of the river.

The Great Fire in St Louis 1849 caused by Steamboat, and they tried to push the boat away from the city so the river would take it, windy day..

So the boat came back and it engulf other 25 steamboats And it becomes The Great Fire.

But guess what?

We rebuilt.

We rebuilt the city and we kept living.

But one of the things I find so interesting is you come from another culture and you move to United States.

But you have this feeling that you have to find people of your own culture to share food with.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And it's just like what you are saying now with people here, you know, they wanted to find other Filipinos In St. Louis.

Right.

I'm yet to find a Danish person here yet.

I haven't found anybody else.

This coffee.

We called Zezua coffee.

Okay.

Coffee came to Tunisia through the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish brought coffee to Tunis, like for us, The Spanish brought the harissa, The Turkish brought the coffee.

I can make a phone call Danes can bring some herring!

I never found another Chef from Denmark to trade notes and eat herring with.

But perhaps St. Louis gave me something even more valuable.

If you think you are beaten, you are..

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but think that you can't, It's almost for certain that you won't.

If you think you're out classed you are.

You've got to think high to rise.

You have to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost.

For out in this world we find, success begins, But the persons will, Is all in the state of mind.

For life's battles don't always go, to the stronger or faster man.

but sooner or later, the one who wins, is the one who thinks he can.

That was beautiful.

Meeting chefs from around the world, hearing the stories of struggle and odds they beat to make it.

It's still a powerful lesson.

Just to give you a little background, My parents, they're just very simple.

They're just hard working people.

They decided that they're going to take a chance and move every everybody over.

And I remember as a young kid, we lived in kind of a shady area of St. Louis and they would have to leave us at the house by ourselves.

But it was really tough on them, both having to work and there was no choice.

You didn't have a choice.

I remember as a young kid, they would always call.

And I just always heard my mom crying over the phone.

They still can't speak English today after almost 40 years.

But back then, trying to work and all of that and trying to put food on the table.

It was tough for them.

Very tough for them.

But humble beginnings makes you who you are.

First of all I was in the South Vietnamese Army.

Saigon fell in 1975.

If I am staying in Vietnam.. Maybe they could kill me.

When people talk about life or death.

At this point, they dropped everything left everything.

Some people left there, not by boat, but 50%.

They didn't make it.

I don't think We make it.

But you did.

Yeah, I did.

I'm boat people.

Lucky.

We are lucky.. Yeah.

but I'm happy too.

The phrase food scene seems to suggest that it's one singular thing but a food scene in any city is made up by a lot of different moving parts, parts that are always changing, growing, evolving, revolving.

It isn't comprised of any one place of food alone.

And that's exactly what makes it work.

All the Jewish people have the same tradition, but everywhere they add in other things, you know, other cooking.

Because of geographic distance, Jews lived in different countries.

And so they adopted a little bit of the culture that they lived in obviously somebody from a culture like something happens, a war, and they immigrate to a city, and they're trying to figure out how to find work.

And it's hard to find work.

And now they're trying to figure out how to work for themselves and make a life for themselves And then also trying to make everyone else within that community feel at home.

So somebody always steps up and open a restaurant.

It really feeds the community.

It's the heart and soul of those communities almost 20 years later Now it's becoming something where this is becoming an American staple because they are now Americans, and they are citizens in this country.

And they are..

They're providing this food to communities that aren't just Bosnian.

They're American.

Maybe they're Latina or Latino, Spanish, Maybe they're Italian, Irish, German, and then all Indian.

And then all of a sudden, they're like, I love this dish.

I'm going to look up the recipe and then they make it, and then their kids grow up on it.

And that's how we make American food.

That's what American food is.

I'm going nowhere fast.

I don't even know I'm going to get down.

There are so many moments that just doesn't fit into the span of an episode, but somethings aren't meant for television, somethings you can only truly experience by going yourself.

I got extra gloves Chef.. You wouldn't want me to have a heart attack, do you?

Well, we also had to give him some lessons on how to say, he was like, he was saying New Orleans.

And I say, no, you would never, it's NAWLINS is one word N Apostrophe A-W-L-I-N-S.

Try that one.

Listen to that!

He's got it!

He has the best taste, palate.

There you go.

What kind of cheese is this?

He's not agreeing.

So these are seeds that he would actually harvest himself.

It's not storebought.

This is all.. After he grows it, he'll leave a few to turn into seeds and he'll save and try and save them and he will row plant them.

Hot pepper seed.

That's amazing.

This is from like last season.

This is Morphine.

Okay.

Your husband here, He had had three names while I've been with you.

Freddy, Danielle and Poppy.

So which one is the one that I should be calling you?

Poppy!

(laughter) I don't think you're old enough to be my poppy.

How do you pronounce.. Lassie?

Lasse In English It would be L-A-S-S-E-R. Yeah, okay.

But the Biblical name is Lazarus.

No, you know, like, I guess he had worn a crown or something.

Its a Saint?

No Lazerus is the man who Jesus resurrected..Yes,..

Lazarus Right.

It's one of the guy.

Well, it's a Saint, I guess now.. Well, thank you.

Thank you.

When do we as chefs get to Cook together in somebody's house?

This is perfect.

Thank you.

My biggest takeaway from this journey is the overwhelming confirmation of something I already knew.

Food has the ability to comfort us, open our minds to new things, introduce us to other cultures.

It's a peacemaker.

It can create empathy for another's way of life.

It can break down barriers that keeps us separated and open doors in a closed mind just long enough to see things from a different point of view.

So I say So Here's my opportunity to go into a place.

And what I wanted to create was a dining experience that people didn't care that the people sitting right next to them were a different race because they were so in love with the food.

Food is something we all have in common and something we can come together for.

I may have already known these things, but it just makes me look forward to finding and telling more of these stories.

I learned that food can convey feelings, memories and emotions.

It's things that seems to break us that gives us a platform to create change.

For me, this experience embodies a lot of what makes St. Louis a great food city It demonstrates that if you stop to pay attention, the common fibers that hold people together are the same everywhere.

There is an atmosphere of community in St. Louis that you'll be hard pressed to find in any other place.

I think everyone is really hoping that everyone does well.. there's no serious competition.

Everybody wants everyone to do well in this town.

Lassal was right.

This is the Golden age of food in St. Louis.

How would you say food is love and Spanish?

La comida es amor.

La comida es amor.

Isn't that the truth?

So if you cook with your love and your heart, your food is always going to be good.

How do we say food is love and Tunisian?

metla haya el hope.

That's what I say Maybe he says differently.

la nourriture, c'est l'amour.

This is in French.

Okay Food is love Food is love food is love.

Food is love, I feel it Food is love Food is love Food is love Food is love.

Love your food.

Food is love!

Hey, foodies, Want to try all the great food and restaurants you've seen on Food is Love.

Head on over to FoodisLove.tv to map the locations of restaurants from your favorite episode, check out what's coming up, leave Chef Lasse a message, or start your own culinary journey around the Lou.

Find it all now at Food is love.tv Support for food is love is provided by Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood 100% Fisherman family owned Independent seafood sourcing.

Catching, processing and delivering seafood directly to the consumer's front door.

From caught to bought, wild salmon direct from the fisherman.

direct from the fisherman.

Information at WildAlaskaSalmonandSeafood.com