Wasn’t it just three days ago that I bemoaned the absence of any online video or photos from James Beard’s famous TV commercial for Heckers flour? Well, it might not have existed then, but it exists now.

That’s because Elizabeth Federici and Kathleen Squires have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their documentary America’s First Foodie: The Incredible Life of James Beard, and their fundraising video includes footage from that ad, starting at :31 below.

You might ask, why is Beard holding a bag of Ceresota flour there, when the other day I showed you a screen grab of him holding a bag of Heckers flour? Turns out it’s a regional thing, and according the the Heckers/Ceresota FAQ—

Heckers Flour is sold in upstate New Jersey, New York and the New England states. Ceresota is sold in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, lower New Jersey, greater Philadelphia and Wisconsin.

—so two different commercials must have been shot for the same company.

Whether Beard pitched for Ceresota or Heckers, what matters is—this is a worthy Kickstarter campaign. And for the next 28 days, you can donate here.

Internet, you have disappointed me.

Wait … let me back that up a bit.

I’m not sure exactly when I fell in love with James Beard. Perhaps it was in the early ’70s while reading his wonderful American Cookery, in which he went off on a rant about how today’s chickens (well, the chickens of 40 years ago) just weren’t what they used to be—

Few have the delicate, delicious flavor of the old barnyard chicken, which may not have been raised so pristinely and plucked so cleanly but tasted of chicken and had excellent texture. … They come to the market uniform in size, uniform in color, and uniform in lack of real flavor. They require a good deal of seasoning to give them any character, and they fail to produce a rich broth.

I loved that curmudgeonliness! Beard’s commentary surrounding the recipes were (and continue to be) as interesting as the recipes themselves.

But that’s not what brings me here today. (more…)