Contact: Sammy McDavid

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two home-grown masters of food and art visit Mississippi State and Starkville on the Thursday [Oct. 19] airing of a new television series.

To air at 7 p.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, “Palate to Palette” is following chef and food writer Robert St. John and artist Wyatt Waters as they travel to six Magnolia State locations.

Thursday’s episode featuring Starkville and MSU, the second in the series, will have an encore broadcast at 10:30 a.m. Sunday [Oct. 22]. The close friends will be milking a cow and reminiscing about their first cooking-painting collaboration. Additionally, Waters learns tips for biscuit baking at The Biscuit Shop and completes a rendering of Bully, MSU’s beloved mascot.

In addition to Starkville/MSU, other stops include Biloxi, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Jackson and Oxford. The first season concludes Nov. 16, to be followed in the spring of 2018 with their excursions throughout Italy. For more on the series, visit www.mpbonline.org/palatetopalette.

“People assume it’s a show about food and art, but that’s only part of it,” said John Gibson, in announcing the new show. “It’s really about two good friends traveling Mississippi and celebrating so many aspects of our state.”

Gibson, MPB’s director of television, expressed confidence that series followers “will appreciate the view of Mississippi they get through Robert’s and Wyatt’s eyes.”

A Hattiesburg native, St. John was an MSU communication major in the early 1980s who left after a time to work at a hometown restaurant. He eventually would graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi and open a series of succesful food-service and catering establishments.

In addition to food-themed books and newspaper columns, St. John is best known for the Purple Parrot Café that was honored with five four-diamond ratings by the prestigious AAA Travel Guide—and designated as Mississippi’s best fine-dining establishment and one of the best in the South. For more, visit www.robertstjohn.com/bio.

Waters is a Brookhaven native and Mississippi College alumnus who works from a studio and gallery in Clinton. In 2010, he was recognized for lifetime achievements with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

Distinguished by bright, brilliant and saturated colors, Waters’ varied creations have captured everything from small-town establishments and religious structures to scenes of everyday domestic life. For additional biographical information, see www.wyattwaters.com.

The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation is the series’ underwriter. For more, go to www.mpbonline.org.

MSU is the state’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.