Eat the Landscape

Max Jones is a traditional food preservationist and the founder of Up There the Last, a project based in West Cork. Max’s work revolves around practices that turn the landscape into food. He believes that within each of us is an inherent superhero ability to know what’s going on in our immediate surroundings and seeks to encourage people to allow that intuition to guide our choices—particularly concerning the food we eat.

It seems like there’s not much Max can’t do: he’s a teacher, a writer, a photographer, a builder, and a craftsman—in addition to being the father of two. When we recently learned he also plays a mean guitar, we almost lost it! On this episode, we speak with Max about the true provenance of food; how a customer complaint about food cost put him on an unexpected trajectory; building the Keep with Sally Barnes; and the impact of excessive food regulations on artisanal practices.

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