After nearly 15 years working in the food industry, Deven Bora, owner of Early Bird Catering in Colchester, has been handed an unexpected opportunity: filming a pilot episode for Eat This TV, an online network featuring culinary content. The chef has now launched a GoFundMe hoping to bring the project to life. 

The 30-year-old started his journey in the food industry at age 16, working in a fast-food restaurant. At first, he was just trying to earn some money, but as he continued working at sandwich and bagel shops, restaurants like Applebee’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, and catering events, he became more interested in the industry.

“I got to either decide to finish college, or I got to go in a different direction, which was take the experience that I did have, working in the food industry and try and make something of that. So that’s the path I went down,” he said.

That’s when Bora started the Community Kitchen Academy, a nine-week course to learn culinary skills, including fundamentals of food safety and sanitation, labeling and repurposing food to avoid waste.

Community Kitchen Academy tries to gather produce from grocery stores, farms and food service companies to prevent waste, and after students have used the ingredients to prepare meals, the academy distributes them to shelters and meal sites.

A study conducted by the University of Vermont in 2022 showed that 2 in 5 Vermonters experienced food insecurity. 

“It was kind of nice that I was able to have that opportunity but also give back to the community,” Bora said.

In March 2022, Bora decided to start a catering business. He began by catering for small events, like bachelorette parties and family dinners, while working at Goodwater Brewery. Then he was subcontracted to provide meals for local army bases, allowing him to focus on his business full time and open a physical location in Colchester.

Early Bird Catering specializes in various cuisines, including Italian, Greek, American and Mexican dishes. Bora also uses seasonal produce from local farms whenever possible.

“We’ve started featuring a fall seasonal menu for weddings this year,” he said. “For the months of August through October, we have specifically catered menus that are highlighting the best of available products and produce for those months in Vermont.”

When he received a call from Eat This TV asking him to participate in a pilot episode for the show, Bora said he was surprised. 

“I didn’t sign up for anything, so I didn’t know if it was just like a spam call kind of thing,” he said. But after learning more about the network and the pilot opportunity, he got excited.

While the network will cover production costs, Bora is financially responsible for the renting the test kitchen, the ingredients for his dishes, and travel and lodging costs during the episode’s filming in New York. 

“I felt that the GoFundMe was the easiest way to help raise some of this money,” Bora said. “I really want to make the opportunity happen.” 

If the pilot receives good ratings, Bora said, the network might ask him to develop a 12-episode series.

Bora has until the beginning of July to raise enough money and confirm his participation in the program. In the meantime, he is already thinking about the recipes he wants to use in the 30-minute pilot. He is certain that he wants the dishes to showcase some Vermont ingredients and products. 

“I thought if I got the opportunity, it would be a great way to just kind of tie where I’m from into it and make it a little more special,” Bora said. “That way, in the pilot episode, I can kind of pay a little homage to Vermont.”

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – An Air Quality Alert is now in effect for roughly the northern third of Vermont until 11 PM this evening. The alert covers Franklin, Chittenden, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orleans, Washington, Caledonia, and Essex counties. If you have respiratory conditions, try to limit outdoor activities in this area.

Unlike recent Saturdays, this one will be relatively quiet. The exception will be Bennington and Windham counties, which will have rain and perhaps an isolated thunderstorm during the morning and early afternoon. Flash flooding isn’t out of the question, especially with recent rain, but the expected rainfall is less than what was expected yesterday. Up to an inch of rain is possible before it moves out early this afternoon. Elsewhere, only a few showers are expected with possibly an isolated thunderstorm. Highs will be in the 70s north, and 60s south.

High pressure will begin to build in overnight, with skies becoming mainly clear. Sunday will be a nice end to the weekend with mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s. Enjoy!

Monday will have some morning sun, then showers are expected later in the afternoon. A few thunderstorms can’t be ruled out. Tuesday looks rather wet with rain likely. Though flooding isn’t expected at this point, it’s shaping up to be a soggy day with solid rain, so our First Alert Weather Team will keep you posted. Wednesday will have some sunshine, but also scattered showers. Thursday and Friday will be dry and pleasant. Highs will be in the 70s with lows in the 50s.

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires continued to obscure Vermont skies on Friday as the Department of Environmental Conservation issued another air quality alert for the northwest portion of the state. The alert, which includes the counties of Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle, is set to end at midnight. 

An expanded alert will be issued by the agency Saturday, according to the National Weather Service office in Burlington. The air quality alert will last from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and cover the counties of Caledonia, Chitteden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orleans and Washington. 

“It’s a moderate level of pollutants, so it’s not going to affect everybody, but it’s mainly for sensitive groups like people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children,” said Peter Banacos, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service’s office in Burlington. While rain is helping to drown out the particulates, smoke that’s hovering over the St. Lawrence Valley could move into northern Vermont over the weekend, according to Banacos.

Those tiny particles within the smoke, known as fine particulate matter or PM 2.5, can get trapped in people’s lungs before entering their bloodstream, causing possible health problems. The wildfire smoke brings elevated concentrations of those particles that can be unhealthy for sensitive groups like older adults and children, pregnant people, outdoor workers and people living outside.

People with asthma should keep their relief medicine nearby, and if residents experience scratchy eyes or throat, a headache or coughing, they’re encouraged to move indoors, according to a media release from the Department of Environmental Conservation on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, the air quality for much of the state was good, and residents could enjoy outdoor activities. But in Burlington and St. Albans, the Environmental Protection Agency’s fire and smoke map indicated that the levels of PM 2.5 were above 100 on the air quality index, meaning the air was unhealthy for those sensitive groups.

The smoke has migrated from more than 200 wildfires churning through Canada, with six new fires starting Friday. Canada faces an especially severe and early start to its fire season, as more severe wildfires become more common under climate change, which is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels. While 69 fires are burning in British Columbia, more than 100 have consumed the country’s less fire-prone prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“With these wildfires so far removed from Vermont, we’re not expecting real significant issues,” Banacos said. He recalled worse conditions in 2022, when wildfires raging in Quebec brought thick, low-level smoke to Vermont that reduced visibility and increased air quality issues. “If we get fires that are closer, that could change,” Banacos said.

The worst effects are across the Great Lakes, where smoke has settled over major cities like Detroit and Toronto, but unhealthy air has traveled as far south as Florida this week.