A former Enumclaw local’s new show about United States Air Force bases recently took off — and it has a twist.

Sylas Dall and Julie Kettman spent the last year traveling (perhaps, ironically, by car) from base to base not to film planes or document their history and heroes, but to explore the culture of food.

“It’s how they support the mission of each base, and what community life is there, and what their vibe is,” Dall said in a recent interview.”

The former local known for filming and directing the 2020 horror movie “They Reach” in Enumclaw.

“… It [is] taking a look at… what food is prepared, and who the chefs are, and who’s behind those uniforms,” he continued.”

Dall and Kettman — the writer for the show, called “Base Bites” — plus host Rudy Johnson (a.k.a. Rudy Jay) visited nine bases and their eateries: the United State Air Force Academy (CO), Space Force Bases Vanenberg (CA) and Peterson (CO), and Air Force bases Moody (GA), Little Rock (AR), Shaw (SC), Nellis (NV), Luke (AZ), and Travis (CA).

“We got so much information and a sense of what each location was like,” Kettman said. “… We found out that each base was really different, in terms of its mission and the culture and community that was there.”

For example, the airmen and support crew at Shaw, with their F16s fighting wings, are very fast paced.

“The have a kitchen on the flight line,” Dall said. “So people get off their [planes], go right into that thing, [and] go right back out.”

But the vibe down in Little Rock, where they fly the large C 130s, is totally different.

“They’re kind of slow when they take off, and they’re slow when they come down, and it’s kind of like that vibe,” Dall continued. “Everyone was kind of laid back.”

“It feels like a reflection from the mission,” Kettman added. “It was cohesive.”

Without any prior Air Force experience, Dall and Kettman were in for a lot of surprises during their filming, including — unsurprisingly — the fast-paced nature of an air force base, meaning the crew often had only one chance to shoot a particular scene before a plane hit the runway or a squad of parachuters landed on their heads.

While that threw the them for an inside loop, experiencing the eateries and the food served there was the highlight of the project.

A Vandenberg Space Force Base cook preparing a meal. You can see her in an upcoming episode of “Base Bites” at aflive.tv. Contributed photo

“There’s some true chefs, for sure,” Dall said, describing how the “huge” smoker at Peterson really elevates the meals at the Colorado Pizza and Sports Grill. “It was really cool to hear… how they [came] into this position and what drives them. And a lot of it goes back to teamwork and making people smile.”

One of those chefs is Maryanne Scott at the at the Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Course, who has been cooking there for three years.

“You can see the happiness on the [cadets’] faces, because they’re getting good food,” she said in the first episode, which released Oct. 17.

The 20-ish minute episodes feature not just cooks but also various air-force personnel, from cadets to senior master sergeants.

“In launching this new series, we celebrate not just the culinary delights found on our installations but the incredible men and women who serve our nation,” Gary Lott, Chief Integrated Marketing and Branding, said in a press release about the new series. “… ‘Base Bites’ is more than just a culinary journey; it’s a heartfelt tribute to the dedication of our Airmen and Guardians.”

Finally, each episode ends with a food review by Jay as he rates the first-class meals with a shy-high smile.

All he could do after eating the chicken wings at the Academy was smile and nod.

“You’re going to see more wings on Base Bites, but… the bar has been set pretty high” at Eisenhower, he said, concluding the first episode.

To watch the series, which releases new episodes every Thursday (barring holidays), head to aflive.tv.

Check out “Base Bites” at aflive.tv/series; new episodes drop Thursdays. Courtesy image