On this episode, we have chef, author, and TV personality Mary Ann Esposito. She's the creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito. The author of fourteen cookbooks, most recently, Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook!, Mary Ann has worked beside world-renowned chefs Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, and countless others. When not filming, Mary Ann can be found giving hands-on cooking classes.

Her new book takes the reader on a seasonal home garden vegetable journey focusing on simple growing tips for anyone interested in growing their own vegetables and how to cook them Italian-style.

MARY ANN ESPOSITO
Mary Ann's Instagram
Mary Ann's Website
Buy the bookCiao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook!

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Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.
 
USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.

Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

Sponsor- Chemists in the Kitchen
Chemists in the Kitchen by LabX, is a YouTube video series spotlighting the power of chemistry, and how science and food can bring people together.

In each episode, real scientists walk you through things like making your own pickles, the chemistry behind ceviche, the formula for perfect homemade pretzels, and more.

It's a love letter to science, cooking, and individuality, with some great tips on how you can apply real scientific principles to your everyday cooking. 

Season 2 is airing now, and you can catch up with every episode for free on YouTube by searching “Chemists in the Kitchen” or going to Youtube.com/LabXNAS

Sponsor-meez
Still keeping your recipes in docs? Doing your costing in spreadsheets? You should try meez—the recipe tool designed for chefs by chefs. Founded by professional chef Josh Sharkey, meez transforms your recipe content into a powerful digital format that lets you organize, scale, train, and cost like never before. See why meez is loved by over 12,000 culinary professionals. Sign up for a free account today at getmeez.com/cwr. 

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This week's guest is Shannon Smith. She’s a cook, teacher, and traveler based in Tulsa, OK. She's traveled to more than 50 countries, meeting and cooking with people, from home cooks to restaurant chefs, while documenting it on her blog. She also uses her travels to teach women how to cook, and helps to finance their businesses using micro-loan programs. 

Her charity work includes Vizavance, a program that provides eye care to the homeless, as well as Hope Haven Rwanda, a school for impoverished children in Rwanda. She's raised over $500K for her charity work by donating epic dinner parties at her home. 

On the show, we talk about how she became a world traveler and cooking instructor. She explains how the micro-finance loan program works, and some of the charities she’s been working with. She’s currently working on a forthcoming cookbook, THE HIDDEN TABLE, a collection of stories and recipes from her adventures around the world, which is set to be released next year. 

SHANNON SMITH
Shannon's Instagram
Shannon's Website

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show and would like to support it financially, please check out our Sponsorship page (we get a commission when you use our links).  

Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Private Facebook group

Chefs Without Restaurants Instagram

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.
 
USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.

Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

Sponsor- Chemists in the Kitchen
Chemists in the Kitchen by LabX, is a YouTube video series spotlighting the power of chemistry, and how science and food can bring people together.

In each episode, real scientists walk you through things like making your own pickles, the chemistry behind ceviche, the formula for perfect homemade pretzels, and more.

It's a love letter to science, cooking, and individuality, with some great tips on how you can apply real scientific principles to your everyday cooking. 

Season 2 is airing now, and you can catch up with every episode for free on YouTube by searching “Chemists in the Kitchen” or going to Youtube.com/LabXNAS

Sponsor-meez
Still keeping your recipes in docs? Doing your costing in spreadsheets? You should try meez—the recipe tool designed for chefs by chefs. Founded by professional chef Josh Sharkey, meez transforms your recipe content into a powerful digital format that lets you organize, scale, train, and cost like never before. See why meez is lov

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On this week's "What is a Chef?" episode we have chef Russ Zito. Russ has been a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University for 26 years. I asked him what his definition of a chef was, and his response revolved around leadership, mentorship, and exchanging ideas. This segment will not be included in our full conversation which will be released in a few weeks, so subscribe now so you can catch the rest of our conversation.

RUSS ZITO
Russ's Instagram
Russ's Twitter

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, please check out our Sponsorship page (we get a small commission when you use our affiliate links).  You can find our Patreon, Venmo, and deals from brands like Masienda, The Tiny Fish Co., TRUFF, and TILIT.

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Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.
 
USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.

Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

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Clark Barlowe is a seventh-generation North Carolinian. Growing up learning how to hunt ginseng with his grandfather, Clark learned to look at the plants around him for the potential nutrients and delicious ingredients that they held while respecting their limitations and responsible foraging. 

He was formally trained as a chef at Johnson and Wales University. After stages at The French Laundry and El Bulli, followed by positions at Chez Pascal and Clyde’s Restaurant Group, Clark refined his expertise for preparing and respecting ingredients. While chef-owner of Heirloom Restaurant in Charlotte, NC from 2014-2019, Clark supported over 70 small businesses and producers throughout North Carolina, while supplying the restaurant with only NC-based ingredients. After selling Heirloom in December 2019, and moving to his new home in Oregon, Clark is carrying this vision forward as he works to increase knowledge about how to bring the beautiful work of mother nature to your table, while respecting every potential part of each ingredient.

On the show, we discuss foraging, cultivating mushrooms, transplanting ramps, and snail farming. Clark is currently attending law school and we talk about how he might potentially combine the two fields such as in food and farming policy. He also discusses foraging for, and preparing some items that contain toxins, such as pokeberries.

Clark is trained in this area. If prepared incorrectly, you could become very ill, or in some cases die. Please do not take this as an endorsement to try cooking and eating pokeweed, pokeberries, or mushrooms without being properly trained in that area.

CLARK BARLOWE
Clark’s Website Potential Pantry
Clark's Instagram
Saveur article on Poke
"What is a Chef?" episode

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. 

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Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.
 
USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.

Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner

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This week we have a "What is a Chef?" episode with Carla Hall. Carla is a chef, cookbook author, two-time Top Chef contestant, and former co-host of The Chew. Our full conversation will be released in a few weeks. Subscribe to the podcast now so you don't miss it.

CARLA HALL
Carla's Website
Check out Carla's Books
Carla's Instagram
Carla's YouTube Channel
Carla's Facebook Page

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. 

Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)

Private Facebook group

Chefs Without Restaurants Instagram

Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.

Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada.  USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal. USPCA provides training to become a Personal Chef through our Preparatory Membership.  Looking to showcase your products or services to our chefs and their clients, partnership opportunities are available.
 
Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

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Support the show

This week’s guest is Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda, and author of the new book Masa. On the show, you’re going to get the Masienda origin story, and find out why it all started with the corn. Jorge explains nixtimalization, which is the process of turning corn into masa, and how to nixtamilaze and grind your own corn at home.

For those who just want to buy the masa harina, I asked him about water temperature, hydration, and the differences between the corn types. We also talk about brand partnerships, as Masienda has teamed up with companies like Jacobsen Salt Co., Made In, and Hayden Flour Mills.

But I f there’s anything I would like you to get out of this episode, it’s that making tortillas at home is so easy. If you love tacos and Mexican food you should order a bag of Masienda masa harina right now.

MASIENDA AND JORGE GAVIRIA
Buy the book Masa
Masienda Website
Masienda Instagram
Maienda YouTube Channel
Buy Masa Harina and Much More Here

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. 

Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)

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Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Some of the links above are affiliate links meaning that I get a small commission if you purchase something through one of those links.

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.

Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada.  USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal. USPCA provides training to become a Personal Chef through our Preparatory Membership.  Looking to showcase your products or services to our chefs and their clients, partnership opportunities are available.
 
Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

Get in touch

Support the show

This week's "What is a Chef" episode is with Clark Barlowe. He’s a chef, former restaurant owner, cooking instructor, forager, and now... law student.

Stay tuned for my full episode with him which will be released soon.

CLARK BARLOWE
Clark’s Website Potential Pantry
Clark's Instagram

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. 

Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)

Private Facebook group

Chefs Without Restaurants Instagram

Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.

Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada.  USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal. USPCA provides training to become a Personal Chef through our Preparatory Membership.  Looking to showcase your products or services to our chefs and their clients, partnership opportunities are available.
 
Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

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Support the show

In this episode of the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast, host Chris Spear chats with Chef Taffy Elrod. With over 20 years in the culinary industry, Taffy shares her emotional journey of closing her restaurant in upstate New York due to COVID-19. She discusses the impact of the pandemic on small food businesses and her decision to pivot into recipe development, food writing, and content creation. Taffy offers valuable insights into how chefs can transition into content creation, partner with brands, and charge for recipe development work.

In addition to sharing her personal story, Taffy provides practical advice on pricing strategies, building relationships with brands, and the realities of life post-restaurant ownership. Stick around to find out who Taffy would love to shadow for a day and her favorite resources for recipe development. If you're navigating your own food business or are interested in culinary entrepreneurship, this episode is packed with valuable lessons.

Topics Discussed:

• Shutting down a restaurant due to COVID-19
• Transitioning to food writing and recipe development
• How to work with food brands and charge for services
• The rise of culinary content creation and social media
• The emotional toll of closing a business

Taffy Elrod
Taffy’s Website
Taffy’s Instagram
Taffy’s Twitter

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS
If you enjoy the show and would like to support it financially, please check out our Sponsorship page (we get a commission when you use our links).
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This week, I speak with Luladey Moges. She's the author of the new cookbook Enebla: Recipes From an Ethiopian Kitchen. Growing up, first in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and then in the United States, she learned the art of traditional Ethiopian cuisine from her grandmother, mother, and aunts. She has long been an enthusiastic home cook, introducing the tastes of Ethiopian cuisine to her friends in North America. At the same time, her career in hospitality and fine dining management has taught her what it takes to build a balanced menu and impress discerning gourmands.

People love Ethiopian cuisine for its unique combination of spices, aromas, and sociability. Dishes are served to be shared with family and friends, and unlike many cuisines, Ethiopian food has traditions of vegetarianism that make it particularly popular among meat-free cooks and diners. However, it can seem baffling to the outsider. Where can you get spicy berbere? How do you make injera? And doesn’t it all take hours to prepare?

In Enebla (which means let’s eat!) you’ll learn how to prepare aromatic wot stews, hearty tibs, breakfast scrambles, colourful salads, authentic injera sourdough flatbread, and even how to enjoy a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

Key Takeaways

08:24   The Impact of Moving to the United States
13:58   The process of writing a cookbook.
26:22   Ethiopian Food is Kid Friendly and Delicious
32:23  The Different Ways Ethiopians and Americans Prepare Coffee

LULADEY MOGES
Lula's Instagram
Buy the Enebla Cookbook

CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or you can donate through Venmo or Buy Me a Coffee. 

Get the Chefs Without Restaurants Newsletter

Visit Our Amazon Store (we get paid when you buy stuff)

Private Facebook group

Chefs Without Restaurants Instagram

Founder Chris Spear’s personal chef business Perfect Little Bites

Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association
Over the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association.

Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada.  USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal. USPCA provides training to become a Personal Chef through our Preparatory Membership.  Looking to showcase your products or services to our chefs and their clients, partnership opportunities are available.
 
Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at [email protected] for membership and partner info.

Get in touch

Support the show

Get in touch

Support the show