“What do spices do?” asks Waffles, during the “Herbs & Spices” episode of the Netflix children’s cooking series Waffles + Mochi. When “Mrs. O” (former First Lady Michelle Obama) hires two puppets from the Land of Frozen Food to work in her grocery store, they must jump in a magic flying shopping cart to explore the world of fresh ingredients that wind up on her shelves.
“Spices are a huge world, because they’re not just cuisine,” spice merchant Gino Salazar explains during a scene shot at Antica Drogheria Mascari on Calle degli Spezieri in Venice, Italy. “They’re also geography, history, colors, and medicine as well. What’s beautiful about spices is that they’re liked by everybody, that’s perhaps the best thing because all mankind can relate to them.” It’s this kind of learning experience that’s propelling the “eat right” programming from Higher Ground, the film production company founded by the Obamas.
“The food we eat is the building block of a healthy life,” says Michelle Obama over email. “But unfortunately too many American families lack access to the kinds of foods that can help them build that foundation. That’s what the Pass the Love campaign is all about.”