John's Incredible Pizza

Hello CQ Fans,



Recently we have received several letters asking us to do a show about pizza. Many of you want to know how it is made. Well.... ask and you shall receive :) This week we did a shoot at John's Incredible Pizza and learned all about how they make this favorite dish. They gave the CQ crew access to all of the behind the scenes action. We literally started from scratch, beginning with the dough making process, to the baking and then to the eating (truly my favorite part). Did you know that there are 6 ingredients that go into dough? Can you name them?

One thing that I learned about myself is that I am surprisingly good at tossing dough. I think I surprised everyone around me, but I knew I could do it. Not a single bit of dough hit the floor. Yes!!!

The CQ crew even got to develop our very own Curiosity Quest pizza. We each added our own choice of topping. It turned out to be a garlic pesto pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, canadian bacon, olives, and a quarter of the pizza had jalepenos, at Brad's request. It was delicious. I think John should seriously consider adding it to their menu :) If you ever go, you should see if they will make it for you. The only problem was that I piled the toppings on so high that the pizza couldn't cook completely right. But we didn't care. It was fabulous!

Anyway, we had a blast and really appreciate John's Incredible Pizza allowing us to mess up their kitchen and learn all about pizza. At John's Incredible they don't just make pizza though. Aside from their pizza, I fell in love with their cinnamon rolls. I won't disclose how many I ate, but let's just say it was far too many :) My sweet tooth definitely got the best of me, as it usually does.

This show will be airing this spring, but to get just a small taste of it I have included a couple minutes of behind the scenes footage. You can see how much fun we really have on these shoots. My crew rocks!




Stay Curious!
~Joel

Happy New Year!

Hey everyone, Happy New Year to you all! What is my New Year's resolution you may ask? It is to try to blog more often. I vow to do a better job of letting all of our fans know what Curiosity Quest is up to.

We are already 2 weeks into 2010. Where is the time going? Well, for the staff of Curiosity Quest it is flying by quickly. Before I get into what is up and coming, let me highlight some of our latest quests.

December was a very busy month for us. We shot 3 episodes. We first went to the Red Rock Climbing Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I learned all about indoor rock climbing. Let me tell you, I had a blast. Our co-host, and manager of the facility, Bill McLemore was kind enough to show us the ropes, literally :) I learned all about the art of tying knots, a vital skill in this business, as well as the steps of belaying. The biggest challenge of the day? Climbing at a 45 degree angle. Bill made it look so easy, but for me it was ridiculously difficult, and if I am to be honest, unsuccessful. Oh well, a host has to be humble right?


December also took the CQ crew to the Orange County Fire Authority in Southern California where I had the distinct honor of learning how firefighters are trained. Ok, so nearly every little boy dreams about being a firefighter right? Well, I was no exception. So, it was like living out a childhood fantasy, well, ....... except it was much harder than it was in my fantasy :) I always knew that being a firefighter was hard work, but I have a renewed respect for how truly difficult this job is. What they put their bodies through is truly remarkable. By the end of the shoot, I was exhausted. I don't know, .... maybe there is a career change in my future? All of the firefighters that were training me said that I did a great job, but I am sure that they were just trying to make me feel better about the fact that I was completely out of breath. Ha, ha!

Our last shoot of the year took us to Snow Summit Mountain Resort, in California where I learned how they keep a mountain in prime skiing conditions in the warm California sunshine. I learned how snow is made. We have had to start some shoots early, but this was, by far, the earliest shoot we have ever done. We started at 2:30 a.m. on the mountain. Yes, we were tired and freezing, but surrounded by beauty. There is nothing like watching the sunrise on the mountain. This was no ordinary shoot. I got to play! Snowball fights, jumping in the snow, sliding on my stomach and snowboarding. Ahhhhh, I love my job.

Our new, exciting season starts airing, here in California, in February and around the nation in the Summer. Look for our first episodes on how arena floors are changed  and snowmaking. Can't wait to share these awesome shows with you.

Thank you for all the hundreds of letters that we get every month that continue to inspire me and my crew and puts us on the path for incredible quests. We couldn't do it without you.

Keep writing. We are looking for "green" ideas right now. We would like to find letters that think outside of the box. We have focused a lot on recycling, but we are now ready to tackle bigger and better ideas of "going green". There are so many ways out there to help our planet. What are you curious about?

In the meantime,
Stay Curious

~Joel

Guide Dogs for the Blind

Hey everyone. Curiosity Quest is in full swing as we film new episodes. We have been traveling the country and working hard to make sure that we are getting the answers to your quests.

One of our recent quests brought us to San Rafael, California (just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge). We had the honor of touring the national headquarters of Guide Dogs for the Blind. I had the pleasure of meeting the valuable staff and trainers that educated me about how these amazing dogs are raised. Did you know that, at this particular facility, the puppies are born and they live there for 8 weeks where they are socialized with people and other dogs? They just get to be puppies. Adorable puppies, may I say? Most of the guide dogs are labs or golden retrievers. After 8 weeks they move to the homes of a volunteer where they will live for about a year and they become a puppy in training. After the year, the dog returns to begin official training to become a Guide Dog for the Blind. They will start to work with a trainer and will learn commands, how to keep their handler safe, and manage obstacles. Did you know that the dog is not leading the handler? The dog's roll is not to lead, but to keep the handler safe and be the guide to the handler's destination.

One of the highlights of the shoot was having the opportunity to be blindfolded and have Cherry, a yellow labrador, guide me through an obstacle course. Without my sight, my senses were heightened and I had to put my complete faith in Cherry to keep me safe. As you will see on this wonderful episode, Cherry kept me away from all obstacles.

The impression that I got was that everyone that works at Guide Dogs for the Blind loves what they do. Just walking through their offices I noticed how almost every employee had a dog sitting next to them at their desk. They love the animals and the people they assist.

The people that we interviewed that were blind, said that their lives changed for the better when they got their dog. The dog is not only their guide, but when the dog is not working, he/she is their companion.

I was touched by the people and amazed by the animals. I can't wait to share this episode with you. We will keep you posted as to when it will air.

In the meantime, keep writing your letters. We look forward to hearing from you.

Stay Curious

~Joel

This Week's Winners!

We have two more winners of our Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs prize package. This week's first letter came to us from Lola, 7 years old, from Wilmington, North Carolina. She wrote,

"Dear Curiosity Quest
I'm curious about how you make gummy worms. Are they really worms?
Lola"

Lola, How did you know that gummy worms are one of my favorite candies? I wonder how they are made too. Did you know that the candy company Trolli came out with the gummy worm in 1981. Gummy worms remain one of the top selling gummy items today.

Our next letter came to us from David, 6 years old, from West Covina, California. David wrote,

"Hi i'm a new kid of yours. I watch your show sometimes and I'm curious about marshmallows.
How do they make them."

David, one of my favorite things to do with my family is roast marshmallows in our fire pit at home. I hope that we can do a show on marshmallows soon, but in the meantime, did you know that Americans buy 90 million pounds of marshmallows each year, about the same weight as 1,286 gray whales. That is astounding! I am sure a couple of pounds of those are eaten at my house :)

Thank you to both of you for you letters. Congratulations!

If you would like your chance to win a Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs prize package, go to CuriosityQuest.org and click the "send us on a quest" link and tell us what you are curious about. Supplies are running out fast. We look forward to hearing from you soon. In the meantime:

Stay Curious

~Joel

Source: http://www.farleysandsathers.com and mallowmaster.com

Beautiful Wisconsin

Hey Guys! I just got back from the beautiful state of Wisconsin. What a trip we had. Thanks to your letters, we kicked off our first shoot learning how cranberries are harvested. This will go down as one of the shoots that was the most fun. Believe it or not, it snowed on us the entire shoot, but it did not damper our spirits. The good folks at Hableman Brothers Cranberry, Russell Rezin and Son's Cranberry Company and the Cranberry Discovery Center were incredibly kind and welcoming. We learned so much and had an absolute blast. Did you know that there are only 5 states in the country that grow cranberries? They are Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

After the cranberries, we spent the next few days learning how to make a variety of cheeses. The Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese showed us how cheese is made starting with milking the cows to making Le Freres and Petite Freres Cheese. From the Klondike Cheese Company we learned how to make Feta Cheese. Chalet Cheese Cooperative showed us how to make Limburger cheese from Master Cheesemaker Myron Olsen. And at Roth Kase USA we learned how to make Gruyere cheese. Did you know that they make over 600 kinds of cheese in Wisconsin alone? What a whirlwind trip. I have to say that I think my favorite of the four cheeses is the Gruyere, but I came back with a tremendous appreciation and an adventurous spirit when it comes to cheese.

This is a busy time for Curiosity Quest. We are currently filming 3-4 shows a week. We are having so much fun though. Tonight we will be heading to the Citizen's Bank Arena to learn how they change the floors after a basketball game and get it ready for a hockey game. It should be awesome!

Thank you to all of you for your continued support. Stay tuned for this weeks "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" prize package winners. In the meantime:

Stay Curious

~Joel

This Week's Winners!

We have two winners this week for our Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs prize package. Our first letter comes to us from Sara, 8 years old, in Los Angeles, Ca. She wrote:

"Dear Joel, How do they make flutes?" Thank you Sara. I would love to learn how flutes are made. Did you know that the flute is the oldest known wind instrument, dating back to the 9th Century B.C. Isn't that amazing? The modern flute that we see today was developed in the 1830's by Theobald Boehm.

Our next prize winner is Shaina, 8 years old, from Ontario, California. She wrote:

"Dear Joel, I would like to know how they make scooters." That is an awesome question Shaina. I would like to know as well. Did you know that the Razor Scooter was invented by Gino Tsai? He owned a large bicycle factory and claimed that his legs were too short to get around the factory efficiently. He, therefore, updated the old fashioned scooter into the Razor, that we all know and love today, so he could get around faster. Cool Huh?

Thank you and Congratulations to both of our winners. If you would like to have a chance to win a "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" prize package, go to our website at CuriosityQuest.org, click on the "Send Us On a Quest" link, and submit your letter.

We look forward to hearing from all of you.

Stay Curious

~Joel

Sources: http://inventors.about.com: www.flutehistory.com

Prize Winner

Congratulations to Kayla Morgart from Dixon, Missouri! She is our first winner of a "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" prize package. Kayla was automatically entered into our contest when she submitted her quest letter. Kayla wrote,

"Dear Joel, My birthstone is diamond. I would like to know everything about diamonds. Where do they come from, how much are they and where can I get them?

Sincerely, Kayla

P.S. Can you get me a diamond on your quest?"

Did I mention Kayla is only 9? A girl who knows what she wants :) I think this is an awesome idea. I am sure that my wife and daughter would agree as well.

Thank you Kayla and congratulations again.

If you would like to be entered to win a prize package, simply send us on a quest. Go to CuriosityQuest.org, click the "Send us on a quest" link, and submit your letter.

We look forward to hearing from you. Maybe it will be your letter that we choose next.

In the meantime, Stay Curious

~Joel