MUNCHIES Guide to...

In Bohemian food culture only one thing can rival beer in terms of popularity and importance: meat. Michaela Jörgensen, co-owner of “The Real Meat Society,” has made it her mission to educate the Czech meat-loving public about responsible and sustainable meat consumption. We accompany her to Bohemia’s largest organic pig farm, where Hannah is soon involved in a chaotic pig hunt. At “Cestr,” meat quality is held in the highest regard. The restaurant’s chef shows Hannah how to prepare a dry-aged steak.

In the first episode of the MUNCHIES Guide to Bavaria, our host, food blogger Ailine Liefeld of Aicuisine, visits Käs Karl—a.k.a. Carlos, a punk rock cheesemaker who produces insanely good product at the Kappeler Alp and makes her Kässpatzen, a cheesy spaetzle dish. After that, she takes part in a cattle drive in Bad Hindelang, which one could describe as a "love parade for cows". Down in the valley, we find plenty fo hearty Bavarian food, and a lot of beer!

In this episode, everything revolves around the omnipresent alcohol. Because in Bavaria, you drink nonstop! Ailine visits a beer-brewing nun and liquor-drinking bar legends. In Munich, we chat with the guys from Crew Republic—a successful German craft brewery.

In our second installment, Ailine embarks to Neuschwanstein Castle in the footsteps of the legendary and possibly insane King Ludwig II of Bavaria. She then strolls through the Viktualienmarkt to get groceries for a meal prepared by Koch and DJ Sven Christ—a multi-course menu that pays homage to King Ludwig. That night, she meets Günther Grauer, a King Ludwig double at Bar Roy, where she gets treated to champagne.

Our host Ailine hangs out with a herbalist and smoothie expert and wanders through the forest around the Ammersee. There, we collect wild herbs and berries to make fantastic smoothies with. On the nearby lakeside, she goes fishing with an old sea dog, who shows her how to catch a carp—and where to have it prepared, Bavarian-style.

In Franconia, our host Ailine sniffs tobacco against the world champion Belinda Winkler, then visits the band Kellerkommando, who show her what a Frankish pulled-pork burger is all about.

Charlet begins her journey with the one Welsh dish she has heard of: Welsh rarebit. But what makes this snack different from cheese on toast? Caerphilly cheesemaker John Savage explains all, via a cook-off between Charlet’s standard cheese toastie and his secret Welsh Rarebit recipe. Next, Charlet gets physical with a women’s rugby team, learning about midday drinking games and Welsh pasties before heading to Cardiff for a boozey session watching the England versus Wales rugby game. Iechyd da!

After drinking with the rugby girls in Cardiff, Charlet heads to Freshwater West beach for a traditional Welsh breakfast (and hangover cure.) Despite its proximity to England, Wales boasts a far more exciting national breakfast of cockles and seaweed, a.k.a. “Welshman’s caviar,” alongside bacon and eggs. Next, Charlet travels to Carmarthen to meet its famous coracle fishers, a small group of fishermen who go in search of a rare sea trout known as sewin—the “unicorn of Welsh rivers.”

Best known for unpronounceable town names, Tom Jones, and a sheep population that outnumbers its citizens, Wales isn’t often thought of for its food. But in the MUNCHIES Guide to Wales, we discover a culinary culture that goes beyond leeks and Welsh rarebit. And with many campaigning to name 2018 the official “Year of Welsh Food and Drink,” word on the valley is that local cuisine is about to get even more exciting. As host Charlet Duboc embarks on a Welsh food odyssey, it certainly seems that way. From tweeting farmers and foraging chefs to Welsh sushi (“Wushi”) and baked bean museums, could Wales be the UK’s best kept food secret?

Despite being known for incessant rain, Charlet discovers that in recent years, the Welsh valleys have developed a perfect microclimate for grape-growing. After meeting the owners of Ancre Hill Vineyard in Monmouth, she has no choice but to raise a glass to global warming. Next, it’s onto meeting Wales’ answer to Willy Wonka: NOMNOM Chocolate company founder Liam Burgess. Charlet visits his new factory and helps make a Welsh cake-infused chocolate bar with Granny Nora.

Welsh seaside town Conwy is one of Europe’s most popular destinations for Japanese tourists. Charlet meets chef Hisae Driver to find out how she combines cockles, sewin, lamb, and seaweed with traditional Japanese ingredients to make Welsh sushi, a.k.a. “Wushi.” Then it’s onto Snowdonia where Charlet meets the social media savvy “tweeting farmer” Gareth Wyn Jones. As it’s lambing season, she soon finds herself helping out with her very first sheep birth.

Kavita will explore the traditional side of Berlin, which outsiders probably wont get to know. In a garden plot colony she'll taste raw minced pork meat, before indulging in Königsberger Klopse, Smoked Eel and Currywurst.

Our host Kavita takes a look at the food from the New Berlin. After the Berlin Wall came down, Berlin experienced great change as artists from all over the world visited, restaurants and bars opened, and the food culture modernized. There is a lot of great cuisine to try out in the city of Berlin, including its street food, market halls, and cheap döner kebabs. In this episode, Kavita will feature the best and most interesting street food spots Berlin has to offer, from authentic Thai cuisine to Turkish food stands, which brought the al fresco dining culture to Berlin.

Our host Kavita takes a look at the food from the New Berlin. After the Berlin Wall came down, Berlin experienced great change as artists from all over the world visited, restaurants and bars opened, and the food culture modernized. Kavita meets Wally, an expat living in Berlin since the 90s, who has experienced the change firsthand and has the stories to tell about it. She then visits Koreans living in Berlin who have mixed their culture with German traditions, then finally heads to Nobelhart & Schmutzig, where German food gets reinvented.

Kavita shows us why she loves the drinking culture in Berlin so much. From Berliner Weisse on an open lake to handcrafted beer at Hops & Barley to home-infused spirits at Geist im Glas, Berlin has a lot to offer when indulging in a drink-fueled night out. Our host ends the night with a tour through the diverse late-night shop culture in Berlin.

In this final episode of the MUNCHIES Guide to Berlin, Kavita meets legendary 'Komet Bernhard', an old raver who is still young at heart. At Industry Standard, one of the city's rare gastro pubs, she learns what spirit drives Berlin, before pushing herself through warschauer straße—probably the most crowded party junction in Europe.