Ever wonder about the meat you're eating?  Marissa Guggiana is a writer and food activist who's traveled the country looking into the lives of some of America's best butchers.  She writes about the rivival of butchery, as well as the challenges and issues facing the U.S. meat industry.   

AndrewZimmern.com: What inspired you to get involved in the meat industry?

MarissaGuggiana: My family has been in the meat business for four generations and so I have meat in my blood, so to speak. My father gave me the reins to Sonoma Direct and I quickly learned that I had the infrastructure to change our local food system. We are a federally-inspected meat plant, which is an enormously important piece of a local food economy, as it sits smack in the middle of the food chain. In many ways, I am the communicator and intermediary in the meat world, turning carcass into cuts, taking livestock and creating food. I have the lucky job of working with ranchers, chefs, butchers and consumers.

AZ.com: Butchery has become a rediscovered culinary art. What do you think brought about this change? How is butchery different today than it was 50 years ago?

Sunny is one of the newest additions to Food Network's popular "In the Kitchen" weekend block with her series, Cooking for Real. Combining her approach to classic comfort foods along with her passion for unique flavors inspired by her many travels, Sunny offers real food for real life. 

AndrewZimmern.com: You're a self proclaimed Army brat, and later served in the United States Air Force. How did life in the military shape your perception of food?

SunnyAnderson: I owe my palate to my parents and my military journey. As a child, moving around to different regions and countries almost every year was tough socially, but when talking about food, It was heaven!! My parents were foodies before the term was even coined, so as soon as we knew the next place we were to move to, all they did was research on the local foods, trends and language, really so we could order at a restaurant. No "how do I get to the train station" lessons, but more of the "I'd like to order another one" phrases. Then all I did as an adult when I joined the Air Force is to continue the foodie journey around the world.



AZ.com: You've lived and traveled all over the world-- which country or city do you find the most inspiring?

AndrewZimmern.com: What or who inspired you to start Café Imports and what has been the hardest part of running a small business?   

AndrewMiller: In 1993 I was working at D'amico Cucina in downtown Mpls. A friend /co-worker Jose Vido, was from a coffee farming community in Brazil and his dad was a coffee farmer. Caribou was just opening up and Specialty coffee was coming to the Midwest. Vido was getting samples of his fathers coffee to show to roasters in town and I started helping him. The coffee was good and roasters liked it so we launched ourselves in to this business.  The hardest part of running a small coffee business is probably the people. This industry, like the restaurant business is full of passionate and eccentric people that don't fit in to the normal business world so balancing passion with practical realities of business is tough. 

AZ.com: Climate change has really put a damper on the coffee industry in the last year. How is Café Imports dealing with the rising price of coffee beans?

Endlessly inspired by the notion of taste memory, Chef Michael White strives to recreate the sensory feel of true Italian dining experiences with each dish he creates. Although his soulful, flavorful interpretations of Italian cuisine indicate otherwise, he is not an Italian native who absorbed generations of recipes at birth. He is, in fact, a Midwesterner who grew up in,Wisconsin playing football and swimming competitively. After winning a James Beard Award this year for Best New Restaurant, Chef White gives us the scoop about Marea and when he discovered his passion for Italian cuisine.

AndrewZimmern.com: How does a Wisconsin kid develop a world-class passion for Italian food?

MichaelWhite: I’ve always loved to eat. I got injured playing football in high school and decided to go to culinary school. I moved to Italy and the rest is history. Italian food is now my life and an Italian woman is now my wife.

AZ.com: How did your perceptions of Italian food change after living in Italy for seven years? Do you think Americans understand authentic Italian cuisine?

MW: Being able to work with the raw product at the source is obviously an invaluable experience – and I did it for seven years! Cooking Italian food would be virtually impossible without travelling to Italy.

AZ.com: Is authenticity important? Why?

MW: I think to a certain degree it is. More than anything though is taste and taste memory. I don’t think those things can be duplicated. Authenticity – but to who? Every Italian mom does their version of a ragu. One tradtion to one is interpreted completely different to another. It is more about personal taste and taste memory.