Edacious

Revitalization Work. With conscious growth. In a bank vault. Welcome to Episode 94 and my conversation with Chef Joy Crump of FoodE and Mercantile in Fredericksburg. I was immediately taken with Joy when I met her during the Fire, Flour, Fork Women in Food panel where her thoughtfulness on the topic of running a kitchen stayed with me for hours afterward.

We had this conversation inside FoodE, a converted bank building. In the vault of all places, which has excellent acoustics! Joy and her business partners were very conscious about keeping the original bones intact, using what was in place, rather than gutting everything and starting from scratch, hiring craftsmen to painstakingly restore every part and piece. Was there pushback from the community when she decided to renovate? How did her knowledgeable partner make the renovation process easier because of his background? How was this overhaul financed? If you're a woman, and even if you're not, Joy's story will CURL YOU HAIR. Make you angry. Galvanize you to take action on this International Women's Day. I'm still doing a facepalm.

"You want to find that common ground where you're celebrating what has past and also giving new life to what's coming ahead. That's what preservation is."

"We did so many things to keep the heart and spirit of the building while still celebrating it, and making it functional so that people can continue to enjoy it. I'm so proud to be in here. To be a tenant, to be a part owner, to have witnessed the process."

Joy describes Fredericksburg as a community "Tumbling Forward". What does she mean by that? We discuss this in depth, especially since I feel Charlottesville is experiencing something similar.

When Joy first started FoodE, all she knew was that she wanted to cook good food. The concept developed over time and only after the third restaurant opened, a brewpub called Six Bears And A Goat which recently opened in Stafford. As she states, once you have a group of establishments it behooves you to have some sort of uniform concept. Like Edacious, the one word she and her partners Beth Black and Jeremy Harrison kept coming back to was community. Places where anyone is welcome. Where folks can drop by anytime.

"We want you to come in wearing jeans and flip-flops. We want it to feel like it's a place where you can walk by on Wednesday and happen to come in and get a great meal, not that you have to make reservations a month ahead...Fredericksburg has driven who we are and what our brand is and now we're trying to catch up and articulate it in other places we want to build."

To build that customer relationship, Joy and her partners listened closely to concerns, revamping the menu, adding dishes people requested, removing others, and shaping the space according to the customer's needs. This promotes loyalty and customers who choose to spend their dollar at FoodE and Mercantile regularly. Because as she states so well, you don't pay the bills simply by having a good graduation weekend or a ton of weddings.

The menu at FoodE is a fantastic mixture of "Naughty Food" (Joy's term) and healthy dishes, food that is clean. So after enjoying a melty pimento toast for lunch you can follow it up with a delicious winter greens salad and leave feeling sated and satisfied.

"These are the best ingredients, prepared by the best chefs that we can afford at the most affordable price that we can offer. It's our version of gourmet. It's care and love for the ingredients."

"I love fried chicken...(but) if you feel like when you walk out of here that you're SO FULL then you're probably not going to come back for a week or two until you're ready to have that feeling again...We were built on the guest who came literally two or three times a week. If a guest is going to come two or three times a week a) your menu has to change b) they've got to feel good when they stand up from the table and c) you can't overserve them...our portions are controlled...I'd rather see you twice at $10 a pop than once for $30."

"My goal is to make you remember something and feel something different at the same time. I love chicken skins, but I've never had them on top of salad before. It should bring a memory and it should also be a new experience. That's what I try to do with literally every single dish. Elevate it by what you remember."

Why is it important for Joy to be conscious about creating a healthy, nurturing, family environment in her kitchen? Why does being a social entrepreneur not only help give back but also revitalize an entire community, building relationships not only with customers but other business owners? Why is Whole Food Utilization important? How does she walk the delicate line between supporting local farmers and meeting her bottom line while keeping customers happy? How did Joy's Atlanta background inform her experience? Did her appearance on Top Chef Season 12 inform her cooking?

We cover it all in this episode. Joy's energy and enthusiasm and thoughtfulness made me want to work with her on the regular. So well spoken. And her food? Phenomenal. Day trips to Fredericksburg are going to be a regular part of the rotation. I'll probably listen to this episode on the way there. Enjoy! Happy International Women's Day!

Edacious - Food Talk for Gluttons is three years old! It shows. Go ahead, listen to some of the earlier work. You'll hear the difference. When I started this project in 2015 I had no idea. No idea how to podcast, no idea what my goal was, no idea what would happen or if it would be worthwhile. I was afraid of so many things. But I showed up anyway. And WOW! I'm so glad I did. This podcast has not only been the most rewarding project I've undertaken in my life, it has changed me. How I see the world and how I approach relationships. Both with others and with myself. The people I've met, the stories I hear, the experiences I have all galvanize me toward doing more and doing it better. I'm so very grateful to everyone who took time out of their busy lives to sit face to face with me and have a conversation.

This year saw many changes that will keep this podcast strong in its focus on community and on the stories of folks doing the Work of Food in our area. People edacious about what they do. Here is a quick and dirty rundown:

• Edacious gained a mentor. (Thanks Jay!)
• And a food writing student. (Thanks Annie!)
• I took a business course at CIC.
• I met my podcasting hero, Marc Maron.
• Edacious did its first live events.
• And its first rants. The first of many I'm sure.
• And its first moderated panel discussions focused around a topic. More to come!
• I judged probably my last food competition. Because my tummy is old and cannot handle trying 15 different types of fried chicken. Lordy!
• The newsletter got redesigned and went to monthly, from weekly. Have you subscribed?
• Edacious gained one additional Patreon sponsor!
• Edacious sold its first sponsorship ads! Would you like to advertise your event for only $25? Or purchase a package of EVERGREEN advertising over six episodes you choose yourself? Email me for a press kit!
• I posted our first Edacity blogs, which highlights food writing done in our region.
• Edacious became part of the TEEJ.fm podcast network hosted by WTJU.
• I was on the radio with host MC Blair.
• Best of all? Edacious hosted its first-ever fundraiser and live meet-and-greet, The Big Love Bakesale, which raised almost $700 for my BFF Scott Nichols, who is suffering from colorectal cancer, the 3rd most diagnosed cancer in men. An utterly life-changing experience for him. And me.
• Yeah it's a lot. Half the reason I'm writing it all out is: 1) I kinda don't believe it, and 2) If I ever find a chance to update my LinkedIn profile...which I haven't done for TWO YEARS I can use this list ;)

Here are my favorites. The episodes where I was firing on all cylinders, where the conversations ran deep. I've included short clips of each as well as my own thoughts on why these talks left me feeling I'd moved monumentally forward on life's short trajectory.

All my guests were terrific, but these five most closely represent this podcast's mission. To showcase our food community and give voice to the folks working hard to make sure we eat well. If there is one recurrent theme here it is community because whether it's a pig farm, a winery, a distillery, or someone who writes about food every one of the folks I talked to strive every day to make sure we are stronger together.

Ninety-two episodes, hours and hours of conversation, and close to 40,000 downloads. I've learned so much. I'm filled to the brim with gratitude because without you, without this community, Edacious simply would not exist. Thank you. After three years of triumphs and missteps, Edacious is going along full-steam ahead with exciting new ventures and projects in the works. Before tackling all of them, I wanted to take a minute to look back. To reflect on a truly great year. Sure 2017 was no picnic, but here? It was good. All good. If you only listen to one episode, make it this one.

Baking Work. With New Normals. And Tons of Community Support. Welcome to Episode 92 and a conversation with a great writer and a dear friend. Polina Chesnakova of Chesnok blog first struck me with the level of expertise in her food writing and her enthusiasm for Charlottesville and its community members who do the Work of Food. After meeting her several years ago (when we both wrote for Our Local Commons), I discovered this enthusiasm is infectious.

Polina is the Queen of Hustle. Food writing is just part of the equation. In her career, she's been a baker, a sous chef, created food programming for the Tom Tom Festival, taught cooking classes, even done some recipe testing. But what happens when an accomplished baker and writer loses the use of her hand because of disastrous circumstances? What happens when your whole world changes? We talk about it in this episode.

Polina was in a serious car accident in December 2016. Her hand was badly maimed and for a time, she thought she'd lose it completely. Multiple hand surgeries saved the day, but the paradigm shift has also forced her to move back home to recuperate and figure out next steps. It's not like the movies folks. Healing is a long road full of little victories and major setbacks. Navigating your way through this New Normal can be challenging, frustrating, difficult. Potentially losing your livelihood is no joke, and Polina has moved through this period of her life with grace and aplomb. She credits a lot of this to the support of her family and the community of Charlottesville, who stepped forward in a big way, raising over $17K through a GoFund Me campaign set up by a friend, Kelsey.

"It was tremendous. So many times it left me absolutely speechless...a lot of it was people I didn't even know...part of me felt like I didn't deserve it...with all of the political turmoil of the past year...it was such an outpouring of love and positivity it almost kind of gave hope for me. Humanity. There's a lot of bad in the world...but there's also as much if not more, good."

Charlottesville was not only elemental to her recovery but an important part of why she works in food. Polina asserts more than once during the conversation, had she landed in a metropolitan city like New York, she wouldn't have had the connection and dynamic opportunity and collaboration that a town like ours provides on a daily basis.

How is she doing now? What are her next steps? My opinion? Girlfriend needs to write a Georgian cookbook immediately because the dishes she describes and writes about on her blog sound phenomenal! What do Georgians eat and why is the cheese bread khachapuri having a moment? What does Chesnok mean in Russian? What are Pheasant's Tears? What are khinkali? And why are they made with a sense of urgency? Definitely, watch the video on her website where she makes them with her family. It's a hoot! Chesnok blog is one of the few newsletters I subscribe to because every entry is thoughtful, well-written, beautifully photographed. I always learn something. Worth your time in this busy world of ours. As is this fabulous episode. Enjoy!

"Writing is a muscle you have to work out every day. If you're not writing it gets out of use...when I read other people's writing I try to pick up their style and the way they describe foods and memories and surroundings."

"I've worked every position there is in a restaurant. It gives me a more well-rounded base of knowledge so when I go sit down to write about food I can pull from different experiences and viewpoints...I find that the best restaurant food critics are the ones who have such a broad background."

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Sara Moulton Speaks Out - Chef Moulton was on the podcast a while back. I thought she might have more to say on this topic!
• Amanda Cohen Speaks Out - She has worked in restaurants for two decades. And she's pissed.
• Fire, Flour, Fork Women in Food Panel Episode - We talk about this episode. It's a good one. But I'm biased.
• Rappahannock Restaurant - Get the mussels with blood sausage. Or the bourride.
• Jessica Fechtor's Book, Stir - What happens when a baker loses her sense of smell? Grab the tissues. One of my favorite pieces of food writing.....EVER.
• Polina Chesnakova's blog about her hand injury - Grab the tissues.
• Molly Reeder - An accomplished illustrator. Her kitchen drawings are phenomenal.
• Honest Biscuits - My favorite place in Seattle. Art Stone is a dear old friend. That's in spirit, not in age.
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Ghost Work. With Unparalleled Hospitality. Welcome to a conversation a long time in the making. I've wanted Chef Angelo Vangelopoulos of the Ivy Inn as a podcast guest since the inception of Edacious! Why? Because the Ivy Inn is a Charlottesville institution and one of my favorite places to eat. Chef Angelo? One of my favorite people inside or out of the food scene both for his humor, kindness, generosity, and his great positive energy. Spend 10 minutes with this guy and you'll discover his enthusiasm for food and life, in general, is contagious.

This conversation was no exception. We talk about his journey in food and the importance of family and community to the restaurant's mission. We even discuss the little-known fact the Ivy Inn is HAUNTED! Love a good ghost story? Angelo has quite a few, including one that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The Ivy Inn is located in a historic building from 1815. No surprise there.

And what about that unparalleled hospitality? It begins the minute you step through the door. This is a family-owned business and Chef Angelo along with his wife Farrell treat each customer as a valuable guest. It's one of the few places where I trust the chef implicitly. When we walk in I don't even look at a menu. I just say, "Feed us!" The Ivy Inn is well-known as a place to celebrate life's milestones: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays. I still recall one 10-course feast a few years back. Which I still haven't quite recovered from. Angelo is classically trained and the food he serves reflects that. French and Greek influences, American flavors, but all of it cooked simply and well. His version of the gyro should be Charlottesville's signature dish. Just saying.

"We don't follow trends very much. We just try to make good food."

"The food is always fun...If all I had to do was just cook all day long every single day I'd be perfectly happy with that. But the whole...atmosphere of running a restaurant goes way beyond the food...there's a whole lot more to it...that's what burns people out."

The Ivy Inn opened in 1973 and since 1995, has been a Vangelopoulos family-owned-and-operated business. One viewing of the video on his website cements that philosophy. He grew up in a restaurant in NOVA and every day Angelo and his friends would attend Family Meal so, from an early age, Angelo knew he wanted to recreate that atmosphere in his own establishment someday.

"There should be a better word than staff...because they're not my family, we're not related....but they're much more than just employees or staff members...we've had a really good retention of people staying, some have stayed a very long time...it's a huge group effort...honestly without my people I could not do this...it's not nearly as important who is running the show as who is here each and every day."

Then there's the Goat Roast. Created for local food professionals in order to give them a rare day off, this event has grown into a community-wide gathering. Now regular guests of the restaurant, area chefs, and anyone else who wants to attend meets at the restaurant for an event unlike anything I've ever experienced. José Andrés has been spotted and one year they started breaking plates until Angelo's mom put a quick stop to that nonsense. Everybody pitches in to help whether that's bringing wine or cleaning up.

"Decide who you are, decide what you want to be as a business and stick to that. Don't jump and change course...to every complaint that anyone makes. If you're doing it right, and it feels right to you, stick to it...Be consistent."

Then there's that generosity of spirit. Chef Angelo is so unbelievably big-hearted whether it's contributing to community fundraisers or coming forward to say, "How can I help?" when someone has an idea for an event. Simon Davidson of The Charlottesville 29 calls it "Vangelopolousity" a level of generosity that other restaurants can only hope to aspire to. One example? We'd barely started talking when he rushed to the oven and presented me with a freshly baked spanakopita. Not only the best in the city but the best I've ever had. I started to take a slice home and he shook his head and offered me the ENTIRE THING. I love my job.

Why does Greek food not translate so well to restaurants? How important is local sourcing? What's it like to be the steward of a landmark like the Ivy Inn? Why are traditions like Family Meal and End of Shift Cocktail going by the wayside? How important are community events like Taste This! to the restaurant's mission? Is he a social entrepreneur? Are awards and recognition important? How is cooking like being a rock star? It's not what you think.

Such a candid interview. Angelo gets vulnerable when talking about his father's hopes for him and his own hopes for his son. How challenging it can be to run a beloved institution while balancing the demands of having a family life outside the restaurant. I'm getting ready to pick my Top 5 for the 3rd Anniversary Special and something tells me this conversation might be a part of it. Cheers!

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Eating Out As A Dangerous Act. An Act of Trust. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a new segment here at Edacious. Created out of unfortunate circumstances. Mainly me passed out on the bathroom floor, cold tile on my face, trying to figure out how I can take a violent episode of food poisoning and make it a valuable topic for discussion.

I'm an optimistic person. So even in situations as dire as this, I'm spinning my mind cogs. Trying to turn this into something that works. An experience to learn from. Welcome to the very first Blue Plate Special, a semi-regular segment where I rant, either alone or with a co-host, about a specific food topic. Today's subject? Food poisoning! How does it happen? Why do we never stop to talk about it?

Thousands of folks serve other folks food every day in this country. A process which involves many steps to ensure the consumer doesn't get sick or even die while enjoying their favorite meal. A complicated process that when successful, goes unnoticed. Restaurants only get accolades when they win awards, or make serious mistakes. In today's Blue Plate Special I talk about how eating out at your favorite restaurant is, in actuality, a dangerous act, an act of deep trust on the part of the consumer. In purchasing a meal, you must trust that every person involved in that meal, from farm to plate to mouth, did their job and did it well. In this Age of Distraction, it's an act that has become even more dangerous.

Have you experienced food poisoning? How did you deal with it? Did you tell them or not? Did you give the restaurant another chance? Shun them? Did you warn others away or chalk it up to a bad day? Let me know! In future episodes, I hope to discuss other less violent but equally volatile topics like tipping, reservations, harrassment, even what makes a great pizza. May you never experience what I just did. And if you do, may your bathroom tile be cold, your bed warm, and your applesauce and Gatorade refreshing. Cheers!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Here it is folks. My Golden Fork Awards for 2017! What did I eat that was noteworthy? A lot of stuff evidently. These are dishes so tasty I have to talk about them at length, even months after eating. Which is how I construct the list, the way I've done it since 2009. It's not a perfect method, just my own. Let me know what you think. Do you agree? Disagree? What did I miss?

2017 was different. A lot happened. To me. To our community. I found myself reaching for foods that screamed "COMFORT" more often than not. I also found my memory ain't what it used to be. So when I ate something that fed more than just my stomach? I wrote it down. Sometimes I remembered to take a photograph. I did away with limits, so there are not 10 dishes or one that tops them all. It's not "Best Of" meaning all the other stuff I ate was subpar. Far from it. This is not a popularity contest. These are my opinions. This is about the folks in our community who do the hard work. The Work of Food. It's about Big Love. These dishes gave me Big Love and comforted me, all of us, at a time when we really needed it. I'm so grateful to everyone who granted me each and every memorable experience.

Thank you for your continued support, suggestions, and comments. I'm honored and proud of our community. At the amount of food talent in our region. I'm beyond grateful for the opportunities my own version of the "Amsterdam Chess Club" has afforded me. 2017 in Edacious World? Not so bad. I took a class, gained a mentor and a student, did my first fundraiser, moderated several food panels, and met two of my heroes. I took my chosen vocation to the next level by just showing up. Doing what needs doing. In launching a podcast I've learned so much about our community, but even more than that I've gained insight into my own being which was entirely unexpected. The only resolution I'm making is to continue these connections. To do more with these conversations. To go deeper. It's been a wild ride and one I hope you'll continue to take with me in 2018. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May it be joyful, rewarding, and full of good food, experiences, and BIG LOVE!

Best of 2017 Golden Fork Award Winners! (Photos Below!)

Cocktail - The Coat Room, Left Field Manhattan.

Beer - Champion Brewery, Shower Beer.

Wine - Jake Busching Wines. All of them. Viognier in particular.

Breakfast (a tie!) Blue Moon Diner. Anything. With Beignets. JM Stock Provisions, Tasso Ham Biscuit with honey and hot sauce.

Lunch - Roots Natural Kitchen, The Southern.

Dinner - The Coat Room. Will Bryant Curley and Reid Dougherty will treat you right.

Dessert (a tie!) Spring Wine Dinner at Caromont Farm with Chef Harrison Keevil of Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen. Pound cake with strawberries, whipped cream. Brasserie Saison, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream.

Takeout - Al Carbon.

Burger - The Pub By Wegman's. Medium rare. With Cheese, Lettuce, and Tomato.

Soup/Stew (a tie!) Soup - Justin Vesser's Pork Belly Consommé at the Soup There It Is! competition by WTJU. Stew - BBQ Exchange, Brunswick Stew.

Fancy Pants Dish (a tie!) The Shack, Chef Ian Boden - Green gazpacho, peanuts, olive oil croutons, cherry olives. The Ivy Inn, Chef Angelo Vangelopoulos - Bite-sized gyro at Meals on Wheels Taste This! charity event.

Sandwich - The Market At Bellair, The Jefferson.

Bread (a tie!) MarieBette Café and Bakery, Olive Baguette. Orange Dot Baking Company, Rosemary Major Muffins.

Snack - Mochiko Cville, SPAM Musubi.

Treat - Gearhart's Fine Chocolates, Malt Caramels.

Craving (three-way tie!) JM Stock Provisions, Cerdito Sausage. Carpe Donut, Apple Cider Donuts. The Spice Diva, Simon Davidson's Everything Bagel Spice.

Cookie - The Pie Chest, Oatmeal Creme Pie.

Brownie - Gearhart's Fine Chocolates.

Cake - Arley Cakes, Lemon raspberry Birthday Cake.

Cheesecake - Paradox Pastry.

Pie - The Pie Chest, Chocolate Pie.

Pastry - MarieBette Café and Bakery, Vanilla Cloud Bronut.

Events (four-way tie!) Love Fest at IX. Wine Dinners at Caromont Farm. Cardinal Point Oyster Roast. Fire, Flour, & Fork Merroir Lunch with Gabrielle Hamilton.

Edacious Golden Fork Hall of Fame - Dishes that have appeared on "The List" for 3 years or more. Congratulations!

2014 – BBQ Exchange - Smoked Turkey 2016 – BBQ Exchange - Lard Fried Chicken 2016 – Bodo's Bagels - Pastrami and Swiss on an Everything with lettuce, tomato, and mustard 2017 – Paradox Pastry - Lemon Hand Pies 2017 – Pearl's Bake Shoppe - Plain Jane Cupcake 2017 – Whole Foods - White Pizza with lemon, arugula, currants, and mozzarella

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

I apologize for the moments of bad audio...tried like heck to fix it! Any gurus out there? I'm all ears! Literally. After hours of battle, the headphones have melded themselves to my head!

Quick, Healthy Dinner Work. With Slow, Conscious Growth and Balance. Welcome to Episode 88! In this conversation, I speak with Eric and Leslie Benz of Hunter Gatherer Dinners. Shelf-stable meal kits that are convenient, quick, and produced locally. Dinner kits seem a trend that's here to stay, but unlike big box companies such as Blue Apron, when you purchase a Hunter Gatherer Dinner you know exactly how and where your kit is created. And unlike those other companies, most of the packaging is biodegradable. Hunter Gatherer Dinners can sit in your pantry until you need them, the perfect dinner solution on those nights when you come home exhausted. The Benz's develop the recipes, source the ingredients, and package each kit with care by hand. Each kit contains everything you need to create a delicious, healthy main dish and side. All you add is your favorite protein. Every ingredient is premeasured and the label contains not only a shopping list but clearly numbered steps so even a novice can put a tasty, healthy meal on the table in 20-30 minutes. With Hunter Gatherer Dinners if you can count, you can cook.

Partner a kit with your local CSA share! Or something like Meat Club from JM Stock Provisions! Or produce you pick up at the farmer's market! Each kit fits well with your favorite protein and most of the side dishes are ancient grains like farro, quinoa, and wild rice. Hunter Gatherer Dinners are all low fat, some are gluten-free, while others can be easily adapted for vegetarians. Even the black beans in the Bonanza Chili have been pre-cooked then dehydrated to cut down on prep time.

They also make the perfect gift! Consider a young couple getting married and just setting up house, or a student heading off to college. How about a housewarming gift, something easy to prepare while you unpack your kitchen? And a terrific Christmas gift for all the hikers and campers and hunters on your list. Or even the gift of convenience for yourself during a hectic holiday season.

In a world where there never seems to be enough time, reaching for an overprocessed pre-prepared meal is an easy choice. But eating this way long term can cause serious health issues and high medical bills. Eating clean is not only essential to good health but in this day and age, it's becoming an act of resistance. Food as medicine. As a former cancer survivor, Eric Benz understands this. With Leslie they have created a kit marrying both ideas. Clean eating plus convenience.

Origins of the name? We are all hunter gatherers. As conscious consumers, we hunt and gather ingredients to make healthy meals for ourselves and our families. Especially if you have special dietary needs like paleo, vegan, or gluten-free you are hunting and gathering every time you shop. The Benz's are foodies from the west coast as well as passionate advocates for the outdoors and its health benefits. Hunter Gatherer Dinners was started because they wanted to take their passion for food and create something together. Leslie handles the graphic design, Eric handles logistics. Both collaborate on recipe development and brainstorming.

To get the word out, they use a face-to-face approach. Converting one customer at a time to their cause. Which means demos. Lots of them, including the Charlottesville City Market. And Whole Foods for the time being. We talk about Amazon's acquisition and what it might mean for small businesses who use this high-traffic location to spread the news about their products. Community events like Tomtoberfest and teaching events through the Boys and Girls Clubs also help, not only with marketing but getting young folks cooking and eating with awareness. Future plans? Buying an RV and traveling the country, managing the business from the road. Blogging and videos and social media from campgrounds and RV parks around the country. More boots on the ground advertising, converting customers one camper at a time.

How do you manage your time, prioritize, when there's only the two of you while at the same time growing your business? Is it more important to chase the big boys like Whole Foods or should you focus on getting your product into smaller, local markets? How did they develop their recipes? We talk about it all. The organic movement has been around since there have been hunters and gatherers. Convenience foods which made their appearance at the beginning of the 20th century moved our focus but that focus is definitely curving back around. Now eating clean is an act of resistance against big corporations and big agriculture and the Benz's are proud to be a part of that. Hunter Gatherer Dinners are available at most of your favorite local stores, at Whole Foods, Ellwood Thompson, on Amazon, on Etsy, and on their website. These kits are big on taste when you're short on time. Get yours today but not before listening to this wonderful conversation. Cheers!

Seared Steak or Venison with Red Wine Chocolate Sauce and Wild Rice with Cranberries Cedar Plank Game Hen with Porcini Quinoa Pilaf Cedar Plank Pork Tenderloin with Farro Risotto Cedar Plank Salmon with Moroccan Couscous and Sultanas Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice Rio Grande Taco Mix with Ancho Black Beans Stuffed Acorn Squash with Wild Rice and Porcini Mushroom Bonanza Chili

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Dinner Work. With Lots and Lots of Community Effort. Welcome to a very special Thanksgiving episode! In this season of gratitude, I'm feeling very grateful for so many things, both personal and professional. What better way to celebrate that gratitude than with an event by the community for the community.

Farm dinners at Caromont happen twice a year, at the beginning of the season to celebrate new growth, and at the end to celebrate harvest. Ceremonial beginnings and endings. All food is locally sourced and prepared by Food Folks who live and work in this region. They've become so popular I often see the same faces around the table, smiling, sipping wine, and introducing the newbies to the magic that is Caromont Farm.

So when cheesemaker Gail Hobbs-Page asked me to record the event I did a happy dance. After listening to the results? I did another. And felt very grateful I captured this moment with sound. This Thanksgiving, as you travel and cook and take deep breaths because your Uncle Raymond said something idiotic, I hope you'll take a moment to be grateful for the things you have, rather than spending time dwelling on the things you want. After experiencing the 3rd Annual Farm Dinner at Caromont once again through audio, I find I have very much indeed. I wish you peace, joy, BIG LOVE, and extra stuffing. Happy Thanksgiving!

Speakers you will hear in this episode:

Gail Hobbs-Page - Farm Dinner Host and owner of Caromont Farm. Ian Boden - Chef of The Shack in Staunton, Virginia. Corry Blanc - Blacksmith at Blanc Creatives. Vu Nguyen - Of Blanc Creatives. Brian Noyes and Dwight McNeill - Of Red Truck Rural Bakery.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• BBQ Exchange - Order their smoked turkey for the holidays like I did. You won't regret it!
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Kitchen Work. With Badass Women. Welcome to a very special episode! In this season of gratitude, I'm feeling very grateful for Richmond's Fire, Flour, & Fork festival. Not only did it land me my dream podcast guest, Gabrielle Hamilton (episode up now!), but I was asked to moderate a Women in Food panel with some of the top names in our industry.

Women in Food. Every festival seems to do this. It's not like when you sign up for your breakout sessions you see a panel called, Men in Food. Is it necessary? Has the conversation been exhausted? Yes and no. As you will hear in this episode recorded just two weeks ago all of our panelists, while somewhat tired of being asked the same questions, feel the conversation must continue, particularly in light of the recent allegations against chefs like John Besh.

Who are our panelists? Chef Joy Crump of FoodE and Mercantile in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Season 12 of Top Chef contestant, Kerry Diamond of Cherry Bombe, the new Cherry Bombe cookbook, and Radio Cherry Bombe, Chef Kristen Kish, Season 10 winner of Top Chef and author of the cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques, and Chef Jessica Wilson, who will open her restaurant Grace in the Chimborazo neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia next spring. We discuss the dynamic between men and women in the kitchen, the disparity between gender images projected by the industry and the market's expectations, recipe development, core values and goals, sexual harassment, and much much more. As I said in my last episode, so much happens when you choose to just show up for your life. Enjoy!

Speakers you will hear in this episode:

Joy Crump

Joy is the co-owner and Executive Chef of FOODE and Mercantile in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta's Culinary Arts program, Joy specializes in researching and preparing locally grown, and organic foods. Her career began in Los Angeles working as the caterer and event planner for the President of Capitol Records. At the same time, she worked on private events for Warner Bros. Television. In 2005, Joy relocated to Atlanta where she studied under Chef Bradley Rouse, head chef for The Atlanta Hawks while working on her degree. After graduation, Joy began cooking at Woodfire Grill as an apprentice to Chef Micahel Tuohy. Joy appeared in Season 12 of Top Chef last fall and her signature Chicken & Waffles won the Virginia is for Lovers Culinary Madness Challenge in April.

Kerry Diamond

Kerry is the co-founder of Cherry Bombe, an independent, bi-annual magazine examining the inexplicably intertwined worlds of food and fashion and host of the weekly Radio Cherry Bombe podcast. Kerry has worked for Women's Wear Daily, Harper's Bazaar, Lancome, and Coach just to name a few. After falling in love with a chef, she helped him open 3 restaurants, all in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Cherry Bombe the cookbook is a collection of recipes and stories from 100 of the most creative and inspiring women in food today.

Kristen Kish

Kristen was born in Seoul, South Korea, adopted at the age of 4 months, and grew up in Michigan. After attending Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, she worked for Michelin star chef Guy Martin of Le Grand Véfour at his Boston restaurant. She then worked for Barbara Lynch in Boston, first at Stir, and then at Menton, a Relais Chateaux restaurant which she ran when she was 29. Barbara became a mentor, suggesting she might want to audition for Top Chef. She did, winning Season 10. Kristen has co-hosted the series 36 Hours on The Travel Channel and her first cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking, is a celebration of her taste buds, focusing on classic techniques. As she says, "Once you know the basics, from braising to pickling, smoking to searing, you can bend them to your will."

Jessica Wilson

Jessica has worked with, been taught by, and inspired and motivated by chefs such as Julia Child, Gabrielle Hamilton, Missy Robbins, and Job Yacubian. She's always been surrounded by the culinary arts from her early years growing up on a farm in Vermont to working with culinary historians to foraging on morning walks to her first job as a dishwasher at age 14. Wilson's two-decade career has taken her from Vermont to Florida to Massachusetts, and on to success in the East Village and Brooklyn in New York. Her resume includes time at Prune and A Voce, and most recently turns as executive chef at Goat Town and the Michelin-recommended Dear Bushwick. Jessica is now poised to open GRACE in Richmond, a neighborhood garden-to-table restaurant with an emphasis on fresh, sustainable, local, and affordable. The green space of the double lot will be a seasonal garden, providing for the restaurant and a morning community market.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Foggy Ridge Cider - Owner Diane Flynt is stopping cider production, but continuing her important work growing cider apples for area cideries. Get the Final Call while it's still available! Then rent her garden cottage. Heaven on earth.
• Tim & Sarah Gorman, Cardinal Point Winery - Just amazing wine. Listen to their episode!
• Laurie Colwin - Great cookbooks, full of story. Laurie left us way too early.
• Edna Lewis's A Taste of Country Cooking - The gold standard when it comes to intertwining recipes and story.
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.

Dream Guest Work. With Just Showing Up. Welcome to a very special episode! Back in February 2015 when I started this podcast, I spent a great deal of time figuring out my core values. Face-to-face interviews? Check. Community focus? Check. Dream guest? That one was easy. Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in NYC is #1 on my laminated list, both for her otherworldly food but even more so for her panache with food writing. Ever since I devoured her Mind of a Chef episodes and her memoir, Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, I've been praying to the podcast gods to somehow, some way talk with this woman who writes likes I want to write and cooks the food I want to eat.

In this episode, I traveled to Merroir in Topping, Virginia to record her event with Chef Dylan Fultineer of Rappahannock in Richmond - a lunch completely foraged in and around the restaurant. Oysters, rockfish, trout, and greens. Softshell crab and sweet potatoes. Hyperlocal and cooked simply over a grill. With minimal ingredients, so the main one shines through. Around 50 people attended this event as part of Richmond's 4th Annual Fire, Flour, & Fork festival which is quickly becoming one of my favorite food gatherings of the year. Listen and you'll see why. Picture a perfect 80-degree sunny day, no humidity or wind, with only the seagulls, lapping water, and crunching oyster shells underfoot and the happy smiles of other diners as your companions. Gaze at the pictures in my Facebook album as you listen. It's almost as if you are there. Speaking with Chef Hamilton was a dream come true, a major career highlight. Great things happen when you choose to show up for your life.

In the second half of the episode, hear Chef Hamilton speak with Kerry Diamond of Cherry Bombe as part of Gabrielle's keynote address at Fire, Flour, & Fork. Topics include women in the kitchen, the challenges of being a chef, mentoring and what that means, and Gabrielle's new book, a memoir. Pictures are on my Facebook profile. It's charming and funny and thoughtful and only cemented my belief that Gabrielle Hamilton is the ballsiest, most badass chef and writer around. Enjoy!

From the Fire, Flour, & Fork website: "Gabrielle is the chef/owner of PRUNE, which she opened in New York City's East Village in October 1999. PRUNE has been recognized in all major press, both nationally and internationally, and is regularly cited in the top 100 lists of all major food magazines. Gabrielle has made numerous television appearances including segments with Martha Stewart, Mark Bittman, and Mike Colameco and was the victor in her Iron Chef America battle against Bobby Flay on The Food Network in 2008. Most notably, she won an Emmy for her role in Season 4 of the award-winning PBS series Mind of a Chef. Gabrielle has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Food & Wine, Afar, Travel and Leisure, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, and House Beautiful. Her work has been anthologized in Best Food Writing 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013. Gabrielle was nominated for Best Chef NYC in 2009 and 2010 by the James Beard Foundation and in 2011 won the category. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, which has been published in six languages and won the James Beard Foundation's award for Writing and Literature in 2012. She won her third James Beard award in 2015 for her piece "Into the Vines" published in Afar. Most recently, she wrote the cookbook, Prune, featuring 250 recipes from her East Village restaurant. She is a monthly columnist for The New York Times Magazine and is currently at work on her next book, a memoir, to be completed in 2018."

Speakers you will hear in this episode:

Wendy Wyne - Marketing & PR Director, Rappahannock Oyster Company Patrick Oliver - Farm Manager, Rappahannock Oyster Company Susan Winiecki - Co-Founder and Co-Manager, Fire, Flour, & Fork Dylan Fultineer - Chef, Rappahannock Gabrielle Hamilton - Chef, Prune Bryce Carson - Fire, Flour, & Fork Volunteer Kerry Diamond - Cherry Bombe

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Restaurant Unstoppable - Thank you, Eric Cacciatore, for having me on your podcast!
• Tim & Sarah Gorman, Cardinal Point Winery - Listen to their episode then buy your tickets to the 14th Annual Oyster Roast. This weekend!
• Fire, Flour, & Fork - Richmond's BEST food event. One of my favorites.
• Cherry Bombe - Where fashion meets food. With a huge shot of feminism to boot.
• Cherry Bombe cookbook - Get you one! It's glorious.
• Rappahannock River Oysters - Oh yeah baby. The best. Order them online!
• Help Scotty Recover - My best friend has Stage 3B colon cancer. Bills are piling up. He can't work. Can you help? Share! Donate! No amount is too small. Thank you and BIG LOVE to everyone who donated and shared the Big Love Bake Sale and Big Love Birthday!
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
• Subscribe to Edacious News - Never miss a food event in our area! Learn about regional and national food stories so you can stay edacious!
• Leave a review about Edacious! - Click the link, then "View in iTunes" then "Ratings and Reviews". Whether you think it's great, or not so great, I want to hear from you. I might just read your review on the air! Whoa! #famousforahotminute

This episode is sponsored by Teej.fm and listeners like you who donated their support at Patreon, who wants every creator in the world to achieve a sustainable income. Thank you.