Hattiesburg Episode of Palate to Palette featuring Robert St. John, Wyatt Waters airs Nov. 9 on MPB television
JACKSON, Miss — Join two of Mississippi’s favorites – chef Robert St. John and artist Wyatt Waters – as they visit six Mississippi cities, including Hattiesburg, creating scrumptious dishes and beautiful watercolor paintings in their new television series Palate to Palette on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Television. The Hattiesburg episode airs at 7 p.m. Nov. 9, with an encore presentation at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 12.
In this episode, St. John and Waters tour the culinary delights of St. John’s hometown along with NFL and Southern Miss star Brett Favre as they visit five restaurants in one night. Waters looks to the heavens as he paints a church steeple. The duo visits a blueberry farm at Sandy Run Farm & Nursery where they climb aboard a massive berry picker.
The first season of Palate to Palette airs weekly through Nov. 16. The second season airs in spring 2018 and covers St. John and Waters traveling through Italy.
During six episodes of season one, the duo stops in Jackson, Starkville, Biloxi, Oxford, Hattiesburg and Greenwood meeting new people, sampling local fare and painting watercolors of the locales. Waters even dabbles in the kitchen a little in some episodes, but St. John sticks to what he knows best – cooking.
“MPB was the perfect fit for Palate to Palette. We are having a blast doing the show. It’s so much fun,” St. John said. “You’re not going to find two bigger cheerleaders for Mississippi than Wyatt and me. Doing a show about Mississippi is one of the easiest things we’ve done.”
“We’re thrilled about having Robert and Wyatt on MPB with Palate to Palette,” said MPB Director of Television John Gibson. “People assume it's a show about food and art, but that’s only part of it. It’s really about two good friends traveling Mississippi and celebrating so many aspects of our state. I think viewers will appreciate the view of Mississippi they get through Robert’s and Wyatt’s eyes."
Waters created more than 90 paintings while filming the series and some of those have already sold at his art gallery in Clinton. Viewers get to see a portion of those creations from beginning to end.
“We are pretty happy with the show. Robert interprets Mississippi through food not unlike I interpret Mississippi through painting,” Waters said. “This is our version of Mississippi.”
Anthony Thaxton of Thaxton Studios in Raymond, Mississippi produced the series. “Anthony wove together a great story of who we were. I think it’s really honest,” Waters said.
Thaxton’s friendship and work relationship with St. John and Waters goes back several years. Waters was actually one of Thaxton’s professors when he was a student at Mississippi College.
“I understand their chemistry and why people love them,” Thaxton said. “I really have enjoyed our collaboration with MPB, and it’s made me a better editor. We could not be happier that the show is going to air on MPB.”
Palate to Palette also touches on how St. John and Waters collaborate to create books. Their fourth book titled A Mississippi Palate: Heritage Cuisine and Watercolors of Home was released this month. The television series brings the book to life.
Anyone who watches the television series will get a true sense of what’s great about Mississippi. “It’s kind of a video love letter to Mississippi,” St. John said.
Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation is the underwriter of Palate to Palette.
For more information regarding MPB, visit www.mpbonline.org.
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Mississippi Public Broadcasting provides relevant instructional and public affairs programming to Mississippians through its statewide television and radio network. MPB enhances the work of educators, students, parents and learners of all ages by providing informative programming and educational resources. MPB’s locally-produced programming focuses on the people, resources and attractions that reflect Mississippi’s unique culture and diverse heritage. Children’s television programs constitute a major portion of the daytime and weekend morning schedules. MPB provides a valuable resource to Mississippians in disseminating information as part of the state’s emergency preparedness and response system. Since 1970, MPB has won over 350 national, regional and statewide awards, including Emmy®, Edward R. Murrow and Parents’ Choice® Awards.