Episodes

On this episode, we're joined by chef Pete Carvelli. Pete’s the founder of Twelve (Plants), a plant-based pop-up and personal chef business in Rhode Island. Formerly, both a photojournalist and reporter, Pete currently works as an attorney. But a desire to be a better cook led him to get his Professional Plant-Based chef certification in 2019. From there he did two successful chef collaboration dinners, and Twelve (Plants) has evolved to offering multi-course plant-based pop-ups, as well as pri...

In this episode, Chris Spear talks with Zoe Adjonyoh, the chef, writer, and entrepreneur behind Zoe's Ghana Kitchen. They discuss Zoe's journey in bringing West African cuisine to the forefront through pop-ups, her restaurant, and her acclaimed cookbook. Zoe shares insights into her multicultural upbringing and how it shaped her approach to food, as well as her mission to decolonize the food industry. They also explore topics like the importance of authenticity, the challenges of making African ingredients accessible, and the nuances of fusion cuisine. This is an inspiring conversation about food, culture, and the power of sharing diverse culinary traditions. Tune in to learn how Zoe is redefining African food culture and why it matters.

Is culinary school worth it? On this episode, we’re joined by Ray Delucci. Ray’s the founder of the Line Cook Thoughts community, and host of the podcast of the same name. Having recently left the restaurant industy, Ray now works in culinary research and development, and food manufacturing. You might have heard my full discussion with him last week. During our time talking, I asked him about culinary school. Ray’s a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, so I wanted to know if he’d do i...

This week my guest is Ray Delucci. He’s the founder of Line Cook Thoughts, a platform that shares the stories of food service workers. This is done through his website, social media, and podcast of the same name. Ray is an advocate for a better foodservice industry in regards to lifestyle and work environment, and believes that these workers’ stories should be heard. Ray is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and has been working in kitchens since he was a teenager. He recently lef...

This week my guest is Emmanuel Laroche. Emmanuel has more than 20 years in the food ingredient industry, and is currently in charge of marketing for a company that manufactures flavors for food and beverage companies like Unilever and Nestle. In 2018 Emmanuel launched the Flavors Unknown podcast. Every other week he speaks to the chefs, pastry chefs, and bartenders who are creating tomorrow’s trends. Full disclosure… I was a guest this Spring, and you can hear me on episode 65. Emmanuel has a ...

This week my guest is Hanna Raskin. Hanna spent the past 8 years as food editor, and chief critic for The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C. During her time there, she was nominated for four James Beard Foundation awards, winning the organization’s first-ever prize for local impact journalism. She recently left the newspaper to begin publishing The Food Section, a twice-weekly Substack newsletter that will bring original, inclusive, and independent food journalism to underserved cities and sta...

This week my guest is chef Keith Sarasin. With his business, The Farmers Dinner, Keith and other guest chefs bring a multi-course dinner out to the farms of New England. Keith also has a deep love and respect for Indian cooking, which he expresses through his Indian-inspired pop-up experience Aatma. On his More Than Masala podcast, he and co-host Ragini of Third Culture Cooks, take a deep dive into a singular spice. And while we didn’t even get into it on the show, Keith has published a number o...

This week I have a short episode with chef Steven Lash, owner of Blue Duck personal chef service. If you haven't heard our full episode yet, you can go back and listen to Episode 107. I really enjoyed that one, and we received a lot of positive feedback. After the outro, I kept recording, and we continued our conversation, which is what you will hear in this episode. We talk about culinary school and education, microgreens, and the foods that Steven won't eat. He shared advice for those looking...

This week, my guest is Matt Plapp, CEO of America’s Best Restaurants. He’s a marketer, author, speaker, consultant, and business coach. He’s owned his own marketing firm since 2008, and since then he’s helped hundreds of companies market with a purpose. In 2016 he changed his focus to restaurants, and today helps restaurants all over the world with their ROI Engine marketing platform. Matt also has a podcast called MP TV, and has released a number of books including the recent book titled Restau...

Over the last 20 years, Erin Kanagy-Loux has worked in various arms of the hospitality industry, most recently as the Executive Pastry Chef for Union Square Events, and Reynard at the Wythe Hotel. She’s a first-generation Japanese American that grew up with a heavy sprinkle of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage. Her memories, experiences, and love of flavor have shaped the unique cultural background she draws her creative inspirations from. She is most recognized for her work in celebration a...

This week my guest is chef Steven Lash. He’s the owner of Blue Duck personal chef service in Georgia. Steven’s food combines fine dining with local influences, inspired by his extensive travel, passion for the outdoors, and hunger for understanding cultures. He’s a veteran of the restaurant world, having worked in some of the top kitchens in Atlanta for over 15 years. Following the birth of his first daughter, he got out of the restaurant business in order to better support his young family. Aft...

This week, my guest is Bill Covaleski. He’s the brewmaster and co-founder of Victory Brewing Company. This year, Bill and co-founder Ron Barchet are celebrating 25 years of Victory. As someone who has successfully built and run a business for 25 years, Bill drops a lot of knowledge, and I think it’s beneficial whether you are running your own business, or have employees that report to you. Bill talks about how he got into brewing, and the decision to start a brewery with his best friend Ron Bar...

This week my guest is Ryan Peters. Ryan has been cooking professionally for a number of years now, working in kitchens in Florida and Pittsburgh. Most recently he was working at Iron Born Pizza, focusing on their pasta program. You might know Ryan from his social media accounts where he goes by Peters Pasta. As of today, he has more than 43,000 followers on Instagram, and 2.2 million followers on TikTok. Ryan was able to recently leave his job to focus full time on his social media content, as w...

This week I have chef and attorney Chris Yates. Chris occupies a unique space in the legal and hospitality industry. As a DC-based chef, Chris has worked for multiple Michelin-starred and James Beard Foundation recognized chefs and operators. Chris was on the opening management team for the critically and popularly acclaimed restaurant and bakery, Elle, earning a James Beard Semi-Finalist nomination for Best New Restaurant. His work as a chef has appeared in the Washington Post, Washingtonian Ma...

Where are the chefs who'd like to earn some extra money AND have an amazing experience? This week's podcast is for you. And please SHARE this. This is an amazing opportunity. This week my guest is chef Bob Aungst. This episode is unlike any I’ve done before, as it’s essentially a job opportunity. I've wanted to have Bob on as a guest for a while, but this episode isn’t about him. Bob’s responsible for finding chefs for some of the most amazing experiences in the country. Would you want to cook ...

This week my guest is Bill Corbett. Many people know him from his years working as a pastry chef with people like Sam Mason, Wylie Dufresne, Lincoln Carson, Michael Mina, and Daniel Patterson. But he left the world of pastry behind and is currently the executive chef and head of culinary at Salesforce. Bill has been recognized as the Best Pastry Chef 2011 from San Francisco Magazine, and in 2013 he was selected as one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America by Dessert Professional Magazine. We ta...

This week's guest is Somdip Dey. He’s an embedded artificial intelligence scientist and engineer, turned entrepreneur, fighting a war against food waste. He’s the CEO of Nosh Technologies which provides mobile solutions to optimize consumers' food consumption, and reduces food waste in their households. He’s also a TEDx speaker. We talk about food waste and some of the technologies helping to combat it. Somdip’s parents we in a horrible car accident, and he was sending them all his money to hel...

For Episode 100 of the podcast, my guest is Dan Ahdoot. He’s a standup comic, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. He’s a national headliner who’s a frequent guest on The Tonight Show, and is currently acting on Netflix’s Cobra Kai. He's garnered fans as a character actor on the shows Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Shameless, Workaholics, and Disney Channel’s Kickin’ It. On his podcast Green Eggs and Dan, he takes a new look at “you are what you eat,” and brings listeners in on conversation...

This week my guest is Jonathan Bardzik. He’s a storyteller, cook, and author. He’s a performer, speaking and cooking for private and corporate audiences, creating customized experiences that build connection. He’s appeared with more than 900 audiences, been on the TedX stage, written 4 books, and his new television series, Jonathan's Kitchen: Seasons to Taste recently debuted on Revry. His work has been covered by USAToday, The Washington Post, and Food Network Magazine. Overcoming hurdles, incl...

This week I speak with Earl Arnette III. He is the chef and owner of Steez Catering, a personal chef and catering business based out of Baltimore, Maryland. This is one of our “Meet a Member” episodes. You’ll learn about his business, and we discuss topics like going to culinary school, what he wished he knew before starting a business, and mentors. This week’s show sponsor is Olive & Basket. For a wide variety of olive oils, vinegar, spices, sauces, and gourmet food items, visit their website ...

This week, I have part two of my conversation with Daniel Gritzer, Culinary Director at SeriousEats.com. I’ve been a big fan of both Serious Eats and The Food Lab for a while, and was really excited to talk to Daniel about his work there. We had a long discussion, so I broke our conversation into two parts. Part one aired last week, and it’s linked here (https://www.podpage.com/chefs-without-restaurants/a-conversation-with-daniel-gritzer-culinary-director-of-serious-eats-part-1) On this episode...

On this week's podcast, I have part one of my conversation with Daniel Gritzer, Culinary Director at SeriousEats.com. I’ve big a big fan of Serious Eats and The Food Lab for a while, and love the work that Daniel, Kenji, Stella Parks, and crew have been doing there. This episode went long. Daniel and I spoke for 3 hours on a Sunday night, and I have about 2 hours of finished audio. I was trying to decide how much to leave in. Because this episode is for the cooking nerds, I wanted to leave almos...

Jillian Fae believes her passion for cooking stems from the fact that she was born and raised in Southern California. The best climate conditions for growing the finest produce all year round and the diverse mix of cuisines have always been an inspiration to her. Her love for and ability to make people happy by way of good food began at an early age and still grows today. She pursued her passion and further sharpened her skills by enrolling in the culinary program at Orange Coast College in Cos...

On this week's podcast, I have Eman Pahlavani. He’s the founder and COO of HUNGRY, a digital platform that connects businesses with catering services provided by local chefs. The platform’s notable investors include Jay-Z, Kevin Hart, and a number of NFL stars. This past year they had to pivot, and began offering chef-made meals direct to consumers at their homes, as well as adding a virtual chef experience. Over the past few years a lot of platforms like this have been popping up, so I wanted ...