In the midst of Europe’s financial crisis, a couple of Basque food artisans still find a way to eat really, really well. Perennial Plate’s 122nd episode, “The Importance of Being Basque,” shows the people that live, work, grow, and eat on the hills that straddle Spain and France. The crew spends a few days with cider producer Egoitz Zapiain and a cheese maker Urtzi Aira Urruzola to learn about their product and the pride they take in their land.
Watch the video to see inside the cider cellar and pastoral scenes of sheep grazing. Of his farming process, Urruzola says, “It’s a different way of working the land. We don’t like to exploit the land, but rather, to live with it. The earth supporting us, and us supporting the earth.” Plus, Urruzola says that there can be a revolution if young people in Spain change their way of thinking and consuming, and begin buying local products instead of imported ones. “The crisis isn’t just economic, it’s a crisis of values,” he says.