21 minute read
Flat-Out
Adrian Halter talks collaboration with author Jenn Sharp, restaurant recommendations, and more
hannah eiserman
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a&c writer
Adrian Halter, a University of Regina grad with a BFA in Film and Video Production, met Jenn Sharp in 2018 while they were both working at Agribition. After they started collaborating on another project, they got to talk about the idea for Flat-Out Food. “I had already kind of had this idea for a food documentary that followed just one ingredient from how it’s grown, to how it’s used, to like, chefs using it,” Halter says. The idea was to “focus on the ingredient and not on the people behind it.”
“[Jenn] started telling me about her book and all the stories,” Halter continues, “and I was like, you know, I have this idea about a documentary that focuses on one ingredient, and you have all these people that you have interviewed for your book, and all these amazing stories…I realized what my idea was missing was the people behind these ingredients.”
Halter knew he liked the documentary format from his time at the university, making his first short film post-grad in 2016. He says his passion has “grown and grown” since then. Flat-Out Food combines one of Halter’s other passions: food. “I’ve always been a huge fan of cooking shows and food documentaries of all sorts,” he says. “The climate and the appetite (no pun intended) has grown so much in the last five-six years…now you find documentary everywhere, on all the streaming platforms.”
His company, Halter Media, has three full-time employees, while the show has a production crew of seven. He and Sharp cowrite and co-produce the episodes. Halter directs all the episodes alongside the director of photography, Adam Burwell. The team features three other University graduates: Preston Kanak, a camera operator, Joel Tabak, a camera assistant on the show, and Kaitlyn Schropp, a field producer. The editor of the show is also a U of R grad.
When asked what surprised him most about filming the second season of Flat-Out Food, Halter says it really still comes down to the ingredients. “These ingredients are in your grandma’s garden or your garden,” he says, “things you don’t think about. Maybe you go to the farmer’s market and they’re there, but these people and these chefs are taking these ingredients, they’re changing them and elevating them into something you would never, never imagine. And I think that’s pretty wild.”
The show has also given Halter experiences he could never have expected. “When we filmed in 2020,” he says, “I had never had a chanterelle mushroom. Never seen one, never touched one, never ate one...the best ones in the world come from Saskatchewan, and that’s pretty cool...they smell like an apricot, and if you eat them raw they taste kind of peppery, but if you cook them that spiciness goes away again. It’s the most amazing mushroom that I’ve ever had.”
What Halter wishes people to know about the Saskatchewan food scene is that “(t)here’s so much variety and so much creativity…a lot of really talented people in our province and (the show) showcases that to promote Saskatchewan and the food artisans.” When asked
about what he’d say to folks who are hesitant about exploring, Halter says “it’s not just the restaurant scene” that people should reconsider exploring, “it’s the province as a whole.”
“People are really quick to want to go travel somewhere else because they’re like ‘oh, it’s more exotic, or there’s better restaurants, and there’s more to see.’ Our province…being so big, you know, you go from the boreal forest to the grasslands to the lakes to Cypress Hills – this place that shouldn’t exist with jack pines that grow in the middle of the prairie…you go to the northeastern part of the province where the roads are built through rock cliffs and there’s so many amazing things to see, and you know, that also goes for the restaurants. There’s so many
amazing restaurants where people should go, experiment, and try something that maybe they haven’t tried before. And I think the thing that’s so special about those restaurants is they’re also, like just by the nature of the way they do the work, they’re using ingredients that are close to home. It’s like a really true taste of Saskatchewan.” Halter thinks all the restaurants in Flat-Out Food are worth a try, but he also suggests The Sky Café and Luna Kitchen and Bar here in Regina. “The best breweries in Saskatchewan are in Regina,” in his opinion, “but there’s lots across the province.” In Saskatoon, he recommends Hearth, Primal, and Odla. If you’re interested in getting out of the city and going a bit rural, he suggests Solo Italia in Ogema, The Grotto
in Vibank, or Harvest Eatery in Shaunavon. Mable Hill in Nipawin was featured in the premiere episode of season two, which he also recommends for after a day at Tobin Lake.
One thing I found fascinating and beautiful about Flat-Out Food was that the crew really seemed to consider the implications of a docu-series following ingredients grown on Saskatchewan land. The third episode of the first season, “ohtâpamihowin,” discusses the issue of Indigenous food sovereignty. Halter does say, however, that it wasn’t their intention to highlight that issue. The documentary “really becomes the story of the people.”
“In [that episode] we didn’t have a goal” Halter says. “Diana Bird happens to be an Indigenous food sovereigntist, and that’s the story that she wanted to tell…It’s really more about opening it up to the people that are participating.” It’s certainly an issue the producers wanted to be conscious of. “Being a White male in Saskatchewan of settler ancestry, it’s not my place to tell these stories,” but he adds, “I do have this vehicle to give other people to tell their own stories.”
The season premiere features some Métis people from Île-àla-Crosse, one of whom, Jordan Burnoff, is “an incredible advocate for not only her community, for Métis people, but for Indigenous sovereignty when it comes to energy,” Halter says. “We do know that we need to try to represent all the people in our province with this show, and we try our best to reach urban and rural centres but also Northern communities as well.”
The first episode of the new season of Flat-Out Food premiered on February 23, but you can watch season one on the CityTV website and catch new episodes on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. CST.
– Adrian Halter
Michelle Berg That’s pretty for a dead thing.
Michelle Berg Watch out for the mealworms, guys.
Sims 4 fans angered by broken new game pack
Dinosaur918 via Wikimedia This Sims diamond is as low quality as their new game pack.
jorah bright
a&c writer
On February 23, the Sims 4 team dropped a brand-new game pack called “My Wedding Stories.” When the trailer was released in early February, Sims fans were excited to finally have a change to weddings. They hoped that weddings would be less buggy, and guests would stop standing right in front of the arch your sims were getting married at. Instead, they got the worst Sims pack to ever be released. Even worse than “Journey to Batuu,” that one Star Wars game pack that still doesn’t make any sense. And yes, worse than “My First Pet Stuff” which includes almost no objects and requires a $50 DLC (downloadable content) to play.
“My Wedding Stories” is horribly broken, full of bugs and glitches. Before the pack was released for the public, it was given to a group of content creators known as EA Game Changers. For the first time, the Game Changers had to state in all their videos about the pack that it was not final software, and all the Game Changers swiftly realized it was because the game is barely playable.
Let’s break down what’s wrong with “My Wedding Stories.”
To start, the cakes don’t work right and are not great in practice. Some cakes only have eight slices, while others have 12. The cakes ingame look massive, yet only serve 12 sims. What’s even worse is the shelf-life of the wedding cakes. Regular cakes in the game last for 24 sim hours – wedding cakes last twelve. When it takes your sims 16 hours to get married because the pack doesn’t work, the cake expires by the time you get to it – and that’s if you can even drag the cake into your inventory if you made it at home. In the trailer, they made it appear like when you did a cake tasting, your sims would respond negatively or positively so you knew which one to get – but they don’t do that. They have no opinions on the cake, and that’s not the first instance of the trailer being different.
In the trailer, they show that everyone will take their seats and sit down. This is a big deal for weddings because sims are always standing around and talking with each other instead of sitting down for the ceremony. It’s a huge piece of the pack, and it doesn’t work. Sims refuse to take their seats. A few will, but not enough for it to work. Sims still talk with each other and do push-ups in the middle of the aisle. Your guests refuse to do what they’re told. This is just one example of ceremony activities not working. The spousal kiss is broken. When your sims kiss, their faces don’t touch; it’s off-putting. Sims will also get stuck not doing what you told them to, and then they’ll pee themselves in the middle of your wedding.
One of the options in planning a wedding is setting a dress code…but not one guest will follow it. They all just show up in their everyday wear. Before “My Wedding Stories,” sims would at least show up in their formal wear, but not anymore. Speaking of clothing, there just isn’t any for men. For women, there’s a huge array of dresses; for men, there are less than 10 options.
And say you bought the pack, realized it’s broken, but still want to have a base game wedding. Too bad, you can’t. The pack completely replaces the wedding event, and all your weddings will be broken.
Modders are doing their best to fix “My Wedding Stories,” but players on console can’t access those mods and their games are just broken. EA needs to fix “My Wedding Stories,” but who knows how long that will take. The pack simply doesn’t work. They knew the pack didn’t work before release because Game Changers made videos about it, yet here we are with a broken pack.
On Breaking Bad spin-off Slippin’ Jimmy
Is the spin-off of a spin-off just too many spins?
amir said contributor
Breaking Bad is consistently rated by both critics and fans as one of the greatest television shows of all time, with its compelling plot and captivating characters enthralling audiences since its debut in 2008. After an electrifying and satisfying ending in 2014, not to mention a spin-off and a movie that (hot take) was illogical and not necessary to the show’s storyline, showrunner Vince Gilligan has decided to continue the expansion of the hit television show’s universe in the most logical way: by creating a spin-off…of the show’s spin-off.
Slippin’ Jimmy, an animated spin-off of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, is set to debut this spring. The show will follow Jimmy McGill (better known as Breaking Bad supporting character and Better Call Saul protagonist Saul Goodman) and his friends getting themselves into all sorts of wacky shenanigans in the Chicago suburbs. With Rick and Morty animators and Better Call Saul writers collaborating on this show to produce a parody of beloved cartoons like Fat Albert and Peanuts while remaining faithful to the source material, this series is set to be, for lack of any other better terminology, an interesting spin-off.
Having read that and realized how many times the term “spin-off” was written, one question arises: is this show really necessary?
Slippin’ Jimmy aims to showcase Saul Goodman’s troubled past, but here’s the thing: the already-existing Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul, exists for precisely the same reason. It brilliantly showcases Saul Goodman’s troubled past, both as a child and as an adult, and expands his character, elevating him from the goofy comic relief character he was in Breaking Bad to a tragic and multi-dimensional anti-hero. Giving him one spin-off, and one with the same tone as Breaking Bad at that, is one thing – but a spinoff of the spin-off? That seems a bit excessive.
Saul Goodman’s childhood has already been described in enough detail. We know everything we need to know about Saul: that he was a scammer who swindled people in his neighborhood, including his own father, simply because he felt like it. Using Better Call Saul to showcase his childhood has helped fans understand the tragic character of Saul Goodman in greater depth. A comedic cartoon telling the exact same story but with slapstick humor and parodies? That cheapens not only his character but the dramatic nature of the franchise as a whole. It may be soon to say definitively, but judging by the promotional materials released thus far, this contributor is not impressed.
This trend of unnecessarily expanding fictional universes as a marketing gimmick for subscription services like Netflix and Disney+ is a disconcerting one. Star Wars, DC, and Jurassic Park are among the prominent franchises that have gone down this road, and it seems that Breaking Bad’s once-infallible legacy is being trodden upon for commercial benefit, with Slippin’ Jimmy set to make its debut exclusively on AMC+. It’s sad to say that, as a die-hard Breaking Bad fan who has seen the show over a dozen times, I’ve had enough of the expansion and want the franchise to end.
sports & health
editor: katie mutschler sports@carillonregina.com the carillon | mar 3 - mar 9, 2022
Food for thought: interview with dietitian Ken Mullock
We all need to eat, so let’s talk food
katherine mutschler
s&h editor
I was doing work (by which I mean I was scrolling on Instagram) one evening and I noticed Ken Mullock, an old colleague of mine, was going to be doing a livestream cooking class with @ urallkinected on Instagram. I love food, and I love talking with old colleagues, so I took this opportunity to watch the stream and hear about Mullock’s work, philosophies on food, and his upcoming goals.
First, I watched the livestream Mullock put on. The recipe was for a feta cheese and lentil quesadilla. When the ingredients were introduced, Mullock would explain the health benefits of the food. Along with the health benefits, Mullock explained that food should be enjoyable. He would give foods we could substitute in the recipe to make it to our own taste. “I am a fan of recipes, but also a fan of not following the recipe,” Mullock stated. When talking about kombucha, he said “people act like kombucha should be something you consume, but if you don’t like it, there are many other things that are good for your gut health.” Overall, it was a fun experience. My friends heard me in the practice hallway asking them to help me answer the questions Mullock asked during the chat. After the live stream, I talked to Mullock about his philosophies on food and health.
My first question for Mullock was about his inspiration for becoming a dietitian in the first place. Mullock explained that he has always been intrigued by food: “everybody eats, and everybody needs nourishment, and we all get that in different ways.” He then went on to explain that he was inspired by his own journey of working with a dietitian when he was younger.
Food is also a way he can be creative: “I love to create things and use a fun approach, but I also really love science and health. What I like about being a dietitian is you can combine those things into a specialized career.” He explains every dietitian has a different approach, and being a dietitian is like teaching. Mullock also loves the education aspect of his social media, as he can teach people in an untraditional setting. I then asked Mullock how being a dietitian has changed his philosophy on food. He explained that before he became a dietitian, he was excited for the nutrition aspect of food. He said, “I [thought I was] going to learn everything about nutrition, and what the healthiest foods are.” As he went through the dietitian program, he realized there is no one “healthiest food,” as everyone has different needs and food has different benefits depending on what it is. “Food has so many roles in our lives beyond the nutrition it provides,” Mullock stated. He then explained food holds traditions, culture, social aspects, and even enjoyment. Nutrients and all of these aspects are important. He said, “It is important to appreciate everything food can do for you.” For Mullock, he is excited that food brings people together. Food is something we all have in common.
One of the things I noticed on Mullock’s Instagram is that he has the term “trans-health navigator” in his bio. Mullock explained,
Ken Mullock
SAY CHEESE! (Get it? Because it is an article about food).
The position also means working with different medical fields to ensure that transgender people are getting the best care possible. Although this position is not focused on food, it focuses on general health. Mullock explained that in his training to be a dietitian, he learned a lot about health as a
whole, and that we need to meet the patient where they are at for their needs to be met. Now that Mullock is officially a registered dietitian, I asked him if he has any goals moving forward. Mullock accepted a job as a clinical dietitian in hospitals. He said, “I am just loving where life is taking me as a dietitian. As I was going through school, I wasn’t sure what my career path would look like. I would think, ‘What if I don’t find a job,’ or don’t fall into something I love doing. Everything is working well, and I am loving the experiences I am having, and I love the way I get to help in so many different areas.” It is an exciting time to be
– Ken Mollock
“I am a non-traditional and non-conventional dietitian. I do things that dietitians may not have traditionally done. One of those roles is a trans-health navigator.” As a trans-health navigator, Mullock helps transgender people find different health services. This will help people find hormone therapy or gender affirming surgeries. a dietitian, as the world is starting to see food in different ways. When I mentioned to Mullock that I have noticed that fitness communities online are starting to see food as something to enjoy, he said “I’m a big fan of saying nobody should ever feel bad about anything they’re eating.”
We talked a little near the end about our own relationships with food. Mullock and I were both vegan for a bit, and both struggled with the idea of starting to introduce animal products into our eating again due to the social guilt. Mullock said that he had to remember his philosophy on food, and if he said no one should feel bad, he had to follow that as well. People can get offended, but at the end of the day it is our own decisions. Being 100% vegan isn’t for everyone. Mullock’s philosophy is that we should eat foods that connect us to culture, family, and enjoyment.
Mullock gave us a lot of food for thought in this interview. As someone who has lived through seeing extreme diets online, it was nice to talk to a dietitian with such a holistic view on health, food, and culture. You can follow Ken Mullock on Instagram at Ken.Dietitian, and you can rewatch the recipe livestream on urallkinected. I hope this gives everyone a new perspective on food. Go out, find the foods you love, and eat the foods you enjoy.
NBA All-Stars wrap up
This year’s event was a slam dunk
amir said contributor
After much hype and build-up, the 2022 NBA all-star game was played on February 20 in Cleveland, Ohio. This was the 71st edition of the event and a commemoration of the National Basketball Association’s 75th anniversary. The prelude to the game was filled with anticipation and drama around issues, like the James Harden trade and Kevin Durant’s injury status. With a historic spot in the NBA timeline and an entertaining prelude, the game made up for the excitement of fans by undoubtedly being one for the books.
To catch up on the highlights of the game, I would recommend reading my previous two articles on the subject; this one is the conclusion of my 2022 NBA all-star game article trilogy, and the significance of the event is infinitely more impactful with an understanding of the lead-up.
As a quick recap, the eastern and western conference teams were respectively captained by Brooklyn Nets small forward and twelve-time all-star Kevin Durant, who was unable to play due to injury, and Los Angeles Lakers small forward and eighteen-time all-star LeBron James. Teams Durant and LeBron had the following rosters:
Durant starters: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers; Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics; Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors; Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks.
Durant reserves: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets; Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns; Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz; Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls; Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks; Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs; Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves; Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors.
LeBron starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks; Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls; Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets.
Keith Allison via Wikimedia
Think fast!
“The prelude to the game was filled with anticipation and drama around issues… the game made up for the excitement of fans by undoubtedly being one for the books.
– Amir Said
Lebron reserves: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat; Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks; Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers; James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers; Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz; Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns; Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors.
As a diehard Raptors fan, seeing Fred VanVleet on the court for his first all-star appearance was incredibly exciting; with 21.6 points per game and an overall outstanding performance both as part of the Raptors and as an NBA player this season, his selection was well deserved – he certainly earned it. While he only played for nine minutes as a reserve, he excelled on the court and showcased the skill that earned him a spot on the team: he earned six points, two rebounds, and three assists, which, as a first-time All-Star from an under-represented team sharing the court with NBA superstars like Luca Dončić, Jimmy Butler, and LaMelo Ball for just nine minutes of playtime, is no small feat and deserves recognition.
The game’s highlight, without a doubt, was Stephen Curry. With a hard-earned reputation as the NBA’s best three-point shooter, he showed everybody that after a relatively recent dip in his performance this season, he was still on top. He earned a whopping 50 points for Team LeBron. On top of that, he broke five allstar records: most points in a single quarter with 21, most 3-point goals made both in a game and in a half with 16 and 8 respectively, and most 3-point shots attempted both in a game and in a half with 27 and 16 respectively. It’s no surprise that he earned the coveted MVP title for the game. Under the leadership of LeBron James, who had won the award three times prior, it’s no surprise that Team LeBron handily defeated Team Durant with a final score of 163-160. It was a close game, with 10 seconds left on the buzzer when LeBron made the game-winning fadeaway shot.
Both teams played admirably and the event raised considerable funds for charity: Team Durant earned $300,000 for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Team LeBron earned $450,000 for The Kent State University I Promise Scholars Program, and Stephen Curry personally vowed to donate a grand total of $108,000 to Metro Cleveland Public Schools based on his game performance.
With the event giving fans a historic game while showcasing the talent of some of the best basketball players of all time and raising both funds and awareness for important causes, it’s safe to say that the 2022 all-star game was a resounding success. This contributor (and millions of fellow NBA fans) can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s game. Hopefully we’ll get more Raptors representation!
