If you toured the world sampling food and wine for a living, you probably wouldn't complain, either. But for the creator and host of public TV's "Culinary Travels With Dave Eckert," his job is especially sweet because it came just as his career of 20 years seemed to be petering out. Eckert, the onetime KMBC news anchor, is host of "Culinary Travels," now seen on more than 150 PBS affiliates and making its Kansas City debut at 3 p.m. Saturday on KCPT, Channel 19. Eckert recently moved back to the Kansas City area with his family. After five years at Channel 9, Eckert accepted an offer from Chicago's WGN-TV in 1994 to headline its new morning news program. But once he arrived there, the station known as the home of Bozo the Clown turned its morning show into Bozo for Adults. Eckert, who had not been hired to clown around, was replaced. One good thing came out of that experience: a segment he created for WGN called "What's Cookin' Chicago." With the knowledge and contacts he developed, Eckert cooked up the idea for what eventually became "Culinary Travels." Eckert says his show is different from all those other PBS food programs because it tells stories not only about the people who bring the finished meals to your table, but of the farmers, fishermen and other people who bring the food to the kitchen. "In the conversations I'd had with many chefs and winemakers, they all talked about their suppliers - where they got those great day boat scallops or foraged mushrooms or salmon or cheese," Eckert said in a telephone interview from his home in Liberty. "I realized no one was doing those stories about where the food comes from and how unique or indigenous it is to a particular culture of cuisine." Likewise, Eckert said, "We don't rate the wines or give technical information on how the vines are trellised. We just tell the story of that winery." Saturday's episode takes Eckert to the French province of Alsace, along the Rhine River. Naturally there is wine sampling, and Eckert visits a renowned restaurant in the region. Other episodes take him to exotic locales like St. Moritz, Tuscany, Santiago and Maui. Not bad for a guy whose news career included stops in Terre Haute, Little Rock and Boise. Still, "Culinary Travels" is not as glamorous as it appears on camera. Eckert runs it on a shoestring and gets by with a single corporate sponsor (Spice Islands). "I do the writing, producing, hosting, directing. I plan all the trips," Eckert said. "It's a lot of work, but I don't have to hire people." In fact, just three people are putting out "Culinary Travels": the other two are his photographer and editor, John Terendy and Danielle Montana. Even better, Eckert said, they're a couple, "so they need only one room instead of two." Eckert works "twice as hard" on this show as he ever did in commercial TV, but he said the rewards are outsized: more time with his family and creative control over what viewers see. Plus, he can live anywhere he wants to. "Even though Chicago is my hometown, we chose Kansas City," Eckert said. "This is where we wanted to be." "State of Grace," Fox Family's new series about two girls growing up in the year 1965, wraps its first season at 8 tonight. I notice that Grace's mom (Faye Grant) is no longer smoking in every scene. In fact, the long cigarette holder and cancer sticks are gone completely. They shouldn't ever have been in the picture - not on a show that's aimed at impressionable pre-teen viewers. Looks like someone at Fox Family started taking the "family" part seriously. Despite the upcoming transfer of Fox Family to Walt Disney, which will rename the channel ABC Family, "State of Grace" should return. It has been renewed for a second season. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com ON THE WEB To read more about the shows mentioned in this column, go to kansascity.com and click on FYI. @ART CAPTION:Eckert hangin' out in the vineyard @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:

