Raw Craft with Anthony Bourdain Season 2, Episode 5: Takashi

Elizabeth Brim

Fresh off a minor jiu-jitsu ear injury, Anthony Bourdain & The Balvenie head to Penland, North Carolina to meet with Elizabeth Brim, master metalsmith and instructor at the Penland School of Crafts. Brim is one-of-a-kind in the industry and her work is noted for the creation of traditionally feminine objects created from iron. In this episode, Brim introduces an original method she developed for inflating metal.

10 min

Mats Christeen

Anthony Bourdain heads to the heart of Greenpoint, Brooklyn to meet with improvisational furniture maker, Mats Christeen. A former hockey player, turned model and owner of his small shop in Brooklyn - Foundry Wood, Mats brings a unique eye to each of his pieces. Using reclaimed wood and iron parts Mats is able to breathe new life into old materials he finds around New York City.

10 min

Rachel Rosenkrantz

Anthony Bourdain heads to Providence, Rhode Island to meet with luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz, to learn how she makes handcrafted custom guitars. Rachel left a successful career in product design to start her own small business making tailored string instruments for musicians from her home studio, Atelier Rosenkrantz.

10 min

Cobblers

Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie head to Los Angeles to meet with master cobbler, Raul Ojeda of Willie’s Shoe Service. Willie’s Shoe Service has been around since the 50’s and has been creating shoes for Hollywood films and everyday people for decades. Watch as the team constructs perfectly made custom shoes that will last a lifetime.

10 min

Max Hazan

Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie head to Los Angeles, California to meet with custom motorcycle builder Max Hazan of Hazan Motorworks. Over the years Max has cemented his position as one of the industry’s most original thinkers and a craftsman of the highest order. He builds his bikes entirely from the ground up, from sketch to finished product.

Dominique Ansel

Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie spend the day with James Beard Award-winning Pastry Chef, Dominique Ansel at his bakery in New York City. Watch as he creates a custom Hot Chocolate infused with The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Dominique takes Anthony Bourdain through his process of crafting some of his favorite famed deserts. His creation of the Cronut®, is his signature croissant-doughnut hybrid pastry, drawing lines around the block each morning. Prepare to have your mouth water.

SJC Drums with Tré Cool of Green Day

The Balvenie and Anthony Bourdain travel to the unassuming small town of Southbridge, MA. They visit SJC Drums and watch as their drum makers handcraft a custom segmented snare drum from Balvenie whisky staves, and then present the drum to Tré Cool of Green Day. Watch as Tré Cool gives the drum a spin during a live Green Day concert and get a behind the scenes peek backstage with Anthony Bourdain.