It's Alive! With Brad
Join Bon Appétit test kitchen manager, Brad Leone, on a wild, roundabout and marginally scientific adventure exploring fermented foods and more. From cultured butter and kombucha, to kimchi and miso, to beer and tepache, learn how to make fermented and live foods yourself.
Episodes
Bon Appétit Test Kitchen Manager Brad Leone is back for episode 39 of “It’s Alive” and this time he’s making mustard. Rumor has it this might be his best creation yet. Join Brad as he gets into “some serious science” and reveals the fermented ace up his sleeve.
Bon Appétit Test Kitchen Manager Brad Leone is back for episode 40 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he's fermenting garlic in miso. Brad has two of his favorite ingredients hang out in Fermentation Station in preparation for making a delicious garlic-infused miso soup. Join him on his lifelong adventure to get that allicin going.
Bon Appétit Test Kitchen Manager Brad Leone is back for episode 41 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he's deep in the woods of Washington foraging for porcini mushrooms with his fungus friends, Colin and Andrew.
Bon Appétit's Brad Leone is back for episode 42 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he's making black garlic and homemade pasta. Join Brad on his lifelong quest to consume garlic in as many forms as possible.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 43 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s in Oregon to go pheasant hunting with Olympia Provisions’ very own Elias Cairo. Brad and Elias show you how to safely and responsibly harvest wild game for consumption. Joining them are Leather and Utah, Eli’s very talented dogs.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 44 of “It’s Alive,” for the second part of his pheasant hunting trip with Elias Cairo. Using the pheasants from the previous episode, Brad and Elias show you how to properly break down, preserve, and cook wild game.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 45 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he traveled to Tuscany, Italy to make olive oil with Lucini Italia. Watch Brad learn the process from harvesting to bottling of producing extra virgin olive oil.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 47 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s making focaccia bread with Samin Nosrat, author and host of “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.” Join Brad and Samin as they bake bread, explore alternate show titles, and agree that you can never have too much olive oil.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 48 of “It’s Alive,” and this time Test Kitchen Manager Gaby Melian teaches Brad how to make Argentinian Empanadas. Join Brad and Gaby as they struggle with gloves, try on new hats, and celebrate Brad’s not-so-last day in the Test Kitchen.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 49 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s joined by Priya Krishna, who teaches him how to make yogurt. Join Brad and Priya as they experiment with her father’s three decade old starter culture, skim his lengthy instructions, and video chat with him for validation.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 50 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s making yuzu kosho from the Japanese citrus yuzu. Join Brad as he and his pals zest, calculate, and sing their way to a delicious yuzu-infused shrimp dish.
Bon Appétit’s Brad and Claire are back for a very special crossover episode (Part 1!) of It’s Alive. Claire says they’re making doughnuts with sourdough starter. Brad’s trying to make “sourdoughnuts” a thing. Who will win? You will: this episode had so many good Brad and Claire moments that we had to make it two parts. *Correction, let's make that three parts.
Brad Leone and Claire Saffitz are back to finish what they started. Sourdoughnuts Part II. Watch it all go wrong and get ready for the final installment of the Sourdoughnuts saga.
Brad Leone and Claire Saffitz return for the final installment of It’s Alive: Sourdoughnuts. This time… they actually make doughnuts. Watch as they conclude their long and winding journey towards light and pillowy sourdough doughnuts. Be sure to check out the previous episodes if you missed them! Long live the Rat King.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 54 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s fermenting citrus fruits! Brad tries his hand at fermenting kumquats, lemons, limes, and blood orange to give your average citrus an It’s Alive kick. Work them into vinaigrettes, top your squid salads with them, or get creative! The world is your oyster, whether you pronounce your oyster condiment mignonette or “min-yet.”
You asked for it…they noodled. Brad and special guest Matty Matheson head down to Oklahoma to catch catfish with their bare hands. Join Brad and Matty as they search for catfish in dangerous, murky wourder with their new best friend and professional noodler Skipper Bivins. Screaming, sea monsters, and giant snakes galore. Watch them get literally in over their heads and stay tuned for Part 2 where they’ll cook up the fish they noodled.
Brad and special guest Matty Matheson are back for Part 2 of Noodling! After an adventurous day in the wourders of Oklahoma, Brad and Matty head back to Skipper's house to break down and cook up the catfish they caught with their bare hands.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 57 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s making fermented popcorn seasoning! Brad dehydrates and blends sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso into his own custom fermented spice blend. Join Brad as he learns about alchemy, 90s fitness fads, and faces off with his greatest foe yet… the microwave.
Bon Appétit’s Brad Leone is back for episode 58 of “It’s Alive,” and this time he’s making ginger beer! Join Brad on another fermented adventure as he experiments with different types of ginger, draws up plans for a Bon Appétit haunted house, and teaches some coworkers how to play the moderately dangerous game of "dry ice."
