Megan Luedtke is the most significant voice in deciding what cocktails Minnesotans are drinking, and no one's talking about her. DeRusha Eats is. Megan shares what inspired her to start creating craft cocktails, the challenges of being a woman in a part of the restaurant world that's stereotypically male, and how she finds flavor inspiration for Daniel del Prado's restaurant group. You can find her cocktails at Porzana, Minari, Rosalia, Martina, Dexter's, Colita, Cardamom, Flora Room, and Thérèse, newly open at 50th & France in Edina.

In 2024, Chef Eric Pham got the call that his restaurant was on fire, days before opening. He considered calling it - but he found a new location and opened Khue's Kitchen. In 2025, the Minnesota Star Tribune named it the New Restaurant of the Year. Eric talks about growing up in his family's restaurant, Quang; he talks about dropping out of college to get a job at Spoon and Stable, and his goal as a 25-year-old to create a restaurant perfect for younger diners. High technique, affordable prices, and lined up with his experience as a Vietnamese kid growing up in Minnesota.

To kick off the second hour of the program Jason and Lindsey Brown discuss national cookie day and their favorite confectionery treats. Jason gets outraged over the fact that a ten year old won the Star Tribune Holiday Cookie contest.

Gluten-free. No seed oils. The hottest trends in nutrition have been part of life for nearly a decade at Brim, a farm-to-fast casual restaurant founded by former personal chef Kate Sidoti. Kate talks about her food inspiration, the challenges of running a restaurant, and why after so long in Uptown Minneapolis she's now in the suburbs with her second spot. Brim survived through COVID, through riots after George Floyd, and through a very slow recovery in the city.

Two Minnesota women, linked through a connection to Prince, have founded their own mezcal brand. Why? How? Ingrid Chavez and Jacqui Thompson, co-founders of Las Melodías de la Luna Mezcal, join Jason DeRusha on DeRusha Eats to talk about their history, their love for mezcal, and why having a woman-owned company with a woman distiller makes a difference.

The Prince connection? Jacqui Thompson managed Prince’s Paisley Park recording studios and co-founded the PRN Alumni Foundation, a nonprofit established by Prince’s team to continue his legacy of social justice. She co-founded the

agave brand Revel Avila in 2012.

Ingrid Chavez is a songwriter, poet, producer, artist, and entrepreneur who has collaborated with major musicians like Lenny Kravitz, Madonna and was a recording artist on Paisley Park Records albums.

From college friends to garage beer brewers, the buddies who started Fulton in 2009 rode the craft beer wage. Sweet Child of Vine and Lonely Blonde were on tap everywhere, the tap room near Target Field was bumping. Today - the business has changed, and Fulton has matured as a business along with it's founders. Jim Diley is a lawyer who left his day job to be COO of Fulton and talks with Jason DeRusha about the growth in seltzer, THC drinks, and the future of beer in Minneapolis.

It's one of the oldest producers of wine, some call it the birthplace of wine: Georgia. And a group of Minnesota brothers are working to spread the word about their homeland on the coast of the Black Sea, where Eastern Europe and Western Asia come together. The Lanchava Collection is seeing sales increase three-fold, through a combination of hustle, passion, and quality production. Luka, Konstantin and Saba Lanchava join Jason to talk about their partnership with Total Wine & More, why they've named their wines after their 9 Georgian-born brothers and sisters, and how Minnesota fits into their success.

Social media was rife with nasty comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination and millionaire late night host Jimmy Kimmel made international headlines for what he said. But what about regular people who did the same? Hear from a Minnesota professor who is being targeted by a state lawmaker over what he wrote. Here's the latest on free speech, late night TV, and the responsibilities of free speech.

When Stephanie Hansen sold her Twin Cities printing and direct marketing business - she faced a crisis. Who was she? What did she want to do? A decade later, she's just published her second cookbook, and her Emmy-award winning TV show "Taste Buds with Stephanie" is syndicated all over the United States. Stephanie talks with Jason DeRusha about finding her lane from the perspective of an eater and a home cook. The "True North Cabin Cookbook - Vol. 2" is in bookstores everywhere

He's the co-anchor of CBS This Morning, NFL Today, host of Hollywood Squares, and a former Minnesota Vikings player. But Nate Burleson is coming to Minneapolis as he puts in the work to support his new vodka, created with Detroit micro-distiller Valentine Distilling Co. Lionblood Orange Vodka is his vision in a bottle. Nate and Jason discuss the multiple trips he took to Detroit to dial in the flavor, as well as discussing accountability, the Vikings new quarterback, the stress that caused his facial hair to fall out, and how he prioritizes things with so many different jobs.