Chef Douglas Katz is a nice guy. Everyone says so. And, honestly, it's true. What you will hear in this conversation is that Doug cares about people just as much as he does about the food he serves in his ever-evolving portfolio of restaurants.

Doug was a high school theatre geek who has always enjoyed cooking—he even catered events with his friends!  He's always thrived being part of a team and orchestrating experiences for others to enjoy. Now he draws on his many interests, including extensive world travel, to create exciting menus and environments in his restaurants.

In this conversation, we FINALLY learn how to pronounce Zhug, and hear how Doug has developed the interesting menus at his restaurants, how he's shown resilience in the face of change, and what we can expect from his next new restaurant, Amba. We talk about Covid (just a little), dive into Doug's multipotentialite tendencies (listen to this great Ted Talk on it), and what he thinks about cultural appropriation in the culinary field.

Heard in this episode: Seeds of Collaboration tahini, #EatforCLE, Billy Ritter pottery. 

More about Douglas Katz restaurants at ChefDouglasKatz.com.

Scott Kuhn and Chris Hodgson worked diligently to protect and maintain their company, The Driftwood Group, through the challenges of the last 12 months. Navigating through great uncertainty didn't stop them from planning for the future, in fact, the duo made the bold move to purchase Landerhaven, one of Northeast Ohio's premier event venues, making them one of the area's largest hospitality employers. 

The pair recently announced that they are looking to hire 450 employees over the next few months, but they also shared their vision to build a hospitality company that's reflective of the times.  Scott and Chris have redoubled their commitment to employee satisfaction and living wages, and also mental health support, child care assistance, flexibility and on-the-job training.

I caught up with the team in person from Landerhaven and we spoke about how their own experiences in the industry informed their current vision, why it's a good time to take a leap into the culinary and hospitality field, and why their business partnership works so well.

For this episode I took the show on the road to Ohio City Provisions, an all-local food store on Cleveland's near west side.

Sitting within a few feet of the store's meat counter, with the in-house butchery in view, I spoke to Trevor Clatterbuck, the CWRU student who became a businessman, and then a self-taught farmer.  He oversees Ohio City Provisions,  the Fresh Fork Market farm buying club, and also runs Wholesome Valley Farm, about 75 miles away in Holmes County.

 We talk about how all of these entities work together, his interesting relationship with Amish farmers, the real costs of good food. Our conversation also covers sustainable and humane meat production.

Please be aware, that this episode discusses "the circle of life" of a farmer who touches every aspect of his animals' lives. It is an episode which illuminates the connection between the food on our plates and its origins and why that matters.

Every year, more than 1 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States. 

In this episode, I speak with Ashley Weingart, the founder of Perfectly Imperfect Produce, a Northeast Ohio company that is rescuing produce from a variety of sources and giving it a second life in the form of home delivery boxes. The company also makes substantial donations to the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.

Call it what you want...ugly food, surplus or Grade B. It might look a little tired, or rough around the edges, but it is entirely edible.  Order from Perfectly Imperfect Produce and might find yourself with unexpectedly perfect Ohio blueberries, amusing two-legged carrots or a batch of knobby potatoes. 

Or you could score the first whole pineapple you've ever cut into.

Just like you can't judge a book by its cover or wine by its label (I might debate that point), you shouldn't judge your produce by the skin it's in.

For my 20th episode and the start of a new season, CLE Foodcast took a road trip to Quarry Hill Orchards to interview third-generation fruit farmer Ben Gammie. Quarry Hill Orchards grows cherries, peaches, grapes and some might say Ohio's best apples. Ben knows a lot about apples—he grows 52 varieties. He's now board president of Ohio Apples, a statewide organization supporting independent apple growers.

In this episode, recorded in the upper loft of their new Market Barn, Ben and I taste some apple varieties while talking farm dogs, family life on the farm and how farmers can use marketing and messaging to attract customers interested in local food and agritourism. 

If you love fall, and apples, you will enjoy hearing us crunch our way through a conversation!

Restaurants are still in recovery mode. Staff shortages, supply chain issues, rising costs and the emergence of new virus strain have created additional uncertainty. And just when we were all vaccinated and "going back to normal."

I invited Jen Picciano, a broadcast journalist who covers the food and dining industry, to join me for a conversation on the state of restaurants. As food fans who know owners, chefs, servers and bartenders personally, we have a candid conversation about our own experiences, seasoned with input from people in the business. Our aim is to shed light on what's really going on and how enthusiastic diners can navigate the current situation. 

What should customers expect of their favorite restaurants? How can we be prepared for a few bumps in the road, like slow service or limited menus? And, as enthusiastic and supportive diners, how can we show compassion and restraint when something goes wrong?

Garlic is ubiquitous. Its spicy, pungent, and umami-stimulating qualities make it a versatile ingredient that can be used in everything from chicken soup to marinara sauce to stir-fry. 

So when the North Union Farmers Market team wanted to create a fundraiser festival around food, garlic was an easy choice. Now the Cleveland Garlic Festival opens for the 12th year with a full on smelly celebration of the vegetable (a member of the allium family). 

Fred and Chris Thaxton, or Thaxton's Organic Garlic have been at every festival. Former science teachers, they gave up careers in education for the hard work of planting and harvesting more than 20,000 garlic plants. Their garlic has taken them around the country and is used by many local chefs. 

I did something crazy. I recorded a podcast live at the Countryside Farmers Market, one of my favorite places to buy seasonal, local produce. Podcast purists, you've been warned, this episode won't sound the same. You'll hear chefs talking. Kids screaming. Chris Miller singing and strumming his guitar. You'll catch a bit of train whistle too.  It's doesn't sound perfect. But it was a perfect summer Saturday for the annual Tomato Tasting at the market.

I talk tomatoes with Mindy Bartholomae, a retired farmer and longtime market vendor, who knows a lot about growing tomatoes. I also caught up with with Chef Vinnie Cimino in between food demos.  With a name like that I was pretty sure he knew his way around a tomato. 

Ohio wines are having a moment. There are now almost 400 wineries in the state. In fact, I learned that no matter where you are in Ohio you are only 30 minutes away from a winery. 

Christy Eckstein knows Ohio's Wine Industry from the inside out – from the farm to the table and grape to glass. As executive director of the Ohio Grape Industries Committee, she as her eye on the booming business of Ohio wines. 

Tony Kosicek is a third generation grape farmer and the owner of Kosicek Vineyards in Geneva, Ohio, where he is making some award-winning wines and creating a destination winery people enjoy year-round.

Coastal Ohio was originally a stronghold for Welch's (yep, the jelly people) but over time farmers and wine enthusiasts realized that the state's terroir would work for some vinifera grapes, the kind that make European-style wines. Now, there are wines for every palate made here in Ohio at wineries that draw visitors in every season. 

For information on Kosicek Vineyards and other Ohio wines and wineries check out FindOhioWines.com.