The “What If” series on Nebraska Public Media features Nebraska entrepreneurs and Nebraska stories. The day Mike Tobias at Nebraska Public Media invited me, the entrepreneur of Buzz Savories LLC, to film a Nebraska Public Media ”What If “video production, I felt delighted, and at the same time, I recognized a potential for chaos. I doubted that Mike, the film crew and the “What If” audience have any idea of filming stinging bees living in a colony of 6,000 sisters. I also thought of me blending and packing gallons of Spicy Beer Mustard in the Funk School commercial kitchen with steam rolling out of the processing pans and the hazards embedded in the process. I presented Mike with a few scenarios that may occur, and he calmed my visions of disaster by saying that the film crew would be prepared and were confident of success.

I accepted the opportunity and anticipated their visit to Holdrege, then Elm Creek to meet the bees and lastly Funk School Community Center and the commercial kitchen.

The story begins with extraordinary close-up of bee behavior. The videographer, outfitted in a bee suit, laying on his stomach with a miniature camera, filmed the bees carrying pollen and nectar into the hive for unloading while the sound specialist catches the audio of the bee buzz.

Then to the Funk School Community Center commercial kitchen where viewers will see Mike blending the 9 ingredients of Spicy Beer Mustard with my 30 lb. commercial stick blender, me filling each jar with mustard, and then processing the jars in a boiling water bath and the final step, labeling the jars. The emphasis here is on the work and the processes and seeing the ingredients and the finished product.

The last scene shows me in my home kitchen demonstrating a recipe for the TikTok audience, and you will meet the lovely and skillful videographer, Michelle McCormick. Then hear my brief take on aging.

If any of this interests you, the “What If” video featuring Buzz Savories will show on April 9, 2025 at 9 pm on Nebraska Public Media, or if you are unable to watch the Nebraska Public Media film, check out Buzz Savories on YouTube and see the “What if” film on our YouTube channel. See other videos of me making marvelous eats here.

I appreciate your interest. Betty Anne at Buzz Savories