Food Connected

With everyone spending more time at home these days, we know many of you have been perfecting your cocktail (or just plain boozing) skills. So today we have an extra special spirituous episode featuring two ladies of whiskey - Naomi Leslie, East Coast Brand Ambassador for Balvenie, and Tracie Franklin, Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich.

Naomi Leslie
After years of honing her skills in the bartending and craft cocktail industry in New York, Naomi Leslie joined The Balvenie as the east coast US brand ambassador in 2018.
Born in Massachusetts, Naomi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, then moved to New York to begin her journey in the spirits industry. Her career began at the highly revered cocktail bar Dear Irving, where she rose through the ranks and worked with the management team to open a new bar, The Bennett. During her time at Dear Irving and The Bennett, Naomi also trained at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain where she explored food and Scotch-specific pairings, piquing her initial interest in single malts.
Following, Naomi’s most recent role was at critically acclaimed bar BlackTail in lower Manhattan, where she led staff trainings pertaining to bartending technique and product and category knowledge, while taking courses on her own that focused on branding, social media and distillation. She took an active role in helping to develop the highly regarded, award-winning cocktail menu throughout her time at BlackTail.
Naomi has taken part in a variety of cocktail training curricula across the country, including Tales of the Cocktail’s Cocktail Apprentice Program and Cocktails in the Country with Gaz Regan. Additionally, she has led tastings, workshops, seminars and dinners across the Eastern US, highlighting topics ranging from rare prestige variants, to new releases, to encouraging diversity and advocacy for women in the cocktail and whisky worlds. Her inventive cocktail creations have been featured in Forbes and Liquor.com, among others.
In her free time, Naomi is an avid traveler and a photographer, specializing in beverage, food and travel.

Tracie Franklin
Tracie Franklin’s path to the role of brand ambassador for Glenfiddich has been anything but linear. Growing up in a military family, she learned to love travel and admire the cuisines and cultures that came along with it. She was introduced to the dazzling world of theatre by her military father and followed her heart to the stage where her presence and melodic voice landed her leading roles. She has performed in productions from Thailand to London and New York City. 

While traveling, her adventurous spirit drove her to seek out unique food and beverages from around the world. This passionate pursuit was a powerful asset once she took the next turn on her path into the world of hospitality. Tracie has held nearly every front of the house position in the restaurant business, but she was able to shine as a bartender is some of New York’s cocktails bars. 

It wasn’t until she tasted her first Single Malt Scotch Whisky that she realized the next phase in her life was down the whisky rabbit hole. That taste of malt, saline, and fruity sweetness sent her to classes and trainings with the best teachers in the whisky community. After years of studying, internships and whisky work she founded Whersky, an organization bringing together whisky drinkers of all backgrounds to build a more diverse, inclusive whisky culture. Most recently, Tracie was awarded “Scotch Ambassador of the Year 2020” by Whisky Magazine.

Tracie currently resides in Washington D.C. and is serving as the Glenfiddich Ambassador for the East Coast.  

From growing up within a dedicated show business household to becoming the CEO of an ever-expanding organization with over 20 + years of Hospitality and Entertainment experience, Morgan Margolis has been on a long journey that continues to move forward and upward. 

At the beginning of 2000, Margolis signed with Knitting Factory Entertainment (KFE) as Operations Manager at the newly opened Knitting Factory Club in Los Angeles. At the time, KFE’s enterprises included only the Hollywood venue, and the well-known Manhattan avant-jazz club (established in 1987) and a catalog of independent music on the Knitting Factory label. 

Margolis took over as Vice President of West Coast Operations as the company expanded to the Pacific Northwest, where KFE opened concert houses in Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington, and also produced tours and concerts at other high-capacity venues throughout the nation. In 2007, after successfully running Pacific Northwest operations, Margolis was promoted to Vice President of National Operations. 

Within a year, Margolis was named CEO of Knitting Factory Entertainment and for the last nine years has helmed the company. Guiding the corporation from a three-unit venue business, with $5 million in  yearly gross revenues, to a twenty unit multiple tiered operation and portfolio company to north of $40 million a year in grosses and 600 employees nationally. 

With the recent economic and health crisis and outbreak of coronavirus, on this episode with Chef Akhtar Nawab we discuss the fate of our industry, what actions need to be taken immediately, and how brands/companies can help support their favorite restaurants, bars, and chefs.

Akhtar Nawab is chef and owner of Alta Calidad in New York, advisor at Prather’s on the Alley in D.C. and Otra Vez in New Orleans.

With nearly 25 years of experience in the kitchen, the Kentucky-born chef of Indian heritage has embraced Mexican cuisine, connecting the layered, complex cooking and ingredients of Mexico with the Indian food he grew up eating.

Nawab’s ‘less-is-more’ style of cooking has earned him critical praise throughout the years, beginning with his experience in the kitchen at acclaimed restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Craftbar and Craft, the latter of which received three stars from The New York Times and won the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” Award during Nawab’s tenure. Nawab moved on to serve as the executive chef of East Village gastropub The E.U., for which he received StarChef’s “Rising Star Chef” award before striking out on his own as a partner at Elettaria. Moving towards Mexican cuisine, Nawab took the helm at popular NYC hotspot La Esquina.  In 2017, Nawab opened Alta Calidad in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. There he serves his smart and creative take on Mexican cuisine in a vibrant neighborhood atmosphere, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2018. The same year, he opened Prather’s on the Alley in Washington D.C., a modern take on a classic American restaurant with a focus on local ingredients. 

In April 2019, Nawab will open to Otra Vez at The Standard in the South Market District in New Orleans. Much like his own culinary style, Nawab has long admired the diverse cuisines and gastronomic influences represented in New Orleans. At Otra Vez, Nawab will continue to build on his refined style of cooking, with dishes rooted in the big, classic flavors associated with Mexican cuisine incorporating the ingredients of Louisiana. Later this spring, Nawab will open ACTQ, a more casual version of Alta Calidad serving tacos, tortas and Mexican roti at Time Out Market in downtown Brooklyn.

Building on his vast food hall experience, with Choza and Indie Fresh, In May 2019 Nawab will open the Inner Rail Food Hall in Omaha, NE.  His vast and intimate knowledge of food halls makes Nawab an expert in the field of operations management. 

Nawab has been featured in various publications, including Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and Eater, and has appeared on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” He was included in acclaimed cookbook Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs (Phaidon, 2009) and will release his first cookbook Good For You, all about his unique take on healthy food, in 2020. 

Chef Clay Conley has worked his way around the kitchen since he started washing dishes as a teenager. Raised on 30 acres in rural Maine, in a 19th century home heated only by wood fire, Conley’s childhood was defined by chopping wood, tending to farm animals and a garden, and planting a 1000-tree orchard, which instilled his love of fresh, seasonal ingredients and the full-flavored, wood fired dishes that have become his signature as a chef.

Conley moved to Boston after college to work for Todd English, ultimately serving as the celebrity chef’s Director of Culinary Operations, overseeing 18 restaurants around the world.  Upon his return to South Florida, Conley received accolades for his tenure as Executive Chef at Azul in the Mandarin Oriental Miami before relocating to Palm Beach to open his first chef-helmed venture –Buccan – in 2011.  The modern American restaurant, which continues to be one of the island’s toughest reservations, focuses on complex yet balanced small plates, and is credited with revolutionizing the Palm Beach dining scene.  Chef-driven cuisine in a sophisticated, relaxed atmosphere was a new phenomenon on the tony island, and Conley followed Buccan’s success with Imoto (“little sister”), a Japanese/Asian concept next door inspired by his time living in Tokyo.  In 2016, Conley opened Grato, a neighborhood Italian concept West Palm Beach, which features a wood-burning oven, grill and rotisserie.  He is currently working on a new venture, Chateau Miami, to open winter 2020.

Five-time nominee for a James Beard Award as a “Best Chef in America: South,” Conley and his restaurants have been recognized in national and international publications including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, NY Post, Robb Report, Conde Nast Traveler, Miami Herald, Complot, Boston Globe, Fodor’s and USA Today. Buccan has been praised by Forbes as one of the best restaurants in Palm Beach and has received “Best Restaurant” honors from all area publications. Clay has also cooked on Emeril’s Florida, featured on both the Food Network and Cooking Channel, PBS’s The Victory Garden, The Today Show and Fox and Friends.
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Chef Zach Bell, a four-time James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: South, spent his formative years in New York working alongside Chef Andrew Carmellini with culinary legend Daniel Boulud.  A Florida native, Bell returned to Palm Beach in 2003 to open Boulud’s first venture outside New York City, the award-winning Café Boulud, and later opened Boulud’s Miami restaurant.  In 2011, Bell joined Delray Beach’s exclusive Addison Reserve Country Club, the #7th ranked private club in America, as Executive Chef.  At Addison Reserve, Bell oversaw seven separate dining venues, as well as all private dining and special events for the club.

In 2019, Bell joined friend and colleague Chef Clay Conley and his acclaimed Palm Beach County-based restaurant group to oversee culinary operations for Buccan, Grato, Imoto and the Buccan Sandwich Shop. Alongside his extensive fine dining experience, Bell boasts unparalleled knowledge of restaurant operations – from developing comprehensive training programs to overseeing all aspects of day-to-day management. Bell’s passion for recognizing and training talented chefs began while studying at Johnson & Wales and working in their Career Development Office. He brings this unique and highly valued expertise to the company as they expand and explore new opportunities for growth.

Winner of Bravo's Top Chef Season 15, Joe will open his debut restaurant in the Chicago’s Fulton Market, summer 2020. The menu will focus on Adriatic drinking food from Croatia and Italy. 

Most recently, Joe worked as Executive Chef at Chicago's Michelin-starred
Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia for 5.5 years. There, he cooked and learned alongside the one-and-only Chef Tony Mantuano, aka the Godfather of Italian fine-dining in America, who’s forever family. 

Prior to Spiaggia, Joe worked in other iconic Chicago kitchens, starting with Grandma
Mary's. She taught him how to cook for their big family. Pastas, ravioli, pizzas — all made by hand. He refined his culinary skills alongside Chicago's best chefs, including Stephanie Izard at Girl and the Goat, Art Smith at Table Fifty-Two, and Bill Kim at bellyQ. Joe has staged in some of Italy's best kitchens, too, including Glass Hostaria in Rome and Del Pescatore in Mantova, a genuinely magic place. 

He's cooked for presidents, celebrities, the James Beard Foundation and more, but his favorite person to cook for is his wife/roommate, Hillary. In his free time, Joe enjoys dayoffing with Hillary and their son, Luka, who couldn’t be more awesome.

An old world German chef was the best thing to happen to Jonathon Sawyer. Back in the early 2000’s Sawyer found himself in engineering school staring at an auto-cad program on a computer screen every day and cooking in a local Dayton Ohio restaurant every night. The Chef, staunch in his stubborn ways one day came to Sawyer and said in his thick German accent “you, you are good at cooking.” Surprised & enamored with praise coming from his surly German boss he realized engineering school wasn’t for him and promptly dropped out to attend to culinary school. He would find his love in the kitchen. Not an uncommon occurrence however the years that followed would be. Sawyer would go on to work for Chef Charlie Palmer in New York City before opening a Parea in NYC & Lolita in Ohio for Michael Symon. After his son Catcher was born he headed home to Cleveland where he went on to build a small empire of restaurants including The Greenhouse Tavern, Noodlecat, & Trentina, as well as a probiotic vinegar business. In 2010 Chef Sawyer won the Food & Wine “Best New Chef” award and in 2015 he won the James Beard Foundation Award Best Chef: Great Lakes. When Jonathon is not in the kitchen he is hanging out with his wife Amelia, their two kids Catcher & Louisiana, their three dogs Potato, Clementine Francis Bean, and Brenda Walsh.

Like her father, Bell & Evans Owner Scott Sechler, Margo grew up on her family’s farm, helping raise chickens and learning the family business from a young age.

Passionate about helping others, Margo received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Penn State University. She has worked in emergency services as an ambulance EMT and emergency room nurse, and she currently volunteers as a Firefighter/EMT with the local fire company.

“I worked hard to earn my nursing license, and I think it’s important to use those skills to give back,” Margo says. “But I always knew I’d wind up in the family business because I love our company and its values. I can be philanthropic through my role and give back to our team members, farm families and local community.”

Margo’s education, experience and interpersonal skills serve her well as Bell & Evans Executive Vice President, where she is involved in Live Production, Human Resources and Public Relations.

Margo and her brother, Scott Jr., will succeed Scott Sr. as the 5th generation of leaders of the family-owned business.

Blais currently owns and operates Trail Blais, a forward-thinking culinary company that has consulted on, designed, and operated multiple popular eateries. He is a partner at San Diego’s acclaimed restaurant Juniper & Ivy and multiple locations of The Crack Shack, his rapidly expanding fried chicken and egg concept. Most recently, Trail Blais opened Yellowbelly, an island-inspired seafood restaurant, in St. Louis.

Blais is the James Beard Award-nominated author of Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate, as well as his second cookbook, So Good. He frequently makes appearances on such hit Food Network shows as Guy’s Grocery Games, Next Food Network Star and Cooks vs. Cons, to name just a few. In addition, Blais hosts the hit hospitality industry podcast entitled “Starving for Attention” which provides an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look into the food industry, and has featured guests including Wylie Dufresne, Michael Voltaggio, Andrew Zimmern, Gail Simmons, Lou Diamond Phillips, and more.

When not on set, in the kitchen or at home with his family, Blais may be found traveling cross country performing his live “stand up cooking” show to enthusiastic audiences nationwide.

Tony Rodriguez is the Director of Marketing for the Four Seasons Palm Beach. A true brand veteran, Tony’s career with Four Seasons spans nearly twenty-four years and has placed him at many notable properties.  Tony is a humble leader and consistently recognized for his sharp business acumen and keen ability to inspire and develop top performing teams.

Tony's Four Seasons journey started as a college recruit through the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality.  His first operational role was in the Rooms Division as an Assistant Valet Parking Manager at Four Seasons Boston.  Through hard work and an unrelenting obsession to learn, he progressed through the rooms division and eventually earned his first promotion as Assistant Director of Housekeeping at Four Seasons Hotel Houston.  

It was in Houston that Tony had his first exposure to Sales and Marketing during a temporary assignment overseeing the Reservations Department, which led to the role of Director of Revenue and Reservations.  Intrigued with the Art and Science of Sales and Marketing, he transitioned to the role of Sales Manager.  

That led to a promotion to the Director of Sales at Four Season Philadelphia, followed by a transfer to Four Seasons Miami in the same role.  The experience he garnered in each of his previous positions, led to his first Executive Committee post as the Director of Sales and Marketing in Miami. Tony then embarked on his first resort experience and moved to Four Seasons Palm Beach as the Director of Marketing.

Promoted to Senior Director of Marketing in 2015, Tony has played an instrumental role in the Four Seasons brand expansion in Florida.  In his expanded role, he was part of a core team, opening the iconic and historic Four Seasons Hotel and Residences at The Surf Club in Surfside, Florida.  Most recently, Tony has been instrumental in paving the way for the multi-million-dollar renovation and re-positioning of the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.  Through collaborations with some of the world’s most prestigious and notable design and culinary talent, these past years have been both professional and personal highlights in Tony’s career.  

Tony was the President and Founder of the University of New Hampshire Chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH).  In 1995, he became the first Hispanic person elected to National Chairperson.  Fun-Fact, he was responsible for the re-branding of NSHM from the National Society of Minority Hoteliers to the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality to embrace all aspects of our industry. 

TV personality, culinary traveler, cook and author, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. With the diverse culinary mecca of New York City at his fingertips, Adam’s love affair with and intense interest in food and food culture developed at an early age. Though originally he was most widely known as the host of Travel Channel’s “Man V. Food,” Adam’s résumé has since expanded to include host and co-executive producer of five titles across Travel Channel (“Man V. Food Nation,” “Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America,” “Fandemonium,” “Carnivore Chronicles” and “Secret Eats”) and host of NBC’s “Food Fighters.” In addition to being a frequent contributor to NBC’s “The TODAY Show,” he is also the author of two books (America the Edible, Straight Up Tasty), and his production company, County of Kings, co-created and co-executive produced “BBQ Champ,” a wildly popular competition series, for ITV in the UK. A Yale graduate, Adam speaks four languages and has traveled the globe – visiting 13 countries alone for season two of “Secret Eats with Adam Richman” – on his quest to highlight local food culture on a national stage and uncover the world’s hidden edible treasures.