Published 9/12/2002

By Kathleen Lavey

Lansing State Journal

Eric Villegas rides on a wide, slow-moving harvesting machine, watching the ground in front of him for the chance to pluck a spear of asparagus.

Finding a perfect specimen, he snatches it up, then bites it with an audible crunch.

"I've never seen Emeril do this!" he crows.

It serves up Okemos chef Villegas as a hyper-enthusiastic tour guide, leading viewers through venues such as farmers' markets, blueberry fields and maple sugar processing shacks. He also prepares fresh meals based on Michigan products. The show is booked for 13 episodes this fall, and its producers hope it eventually will expand to cover the entire Great Lakes region and go into syndication.

"Eric loves Michigan, and he loves Michigan foods," said Andy Such, executive producer. The show's third staffer is director/producer/cameraman Scott Allman, who accompanies Villegas on food-hunting treks from the asparagus field in Oceana County north of Muskegon to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

"It's been a lot of fun to work with them," Such said. "They take this kind of enthusiasm with them wherever they're going."

In other segments on the first episode, Villegas shops at the Meridian Township farmers' market and puts together a dish featuring asparagus and morel mushrooms in a cream sauce over pasta.

He demonstrates how to roast garlic and even throws in a little history lesson on the thick, chewy pasta known as "strozzapreti," which translates to "priest choker." Villegas cheerfully explains that the pasta was created by thrifty Renaissance-era townspeople who wanted to slow the eating pace of clergy members who dropped in for dinner.

To Villegas, chef and owner with wife Trisha of Restaurant Villegas in Okemos, the show is a sort of mission based on his enthusiasm for Michigan's agricultural bounty.

"I grew up in Saginaw watching the rural community around me," he said. "These farmers, I just find it to be so amazing, all that they have to do just to nurture a zucchini or a squash blossom or an ear of corn."

Michigan ranks among the top producers of cherries, apples, asparagus and navy beans. Fruit and wine grapes grow well along the west side of the state; blueberries thrive in soil too damp for other crops.

Other fruit and vegetable crops include cucumbers, snap beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, strawberries and peaches.

Villegas noticed the far reach of Michigan foods while he was studying cooking and working in France. The dried morels at his Paris school were imported from Michigan; Great Lakes perch often found its way onto the menu at restaurants where he worked.

"That's when the global marketplace started evolving in my head," he said. Eventually, "my cuisine evolved and became this contemporary ideal of Michigan food."

He buys much of the produce for his restaurant straight from farmers, including Lansing's Giving Tree Farm. It not only offers organic produce, but provides horticultural therapy for people with disabilities.

Villegas' entire staff descends on the Meridian Township farmers' market to find fresh produce to feature at the restaurant.

Villegas, born in 1959, admits to being a child of the TV generation. Among other things, he grew up watching Canadian chef Graham Kerr's "Galloping Gourmet" program with his mother. He whetted his performing appetite on cooking videos featuring some of his classic restaurant dishes, as well as TV news spots for Channel 6 and brief spots for Michigan State University's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Allman's day job is working as a video producer there.

Allman met Villegas years ago and also worked with him on the cooking videos. From his work at MSU, Allman was familiar with the farming end of the food chain. It seemed natural to pair with Villegas, whose knowledge is on the preparation end, for a show.

"He's so great on camera," Allman said. "There's one element of Julia Child and one element of Bill Nye, the Science Guy. We're trying to combine the best of both."

Besides the kitchen at the Grand Hotel, upcoming episodes will feature Howell melons, blueberries, a segment shot at the Vermontville maple syrup festival, a segment at Detroit's Eastern Market, and a morel mushroom hunt that leaves Villegas scouring the forest floor for the unique fungus.

All three wanted to go beyond a basic cooking show.

"People want information when they tune into a show like this, but they want it done in an interesting format," Such said.

As producer, Such's job includes recruiting sponsors for each half-hour program, which costs $8,000 to $10,000 to create. If the show's first season is successful, content may expand in the future to include the entire Great Lakes region. They'll also search for syndication possibilities.

"Eric wants to be king of the food network," Allman said with a laugh. "I'd like to just make my money back."

Contact Kathleen Lavey at 377-1251 or klavey@lsj.com.

Published 9/12/2002