In this episode of Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking, host Pete Evans joins forces with two of the East Coast’s best chefs—Matt Jennings, of Providence, Rhode Island, and Ken Oringer, who now has restaurants in Boston and New York. The chefs and their good friends take Pete on a voyage of discovery around the city of Providence, where they gather ingredients for the evening’s pop-up feast. With pork belly from Patrick McNiff, of Pat’s Pastured meats, and herbs and veggies from Eva Sommaripa’s Eva’s Garden, the trio spins a menu of beet salad, grilled pork belly with razor clams, and panna cotta with locally foraged sassafras. Delighted diners gather on a roof deck with a stunning view over downtown Providence to dig into a feast that’s ripe with local flavor.

A Word from Pete…

Matt Jennings would have to be one of the nicest guys I’ve met. He has a heart of gold and is a very passionate chef who loves the area around Providence, Rhode Island. A Boston chef and Matt’s friend Ken Oringer join us, who are no slouches in the kitchen. Ken goes foraging in the woods for an unusual ingredient that I haven’t seen or used before—sassafras—which he infuses into a very memorable panna cotta. He also whipped up some asparagus with slowly cooked eggs to start the meal off.

Ken takes me to the local farmer who raises grass fed beef, organic lamb, chickens, and other local produce to pick up some grass fed sirloin for a beef tataki, thinly sliced seared Japanese beef with a tamari (wheat-free soy) and onion dressing.

Matt can’t help but cook some pork and clams with bloody hot chilies, which he dared me to eat…I think I owe him a practical joke next time, as they burnt my mouth so much I thought I was going to head to the hospital. Was the pork good? My word, it was delicious and something I think you will love recreating at home.