Hi, I’m Peter Heinz. I am a stand-up comedian from Indiana. On stage I am known as Cornfield Bigfoot. Making people laugh is my FAV thing to do. But my second passion is great food and, of course, beer!
Three years ago I started my plant-based journey. I didn’t choose this for my health (although I will admit that has been a nice added benefit). I chose plant-based eating for the environment. I have always been environmentally conscious and tried my best to reduce my impact on our planet. I started recycling programs at 3 different workplaces, reused when possible, and went out of my way to properly recycle electronics and packing materials. When a friend pointed out that I could make a greater change with the foods I eat, I had to try it out.
I always like to be well informed, so I did tons of research. The amount of land and water dedicated to livestock farming is shocking! Did you know that alfalfa is grown solely to feed dairy cattle? In other countries forests are being logged and burned to make way for more cattle fields. And we have all heard about cow farts! The methane released from cattle farming is damaging, but pig farms also leak nitrates into soil that can find its way into our water sources. I suddenly had a mountain of sustainability issues staring me in the face.
(Obvi, do your own research, but here is a link to a credible study about my claims:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9024616/)
Going plant-based for a guy that added cheese to everything was a bit of a challenge. Seriously, I was born in Wisconsin. I think my blood was 10% curd. I used to add MORE cheese to frozen pizza. Although it was difficult, the challenge of learning to cook in a completely different way was so much fun! Over the last few years I have experimented with every different product I could find. I got way better at using spices. I learned to use products (even some vegetables) I never would have touched before. Now my favorite thing to do is cook for my friends and family. I love to feed them delicious food that they never would have tried for themselves and open them up to a way of eating that is better for the environment.
I am so excited to be launching Cooking With Cornfield Bigfoot. In this show I will make my favorite meals, tell some jokes, warn against bad products, promote good products, and make some new friends along the way. Each season of Cooking with Cornfield Bigfoot will take place in a different city. What a weird thing to say right? My producer, Marta, and I travel for a few months at a time to different cities for work. For the first season we are in Denver, CO. Check out my first video at the bottom of the page.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BEER
On top of highlighting new foods and good products, I want to put some shine on beers and breweries I love. Trying new beers from different cities is my favorite thing to do while traveling. So let’s drink to good friends, good food, good beer, and a cleaner climate.
In this intro video I am drinking one of my fav beers of all time, Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout. It is black like under the bed and has a cool brown head (see what I did there). It is more toasty than sweet, though they do release a wide variety of flavored variants that can be sweeter for those that are into that. Come have a beer with me!