Kevin Mitchell and David S. Shields Co-host New SCETV Television Series, "The Savers of Flavor"

April 30, 2026 | by uscpress

Photo courtesy of scetv.org.

Co-authors Chef Kevin Mitchell and food historian David S. Shields, Taste the State and Taste the State Georgia, team up again as co-hosts in a new South Carolina ETV series, “The Savers of Flavor.” In this part documentary, travelogue, and cooking show, Mitchell and Shields celebrate the history and cultural significance of key Southern ingredients at risk of being lost.

The first season includes four episodes:

• Episode 101: Peas Come to Table (Early Frame Pea). Which pea ripens first? From Thomas Jefferson’s spring contests to a lost heirloom, savers rediscover the Early Frame pea in South Carolina and return it to Monticello.
• Episode 102: A Cherry to Dye For (Dyehouse Cherry). The South’s only pie cherry, Dyehouse, vanished after WWII. A hunt for the fruit finds a lone surviving tree on a Kentucky artist’s farm.
• Episode 103: Okra from Another Mother (Motherland Okra). Savers tour Georgia for better okra uses: seed oil in Pitts and Motherland okra in Milledgeville. African-style leaves with smoked fish is prepared.
• Episode 104: It's A Great Pumpkin (Dutch Fork Pumpkin). Carolina pumpkins link Pumpkintown, SC, to Cherokee lands as seeds are spread to Native growers and pumpkins are roasted.

The series will premiere on May 4 on SCETV Passport and May 7 at 8pm on local television. All episodes will be available nationwide on PBS streaming platforms and local PBS television stations.

View "The Savers of Flavor" on scetv.org.

View "The Savors of Flavor" on pbs.org.