Cheftimony

Today I’m back in Las Vegas, meeting up with a new friend, Kristy Totten of the Spicy Eyes Podcast. Together, Kristy and I interview Chef Jamie Tran of Black Sheep Las Vegas. Chef shares some great stories, from cooking over fire in the blackouts of California to explaining just how dodgeball provided essential training for her kitchen career. We also get into cultural identity in cooking, on-Strip versus off-Strip dining, and a four-ingredient technique that Chef uses to improve just about every dish. Join us! Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

While I really did have good intentions to bring you the interview from Black Sheep Las Vegas this week, an oh-so-understandable delay means that it’s a snack-sized show this week, featuring more detail on the food stops during the last trip to Las Vegas, some thoughts about a trip to New York City coming up this fall, and a look ahead to some upcoming interviews on the drinks side of the culinary world. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

I recently spent three very fun days in Las Vegas with three close friends. We made our obligatory donations at the craps tables, lounged by the pool, and took in a lot of good food. On today’s short episode, I’ll take you through some of the culinary stops and introduce you to a new friend who brings an insider’s view of the Vegas food scene (along with some restaurant recommendations that just may be brand new to you!). Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

On today’s show, Vancouver’s Chef Robert Belcham helps me look back over some shared years in the industry but also ahead to what’s in store for restaurants, for cooks, for chefs and for all of us as restaurant guests. With a background in fine dining and whole animal butchery, Robert has built – quite literally – some of the best restaurants in the city. Join us from the back room of his Campagnolo restaurant on Vancouver’s Main Street. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

Before the heat of the summer becomes unbearable, I’m heading back to one of my favourite cities to visit, Las Vegas, Nevada. With an undeniably great food scene on the Strip and a growing local culinary scene off-strip, Vegas offers a whole lot to tempt me away from the tables. On this trip, I’ll be heading down with old friends and meeting some new ones too, including an on-the-ground Vegas food podcaster! Take six minutes and whet your appetite for Las Vegas with this pre-trip snack. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

Today’s episode comes from the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. I’ve been lucky to live on the Coast since late-2017. It’s an absolutely beautiful spot, close to Vancouver but pleasantly distant at the same time. In recent years, the Coast has seen a lot of development and that has brought both controversy and a seriously-improved culinary scene. Today, I speak to the partnership behind a brilliant Italian restaurant in the heart of the village of Gibsons. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

Today’s snack has some information about two upcoming full-length episodes, one from Gibsons, BC on the Sunshine Coast, and the other from Main Street in Vancouver. I also have a short interview from a place that’s very close to my heart, the legendary McKellar Confectionery in my hometown of Thundery Bay. This place has been serving up crave-inducing Coney-style hamburgers and hotdogs since 1926, and it’s a meal I share with my (now 89-year-old) father every time I’m in town. Join me from the counter at McKellar Confectionery. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

Today we continue the vegan theme on Cheftimony with another wonderful guest, Anna Pippus. Anna’s work includes time as a food writer, a food lawyer, an animal rights activist, and a very popular vegan author and blogger. We talk about everything from the heavy issues of undercover animal welfare investigations to the lighter side of veganism, including a lightning-quick plant-based sauce that goes perfectly with just about every dish. You don’t want to miss it! Join Anna and me for Vegan 2.0. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

On today’s show I have two really fun interviews, both connected to a great story involving a vegan food producer in Vancouver, a food industry lawyer in Toronto, and a complaint to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Just what is “cheese”? The answer is not nearly as simple as you might think, but my guests and I have a lot of fun talking it through. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.

Today’s episode is a snack-sized portion of Cheftimony. Join me for five minutes, and I’ll tell you about what’s on tap for the show in the coming weeks. In short: vegans! I’ll be posting episodes to discuss a saga in Canadian food labeling that I’ve taken to calling Cheesegate. Soon on the podcast, a vegan chef and a food lawyer dive into just what can be called “cheese” and how the whole food industry is changing. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website.