"Bacon Crack" is a freakishly delicious combination of chocolate and bacon, and the secret ingredient of Kai Kronfield's blossoming chocolate business Nosh This. Kronfield is a trained architect who launched the project in 2008 after the economic downturn left him out of work.
In 2009, ForageSF, an organization that promotes foraged and local cuisine in San Francisco, brought together a diverse group of aspiring chefs, bakers, and gourmets under the umbrella of an "Underground Market." Kronfield is one of the many vendors who got their start at the market; now he sells his chocolates in stores and online. In this series, filmmaker Eric Slatkin has teamed up with ForageSF to document the craft and passion of some of the foodies that make up San Francisco's growing "underground" food scene.
Iso Rabins, the founder of ForageSF, talked about the evolution of the organization earlier this month in an interview with The Atlantic, accompanied by another documentary portrait of Laura Miller and her raw vegan desserts. The documentary series will continue to expand as well; Slatkin shares his thoughts on the project in an interview below.
The Atlantic: What inspired you to pursue the vendors at the Underground Market as a documentary series topic?
Eric Slatkin: All it took to get inspired was to visit one of the markets and see the energy of these young, creative people making all kinds of interesting foods. I've shot with many professional chefs in the past, and while the vendors might not have as much experience, their talent and motivation is extremely admirable, and something I felt important to capture on video.