Finally, The Wyoming Segments Of Guy Fieri's "All-American Road Trip” Are Airing

Last year, the famous Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri went on an epic summer road trip, and part of that trip went right through Wyoming.

Now, finally, the Wyoming segments of “Guy’s All-American Road Trip” are airing.

The first, “Camp Cook-Offs and Chuckwagons,” was this past Friday, June 21, but if you missed that, not to worry. It’s airing again at 11 a.m. Friday on the Food Network.

In the midst of this Wyoming segment, Fieri discovered a food revolution, the epicenter of which has been quietly taking place at EternaFresh in the basement of the Bomber Mountain Civic Center in Buffalo.

EternaFresh is a freeze-dried foods factory that Beau Fowler started a couple of years ago. He became interested in freeze-dried food technology because he’s a gardener and is obsessed with food preservation.

“Their whole thing was that they wanted to see if they could make a quality meal out of it, and whether they could tell the difference that freeze-dried ingredients were used,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “And we’ve been saying a lot that it’s kind of a food revolution. There’s a lot of folks who just don’t know anything about it.”

That turned out to include Fieri himself.

“That was a really cool experience, being able to teach Guy something new about food,” Fowler said. “Because he’s seen a lot, he’s done a lot of stuff, and he’s a well-seasoned chef.”

25-Year Shelf Life

But even the Mayor of Flavortown hasn’t done much yet with freeze-dried foods. One of the first things he learned about EternaFresh’s freeze-dried foods is the incredible shelf-life.

“The product that we manufacture out here in Buffalo has a shelf life of 25 years,” Fowler told Cowboy State Daily. “So, the products we’re cranking out right now are good until 2046 or 2047.”

The other cool thing about the freeze-dried foods that impressed Fieri is the complete lack of preservatives, Fowler said. Those are commonly added to extend the shelf-life of foods. But they can add lots of calories to a product, as well as chemicals that people may not want to consume on a regular basis.

“Using this technology, we can eliminate all of the need for preservatives,” Fowler said. “So pretty much all of our products are just that component. Our broccoli is just broccoli. Our bananas are just bananas. There are no additional additives, dyes, colors or preservatives added to any of our products. Except, like, our cotton candy and kettle corn, we do put a little sugar in that.”

Contrary to first impressions, freeze-dried foods do not lack flavor.

“The process really amplifies the taste,” Fowler said. “You almost get a better taste of whatever ingredient that’s been freeze dried.”

Reconstituting an item is just a matter of adding water, or perhaps wine, broth, or brine to add a new, complimentary flavor to the ingredient.

Fieri’s favorite freeze-dried item, though, was probably the homemade chocolate ice cream, which typically wouldn’t be reconstituted. It would just be eaten as is.

“That’s just a really fun item,” Fowler said. “We go back to an old-fashioned ice cream that has just four simple ingredients for the base. We don’t have to have any gums or pasteurized eggs, because we can preserve it in that original ingredient state. It’s kind of reinventing the old-fashioned ice cream as well.”

The freeze-dried ice cream can also be reconstituted into a milk shake by blending with some ice.

Squaring Off

The best way to learn what can be done with freeze-dried foods, though, is just to play around with them and prepare a meal. So, Fieri had the guys square off against the girls for a little contest.

The competition is part of the episode that’s airing Friday on the Food Network.

Featuring freeze-dried foods on one of Fieri’s programs might not be what most people would expect.

After all, Fieri frequently touts the freshness of ingredients for foods he is presenting on his shows, which include “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “Ultimate Recipe Showdown,” “Guy Off the Hook” and many others.

“They grabbed a pile of products and made up two dishes,” Fowler said. “And it was wonderful. Really beautiful dishes. And what better way to educate not just local folks, but the entire country on what freeze drying can do and how you can retrofit it into your everyday meals.”

As a result of the Fieri episode, Fowler has seen a 10-fold increase in orders from his factory in Buffalo. Those requests are coming from all over the United States.

“We’ve got grocery stores from all over the country calling, wanting our product,” Fowler said. “And we’re figuring out ways to get this to folks all over the country.”

Fowler has been preparing for the onslaught for a year now.

The Cody Cattle Company

Fieri actually made quite a few stops while in Wyoming last summer, several of which Cowboy State Daily has already covered.

There was a stop at the TA Ranch as well as 307 Pizza, Sitti’s Table and Pie Zano’s

But there was also a stop at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, where Fieri and his crew of 60 were treated to an authentic chuck wagon dinner, and to The Cody Cattle Company, where they took in a high-energy Western show and an all-you-can-eat buffet that features brisket, pulled pork and chicken strips.

“It was chaos, but it was fun,” Greg Pendley, co-owner of The Cody Cattle Company, told Cowboy State Daily. “All the people you see on the show he brought to our show, so there were the film crew and audio people.”

Fieri interviewed both Pendley and his wife Ann, and he even got up on stage to play the tambourine at one point.

“That didn’t make the show, but it was fun,” Pendley said. “And then after the show, he came back to the Green Room and met the band and shared a bottle of his Santo tequila with us and signed it.”

That tequila was delicious, Pendley added. The signed bottle is now empty of all tequila, but it’s sitting in a shadow box along with a picture of Fieri and the Pendleys, and other folks who were there.

The Cody Cattle Company now carries Santo tequila so other people can try it if they’re interested.

Please Pass The Huckleberry Dressing

At the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Fieri showed up with between 60 to 65 people, and it was an impressive sight, the museum’s Ken Straniere told Cowboy State Daily.

“We did about an hour and a half exclusive tour with Guy, his family and the crew,” Straniere said. “And he just sort of wandered all over the place wherever he wanted to go. He absolutely loved the Cody Firearms Museum, and we got him hands-on with some of the items that we have in our values.”

Fieri also seemed impressed by the history of Buffalo Bill Cody.

“I don’t think he realized how famous Buffalo Bill was until (museum staff) were explaining that he was the most famous person on the planet (at the time),” Straniere said. “And so, he was really curious about some of the items we have upstairs in the Buffalo Bill Museum.”

The most popular part of the tour, though, was probably the chuck wagon dinner provided by 2 Mules Chuckwagon.

“He talked to our executive chef upstairs for a while, and I know she got a kick out of that,” Straniere said. “She didn’t make it on the episode, but our chef Romi St. John-Pollack prepared a huckleberry salad dressing especially for that day, and that dressing made it onto the show because they loved it so much.”

The huckleberry dressing is likely to begin appearing on a regular basis as part of Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s catering options and its cafe, Straniere added. That way more people can try it.

“In just the whole spirit of community. As the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all ships, and I know that will be the case now that this season has started for this program,” Straniere said. “And I hope it does have a carryover effect into next year’s tourism season and beyond for the Center of the West and all the local businesses that participated in Cody and Wyoming-wide.”

Other stops Guy made in Wyoming last year, some of which are part of the Road Trip series and some of which were part of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” include the Legerski Sausage Company in Sheridan, the Pig and The Hog mobile food truck, and Big Horn Equestrian Center and Polo Club between Buffalo and Sheridan.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.