A few weeks ago, in record time, the good folks behind the LA Chef Conference, organized a benefit for victims of the recent, devastating LA wildfires. Dubbed Chefs ❤️ LA, the event raised more than$800,000, with all proceeds going to World Central Kitchen and Restaurants Care to support their work on behalf of those who lost their homes in the conflagrations. It was a restorative and emotional evening, and Andrew was honored to be in attendance to interview some key participants. This episode takes you inside the planning of an event of this scale, (it was hosted at the expansive Lawry's The Prime Rib), features interviews with auctioneer Billy Harris, chefs Nyesha Arrington and Sherry Yard, Darin Bresnitz (who lost his home in the fires), Ellen Marie Bennett (from outside the site of her childhood home in Altadena, which was lost in the fire), and others. The episode is also a celebration of the spirit of the industry and testament to the way so many chefs, purveyors, restaurateurs, and others step up when tragedy strikes.

To donate, visit the Chefs ❤️ LA homepage and scroll down to mid-page.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

* event images courtesy Chefs Roll, Elijah Nicolas, and Nicholas Gingold/Craft Media Solutions

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Earlier this year, we lost one of the greatest and most influential chefs ever to ply his trade in the United States, when André Soltner passed away at age 92. On the day the culinary community pay their respects at a celebration of his life in New York City, we wanted to share this previously unaired conversation with Chef Soltner, recorded in 2016 as part of Andrew's research for his book Chefs, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. André Soltner was of course best known for his restaurant Lutèce, where he was the chef (and for 22 years, also the owner) from 1961 - 1994. (For more about his life, please see William Grimes' excellent New York Times obituary.)

This conversation took place in Chef Soltner's apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on December 5, 2016, just five weeks after the death of his wife Simone. It covers his first interest in the culinary arts, his feelings about nouvelle cuisine, the brutality of old-school kitchens, his disposition toward the young American chefs who rose up during Lutèce's heyday, the pain of a negative review, and whether or not the legend of his only taking five nights off in the restaurant's lifespan was true. (He also does a quick but memorable impression of Julia Child.) Chef Soltner's kindness, generosity, and good humor shine through in this conversation. We hope it offers those who never had the opportunity to know him a sense of his personality, and those who did know him a welcome remembrance.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

* photo by/courtesy of Eric Vitale Photography

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Come for the industry insidership, stay for the great writing and unvarnished personal honesty. Author Laurie Woolever's new memoir Care and Feeding will attract many readers because of its promise of tales from her days as assistant to Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. And it delivers on that front, for sure. But Care and Feeding is also, and primarily, Laurie's story--the story of a writer finding her way in life, New York, City, and the food world, and amassing all the personal and professional adventures and relationships implied by all of that. In this conversation, Laurie discusses the book, and the thoughtful decision-making behind it.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

* author photo by David Scott Holloway

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

At last year's Hot Luck festival in Austin, Andrew sat down with chef Alex Kemp, co-owner and chef of Philadelphia’s acclaimed restaurant My Loup for an honest and entertaining conversation. Alex shares his journey from his French-Canadian roots in Montreal to the vibrant culinary scene of Philadelphia. He discusses his diverse culinary experiences, including his time at Sugar Shack and Joe Beef in Canada, Moor Hall Restaurant in the UK, and Momofuku Ko in New York City, and how these experiences influenced (or didn't) the frequently changing menu at My Loup. Alex also reflects on his ongoing collaboration with his wife and business partner, chef Amanda Shulman, and their shared commitment to creating dining experiences that emphasize freshness and creativity.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

At just 27 years of age, Rasika Venkatesa has already put herself in position to plan her first restaurant. Currently serving a tasting menu in her residency at Fulgrances Laundromat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (though March 1, 2025), Rasika attended hotel management school in India, worked her way up from commis to chef de partie at The French Laundry, and attained the position of chef de cuisine at Mourad in San Francisco. (As if that weren't enough, she also recently competed on Top Chef.) After relocating to New York City in 2024, Rasika is currently planning a brick-and-mortar incarnation of her pop-up Mythily (named for her grandmother and North Star). The restaurant, like the pop-up, will offer a personal and progressive take on Southern Indian cuisine (specifically the food of Tamil Nadu), and Rasika is refining dishes and menus in her current residency. Rasika discusses all of this and more in this deeply personal and open conversation.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Recorded LIVE before an audience at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition US regional finals in New York City. Five influential American chefs (the competition's jurors), Valerie Chang, Curtis Duffy, Aisha Ibrahim, Ayesha Nurdjaja, and Junghyun Park discuss how to shape the future of the industry, in a conversation divided into three parts: Identity, Working Environment, and  Teamwork. (S.Pellegrino is a longtime promotional partner of Andrew Talks to Chefs.)

Read about and watch the trailer for "Afuera Hay Más," the documentary about S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition winner Nelson Freitas as he is guided by visionary mentor Virgilio Martínez in Peru.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Tomer Blechman's life has taken him from his native Israel to Los Angeles, the Far East, and finally to New York City. He also naturally progressed from a life of healing to cooking and hospitality, which are for him intertwined. This path has led him to founding three successful Brooklyn ventures: Miss Ada, Theodora, and Thea Bakery. In this deeply personal conversation, Tomer sits down with Andrew to discuss his training, pulling together his first restaurant, and how he stays grounded through it all.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

This episode is part of the Andrew Talks to Chefs New Episode Holiday Marathon, brought to you by The Dish, Andrew's most recent book, which just became available in paperback, with a cool new black-and-white cover. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to the pod wherever you listen so you can keep up with the Marathon and all forthcoming episodes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

In this this second  installment of our conversation with Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo, the couple behind Chicago's Esmé, the pair discuss  their time at MK and Next in Chicago, the process of concepting Esmé, and their working relationship..

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

This episode is part of the Andrew Talks to Chefs New Episode Holiday Marathon, brought to you by The Dish, Andrew's most recent book, which just became available in paperback, with a cool new black-and-white cover. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to the pod wherever you listen so you can keep up with the Marathon and all forthcoming episodes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Two guests demand two episodes! In this first  installment, Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo, the couple behind Chicago's Esmé, talk about their childhoods in, respectively, Illinois and Florida, and the relationship with food and cooking that led Jenner to become a chef and Katrina to become a creative director.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

This episode is part of the Andrew Talks to Chefs New Episode Holiday Marathon, brought to you by The Dish, Andrew's most recent book, which just became available in paperback, with a cool new black-and-white cover. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to the pod wherever you listen so you can keep up with the Marathon and all forthcoming episodes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Adam Leonti discusses his New England upbringing, time cooking in Philly and living overseas, and the series of New York City projects that have led to his current success at Cucina Alba in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood.

Huge thanks to Andrew Talks to Chefs’ presenting sponsor, meez, the recipe operating software for culinary professionals. Meez powers the Andrew Talks to Chefs podcast as part of the meez  Network, featuring a breadth of food and beverage podcasts and newsletters. 

This episode is part of the Andrew Talks to Chefs New Episode Holiday Marathon, brought to you by The Dish, Andrew's most recent book, which just became available in paperback, with a cool new black-and-white cover. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to the pod wherever you listen so you can keep up with the Marathon and all forthcoming episodes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!