About
'Cooking with Granny' Web Series
$11,516
188
THE SHOW
Hosted by multimedia journalist, Caroline Shin, ‘Cooking with Granny’ is a Web series featuring awesome grandmas sharing family recipes for traditional dishes from all over the world. Think Italian lasagna, Indian masala, Korean bacon. Done up old-school-style by granny master chefs.
MISSION STATEMENT
For me, this is a legacy passion project. My hope is that 'Cooking with Granny' will help preserve otherwise disappearing recipes (who makes kimchi at home anymore?) AND shed light on the survival, culture and immigration stories from the point of view of these kick-ass grandmas.
EPISODE FORMAT
Each YouTube episode depicts one grandma, one recipe, one culture. But that's not all. We'll be mixing in her personal story, too. The first time she touched a live octopus. How she sat with her girls around a vat of kimchi cabbage. How she searched high and low for the right pasta flour in New York grocery stores. And remember, these stories are placed in the 1940s, 50s, 60s -- decades before the term "foodie" existed and against a historical backdrop of World War II and black-and-white TVs.
FEATURED DISHES
In addition to the first two episodes on Korean food, I have my eyes on the following cuisines: Indian (masala or tandoori), Caribbean (jerk chicken, oxtail, hot sauce), Italian (tomato sauce), Greek (spinach pie, baklava, octopus), Thai (pad thai), Chinese (soup dumplings), Middle Eastern (babaganoush, falafel, kibbe), Jewish (latkes, matzoh ball soup), and Hispanic (empanadas, flan). I am open to suggestions and referrals so please send them my way at FeedMeGranny@gmail.com.
PROJECT UPDATES
As the project unfolds, I'll be updating you with photos, videos and GIFs right here on Kickstarter and social media. Feel free to share your ideas with me, too, on:
YouTube: Cooking with Granny
Facebook: Cooking with Granny
Twitter: @CookingWGranny
Email: FeedMeGranny@gmail.com
ABOUT ME
I'm a multimedia journalist (text, photo, video). I've been a video producer at New York magazine, an intern at CNN, and a student at Columbia Journalism School. I've shot and edited videos for Fashion Week, The Walking Dead, Hurricane Sandy, and In Season (for The Cut, Vulture, Daily Intelligencer and Grub Street, respectively); produced all types of videos (supercuts, interviews, demos, reportage -- though my "Blurred Lines"-Fat Albert mash-up was definitely the most fun at the NYMag video room); and worked with media/culture gurus, Jerry Saltz, Matt Zoller Seitz and Anderson Cooper. And in food: I broke the story on the food business incubator at the old Pfizer factory in Brooklyn; shot a Culinary Institute of America story that aired on NY1; and covered beer, chocolate and Smorgasburg for BRIC Arts Media.
TOTAL QUEENS GIRL:
I'm as proud as Nicki Minaj, the Lost Boys and Fran Drescher to rock the Queens cred. That's where my grandma would flex her broken English to order Big Macs at a Burger King or point to 10 pieces of chicken for our KFC family bucket. That's also where I got spoiled by multiculturalism -- on the 7 train from Flushing all the way west to Manhattan.
A FEW MORE THINGS:
As a kid, I wanted to be a competitive eater (but that didn't quite pan out). I graduated from Brown University and Hunter College High School; I'm fluent in Korean and Spanish (though massively forgetful of my Russian); and I'm addicted to Instagram. I'm super excited about 'Cooking with Granny,' and I hope you are, too! My mouth is already watering for more episodes. Yum!
YOUR FUNDS
I'm raising funds to expand my show into a full 10-episode season. Back in 2012, I produced the first episode with my own granny who taught me how to make kimchi. I also shot the next episode on Korean-style bacon, and now, I'm seeking your help in bringing the first season of my show to life. Specifically, that entails the edit of 1 episode, as well as the shoot and edit of 8 episodes.
EPISODE 2: KOREAN-STYLE BACON
Of all the food porn to come, here are TWO sneak peeks from our shoot on Korean bacon (oh yeah, I'm giving you guys bacon):
THE SPECIFICS:
So what exactly will your funds, well, fund?
- TRANSPORTATION: to/from shoots, grocery stores and equipment rental places
- SHOOTS: Crew plus equipment (Zoom H4n recorder, LAV mic, three-light kit)
-INGREDIENTS
- FLIERS - To show grandmas and grocery store clerks and leave at grocery stores for direct access to grandmas who cook
- EDIT: Editing work plus Lacie external hard drive
- RENT & UTILITIES
- AMAZON PAYMENTS: 3-5% fee
- KICKSTARTER: 5% fee
- REWARDS: Minions not included, but your rewards really had my creative juices flowing
Risks and challenges
Back when I started this project in 2012, I learned that it wasn't so easy finding grandmas of different ethnicities who could cook, speak English and wanted to be on camera. Some cultures are more introverted than others, and some grandmas just stuck to their native tongue.
I plan to overcome these challenges by tapping into my personal multi-ethnic circles (of fellow New Yorkers with family members close by); using my good, old "shoe-leather reporting" skills to scout grandmas at grocery stores; and using translators (if readily available via the grandma's friends and family) or relying on my own language skills. And here's another huge bonus: I live in New York City where you can access Chinatown, Russian Brighton Beach and Little Guyana all in one day. I know these neighborhoods; I have an awesome crew; and I'll work really hard to fulfill my passion (especially one I've waited this long to complete).
THE BOTTOM LINE: Back my project NOW for a show that'll DELIGHT us, TEACH us and MAKE OUR MOUTHS WATER!
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Funding period
- (30 days)