FILM OVERVIEW

In the 2026 Detroit PBS film, Detroit: The City of Chefs III will explore the world of vegetarianism and veganism.

The vegetarian story will be driven by the rich agricultural bounty that Michigan has to offer the chef community. In the spirit of better understanding how in-depth our rich growing seasons are, we will feature chefs working closely with the farming community to better understand the significance of the term “farm to table”. We will learn why Detroit is one of the cities leading the way nationally with urban farming and how this has great benefits to the local communities. Black Star Farms winery on the Leelanau Peninsula will host a fall harvest dinner bringing together some of Michigan’s most iconic chefs. We will also learn how the Native Americans impacted Michigan’s agricultural community.

The 1970s will come alive again as we shed light on how many of the chef community were part of the free-spirited hippie movement that that spurred the vegetarian movement. Through this in-depth story, we will gain a better understanding of why they refer to food as “medicine”.

Where is the inspiration of vegetarian cooking drawn from today and has it become main stream? Who are Detroit’s chef and restaurant leaders today in vegetarian cooking and why?

As part of Detroit: The City of Chefs III, we will also explore veganism. What is it, where did it originate and why? How challenging is it for today’s chefs to build their repertoire with innovative vegan dishes? How far has the food industry come in helping support chefs’ needs for unique vegan-based products?

With the first installment of Detroit: The City of Chefs being awarded a Michigan Emmy Award and the second addition to our chef story debuting this fall. Detroit: The City of Chefs III will round out the story of Michigan culinary heritage.