Nov 18, 2021
"I thought you said this was food?" Shannon Waters found herself asking that question after someone made her an MRE in the backcountry. Shannon had been to culinary school and worked in fine dining for much of her adult life. As a hunter herself, she felt active people needed better in the field, and she was the right person to do it. Gastro Gnome was born. The Bozeman-based business has a storefront, a warm community of outdoorspeople, and many (MANY) gnomes.
2:00 Odd Fellows Bakery in Salmon, ID #gemsofthewest
3:00 "If you're not picking up rocks when you're hunting, I don't really know what you're doing."
8:00 Life story: economics + culinary school + brewery management + higher ed somehow all led to Gastro Gnome, upscale MREs for anywhere in the outdoors
13:00 Gourmet food in the wilderness is a creature comfort worth exploring - that value led to Gastro Gnome
14:00 Eating an MRE someone packed for you and feeling let down... "I thought you said this was food."
19:00 Going to Thailand to KNOW the curry-making process (pssst... it involves toasting)
20:00 Dehydrated Meals 101
21:00 Every ingredient has its own water content, which means they freeze dry differently
22:00 Gastro Gnome's Freeze-Dry 101
26:00 On the storefront in Bozeman... "People bring us a lot of gnomes" + the people-to-people vibes
33:00 Pack twice as much food as you need in the backcountry
36:00 The chemicals behind the scientifically long shelf life
40:00 @gastrognomemeals
45:00 Hunting in a team & collaborative decision-making
50:00 When you ask a friend, "Should I take this shot?" and they nod and go, "Don't worry, if it's down we'll get it out." #friendgoals
52:00 "Country Matters" by Michael Korda
55:00 "I shouldn't be doing anything else except exactly what I'm doing."
59:00 Hunting a new place with new people #winning
1:01 Tips for using bear fat in sausage
1:02 The Artemis Book Club is back! The seasonal read right now is "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver