Episodes

May 4, 2021

Learn About Butchering and Charcuterie with Matt Levere

Matt Levere has been a butcher since 2009, after completing an apprenticeship at the University of Arizona Meat Science and Agricultural Lab in Tucson, Arizona. He spent 40 hours per week for six months learning not only how…
April 27, 2021

Talking About Vinegar and Miso with Sarah and Isaiah of Keepwell Vinegar and White Rose Miso

Sarah Conezio & Isaiah Billington are the founders of Keepwell Vinegar & White Rose Miso. Their companies use fermentation to support the entire picture of local agriculture: fruits, vegetables, grains, seasonal summer gluts…
April 20, 2021

Learn About Eating Insects with Joseph Yoon of Brooklyn Bugs

Do you want to learn about eating insects? On this week’s Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast we have Joseph Yoon. He’s the executive director of Brooklyn Bugs, as well as the chef/owner of Yummy Eats and Dinner Echo. Joseph v…
April 13, 2021

The Uncertainty Mindset with Author and Professor Vaughn Tan

This week on the Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast, we have Vaughn Tan. Vaughn is a strategy consultant, professor at University College London, and author of The Uncertainty Mindset: Innovation Insights from the Frontiers o…
April 6, 2021

Learn About Koji and Miso with Jeremy Umansky and Rich Shih of Koji Alchemy

This week on the Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast, we have chef Jeremy Umansky of Larder delicatessen and bakery in Cleveland, Ohio, and Rich Shih, the man behind the website and social media accounts OurCookQuest. If you’v…
March 30, 2021

Pasta Making, Cooking Classes, and Growing a Following Through Instagram with Laurie Boucher of Baltimore Home Cook

On this week’s podcast, I speak with Laurie Boucher. Laurie is a self-described attorney turned pasta-preneur, and is the woman behind the Instagram account @BaltimoreHomeCook. We discuss how she got into pasta-making, and h…
March 23, 2021

Philadelphia Chef Jennifer Zavala on Birria Tacos, Food Media, Her Top Chef Experience and the Juana Tamale Pop-Up

On this week’s show, I speak with Jennifer Zavala. Jennifer is a chef in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is currently doing a pop-up called Juana Tamale out of Underground Arts. We talk about a wide range of topics including…
March 16, 2021

From NFL Cheerleader to Pop-Up Chef - Masako Morishita Brings Japanese Comfort Food to Washington D.C. with Her Pop-Up Restaurant Otabe

On this week’s show, I speak with Masako Morishita. Originally from Kobe, Japan, Masako’s family has owned and operated a bar and restaurant there for 90 years, and food has always been a part of her life, though she never w…
March 9, 2021

Pastry Chef and Author Lisa Donovan Talks About Writing Her Memoir, the Restaurant Industry and Chess Pie

On this week’s show, I speak with Lisa Donovan. She’s a pastry chef and James Beard award winning writer. She’s helmed the pastry kitchens of some of the most important restaurants in the country, including Husk in Nashville…
March 2, 2021

Chef Christina Pirello - Beating Terminal Leukemia Through Diet and Lifestyle, and Building the Christina Cooks Brand

On the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast this week I have chef Christina Pirello of Christina Cooks. After already losing her mother to cancer, Christina was diagnosed with terminal leukemia in her mid-20’s. Not wanting to u…
Feb. 23, 2021

Pastry Chef Bria Taylor of Killa Cakes on Big Flavors, Being a Self-Taught Baker and Starting a Business

On the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast this week I have pastry chef Bria Taylor. She’s the owner of Killa Cakes, a Washington D.C. area cake business. Trained in graphic arts, Bria has no formal training in baking. In fact…
Feb. 16, 2021

Chef and Culinary Instructor April DuBose – Teaching, Nostalgia and the Loneliness of Entrepreneurship

On the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast this week I have chef and culinary instructor April DuBose. She’s currently the culinary director and instructor at Baltimore Outreach Services in Baltimore, Maryland, a nonprofit she…
Feb. 9, 2021

Research Chef Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen - Cultural Appropriation, Staging and Cooking Nigerian Food at The Stone Barnes Center

This week I speak with Philadelphia chef Shola Olunloyo. Shola has carved out a creative niche in modern cooking instruction as a consulting chef. The Studiokitchen was created as a research and idea space to support his ma…
Feb. 2, 2021

The Cooking Gene- A Discussion with Culinary Historian, Food Writer and Historical Interpreter Michael Twitty

This week, I have Michael Twitty. He's a food writer, independent scholar, culinary historian and historical interpreter personally charged with preparing, preserving and promoting African American foodways, and its parent t…
Jan. 27, 2021

The Season 2 Trailer for The Chefs Without Restaurants Podcast

Welcome to season two of the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast. I'm your host, Chris Spear. On the show, I have conversations with culinary entrepreneurs, and people in the food and beverage industry who took a different rou…
Dec. 29, 2020

Chef Charles Hunter III on Using Social Media and a Blog to Launch His Personal Chef Business

This week we speak with Charles Hunter III. He’s a personal chef, recipe developer and food blogger based in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s the owner of The Salted Table Company, an in-home catering company that prepares meals f…
Dec. 21, 2020

When Passion Doesn't Pay The Bills - Pastry Chef Ryan Dumapit

On this weeks show I have Ryan Dumapit. He has a degree in pastry arts, and food service management. But Ryan doesn’t have a singular path in the food industry. In fact, he also went to school for IT, and has worked for a po…
Dec. 14, 2020

In Pursuit of Better BBQ - Chef Alex Smith

On this week's Chefs Without Restaurants podcast, I speak with chef Alex Smith. While Alex has been in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years now, he’s only spent the last 10 years cooking. He started out in the fr…
Dec. 7, 2020

Pastry Chef Monica Glass on Exploring Opportunities Outside of Restaurants

On this week's Chefs Without Restaurants podcast, I speak with Philadelphia pastry chef Monica Glass. Upon graduating from Penn State, Monica moved to New York City to embark on a career in public relations. But after a brie…
Nov. 30, 2020

Caterer Sam Hefter Brings the Taco Party to the People

On this week's Chefs Without Restaurants podcast, I speak with Sam Hefter, the chef and owner of Hefter Catering in Kansas City. Sam's catering business focuses on upscale taco bars. We talk about how he came up with that i…
Nov. 23, 2020

A Discussion with Chef and Food Writer Amethyst Ganaway

On this week’s Chefs Without Restaurants podcast I have Amethyst Ganaway. She’s worked in the food business for more than 10 years, in both the front and back of the house. Besides being a chef, she also does food writing. Y…
Nov. 16, 2020

On the Farm - A Discussion with Photographer Aliza Eliazarov About Heritage Breed Animals and Their Portraits

On this week’s Chefs Without Restaurants podcast I have renowned photographer Aliza Eliazarov. On November 17, she has a book coming out called On the Farm: Heritage & Heralded Animal Breeds in Portraits and Stories. The boo…
Nov. 9, 2020

Vietnamese-American Chef Tu David Phu Talks About His Upbringing, His E-Commerce Food Store, and What Community Means to Him

On the podcast this week, I have chef Tu David Phu. Tu is a first generation Vietnamese-American, born and raised in Oakland, California. You might know him from season 15 of the Bravo Tv show Top Chef . He’s also a San Fran…
Nov. 2, 2020

A Conversation with Pastry Chef Kate Holowchik of Lionheart Confections

This week I speak with pastry chef, and self-proclaimed culinary renegade Kate Holowchik. After working her way through some of Boston's eclectic kitchens, she's now finding her personal voice with the launch of Lionheart Co…