Breaking bread is traditionally a peaceful way to hear and possibly respect another person’s viewpoint over a meal. With a new series, “Breaking Borders,” Travel Channel will find out whether people from opposite sides of a conflict can have a real dinner conversation. Sight unseen, it sounds like an intriguing idea. We’ll see whether it’s good for digestion.
In the first episode, March 15 on Travel Channel, Palestinians and Israeli settlers living in the West Bank come together for a meal. Over 13 episodes, Portuguese journalist Mariana van Zeller and “Top Chef” winner Michael Voltaggio travel to various conflict zones, visit homes and host meals and conversations. Van Zeller explores local conditions and opinions as Voltaggio collects and prepares local ingredients. Consider it a culinary/geo-political adventure.
Why should Anthony Bourdain have all the fun and CNN all the ratings?
The season includes a trip to Belfast to hear Catholic Republicans and Protestant Nationalists hash out age-old grievances; travel to Cairo to hear about the country post-Arab Spring; and meals in Cyprus, Beirut and Tripoli
. — Joanne Ostrow, Denver Post TV Critic
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