No Passport Required, Season 2

Host Marcus Samuelsson 

Join Chef Marcus Samuelsson on an inspiring journey across the U.S. to explore and celebrate the wide-ranging diversity of immigrant traditions and cuisine woven into American food and culture.

No Passport Required, hosted and executive produced by renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson, returns for a second season on Mondays at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV. Once again, Marcus will explore six different American cities, visiting with both professional chefs and home cooks, for an in-depth look at the rich diversity of immigrant traditions and cuisines woven into American food and culture. You can also watch the series online, by clicking here.

Episodes + descriptions:

Houston airs Monday, January 27 at 9 p.m. Marcus visits Houston to learn more about food and community in the Nigerian and greater West African diaspora. Centered around the large Nigerian population but also focused on Senegalese, Ghanaian, and other West African cultures, the episode explores how West African immigrants preserve recipes and food traditions and re-contextualize them in the Houston dining scene.

Philadelphia airs Monday, February 3 at 9 p.m. Marcus  heads to Philadelphia, where he meets new friends and old, and learns more about the city’s Italian food scene. Italian-Americans have been driving food culture in the U.S. for over a century, and Philadelphia is one of the original hubs for both classic and modern Italian cuisine.

Las Vegas airs Monday, February 10 at 9 p.m. Marcus arrives in sunny Los Angeles to meet with Armenians influencing the city's food scene. Armenian food is diaspora food — the community is widespread, building homes in countries like Turkey and Syria following the Armenian Genocide.

Boston airs Monday, February 17 at 9 p.m. Marcus goes to the greater Boston area to learn more about Portuguese, Brazilian, and Cape Verdean food traditions. Marcus eats Portuguese chowder with halibut on a fishing boat, visits a Portuguese marketplace where he tries plenty of bacalhau, and later, in a home kitchen, he makes a bacalhau gratin with cheese and potatoes.