‘Street Smart’ gears up for a tasty premiere

NATIONAL Geographic Channel’s “Street Smart” host Mitzi Borromeo

This July, National Geographic Channel (NGC) will premiere “Street Smart,” its first locally-produced science and culture mini-series. Consisting of three one-hour episodes, the show aspires to shed light on the complexities we encounter in our everyday lives.

“Sometimes we know everything, but there are always different layers of understanding,” said “Street Smart” producer and host Mitzi Borromeo in an interview with the Inquirer at the show’s launch last Friday. “We explore how things are affected by our culture and surroundings.”

Born to a Kapampangan mother and a Cebuano father, Mitzi was spoiled with gastronomic delights. It’s only fitting that the show’s maiden series is about food. Its first episode, “Sinisintang Chibog,” explores Filipinos’ love of eating.

“We wanted something warm and easily relatable to Filipinos. ’Di ba when we eat talagang nafi-feel mo, kinikilig ka. And sometimes love-hate naman kapag feeling mo sumosobra na. This whole tension of eating too much and staying away from it is like a romantic relationship,” Mitzi said.

In the preview of “Sinisintang Chibog,” we got to know Tania Vaca-Son and her passion for sweets; Corey Lee Wilson and vegetables; and Alex Lizot-Garcia and steaks. Then, through expert opinion and assessment from the show’s featured doctors and dieticians, we learned how the three foodies’ guilty pleasures and cravings affected their mood and overall health.

Also in the preview, we got a glimpse of Mitzi enjoying a food trip to Binondo, visiting specialty shops and eating fish balls from a street vendor. Every once in a while, Mitzi’s persona transformed into what she called her “corny alter ego,” who delivered cheeky food metaphors in a deadpan manner: “Ang pansit ay pag-ibig — minsan matamis, minsan madulas, minsan panis.”

Meanwhile, the next two episodes in the food series promises to be heavier on science. “Flavors of Our Lives” tackles taste and sensory experience, while “Chibog Chismis” aims to prove or debunk various food myths.

Following the food series, “Street Smart” will be exploring other interesting topics such as technology, music, beauty and love.

Dream project

Aside from being an educational media producer and a former ABS-CBN News anchor, Mitzi has a decade’s worth of work experience with non-governmental organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines and the WWF International in Switzerland.

Working for NGC has always been one of Mitzi’s career goals. For the past two years, she and her colleagues in Creative Cross Border Productions pitched one proposal after another, until they finally got the approval of NGC executives in Singapore and in the US.

“Street Smart” is a dream project for Mitzi. Despite the pressure of living up to NGC’s strict standards, Mitzi said that she enjoys every bit of the production process because she always learns and discovers new things along the way.

“I write, edit, host, produce and find people to interview,” she said.

“The important thing about having local productions is that we’re able tell stories from a Filipino perspective,” she explained. “Kadalasan kasi, most science shows are from the UK or US.”

Even if teleseryes, variety shows, and talent searches are the trends today, Mitzi is confident that “Street Smart” can provide something refreshing to the Filipino audience. “Hindi lang dapat puro sensationalism, hindi lang puro chismis. We’re like, ‘O, ito naman para sa isip natin,’” she said.

Since NGC is only seen through cable television, “Street Smart’s” initial audience will most likely be the upper and middle classes. But the good news is that there are plans to make NGC more accessible to everyone.

“We want to bring this to the masses. NGC will be partnering with free television, so eventually, everybody can watch the show,” Mitzi said.