Heaping Spoonful

In this episode of Heaping Spoonful hear how Chef Shanna became what she is today by using local, fresh ingredients. Hear about her inspirations and Thursday night Jazz Night.

Kelley Bass, one of the two founding members of Heaping Spoonful is now the Chief Executive Officer of the Museum of Discovery. This episode is a "passing of the torch" as Kelley did 100+ episodes of HS leaving a well paved trail for Brayan to get started. Rusty and Brayan thought it was only appropriate to have Kelley on as the first guest of the new era.

Heaping Spoonful began as an idea -- and a name -- created by Rusty Mathis, general manager at Ben E. Keith Foods Mid-South Division. And after nearly 100 episodes, the podcast series ends with an interview with Rusty, who tells listeners about his background and how BEK works to differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace.

Wendy Schay and Jill McDonald tell listeners how a friendship forged as students and then instructors at culinary school led to selling their wares at farmer's markets, then from a food truck and today at The Crossainterie, a popular restaurant in West Little Rock.

How can a career lead from washing dishes to having three home freezers full of top-quality meat -- and not visiting the butcher counter for at least two years? Tune into Heaping Spoonful and let Chef Gilbert Alaquinez tell you how that happened to him.

When most people think of what a food service company like Ben E. Keith does, warehousing and delivering food is certainly at the top of the list. But having an executive chef like Shane Henderson on staff to help customers in almost countless ways is also part of the equation. And Chef Shane came upstairs from his demo kitchen to tell listeners all about it.

Mary Laws, owner of RP Tracks in Memphis, called the hotline to tell listeners how her restaurant/bar has cultivated a great vibe and loyal clientele with a menu that mixes classic meat-focused apps, sandwiches and main courses with lots of creative "animal-friendly" (vegetarian) dishes that has helped it thrive for more than 35 years.

Coby Smith tells Heaping Spoonful listeners how he parlayed his experience as a chef to focus on health care facilities, including some national media coverage he got for the ramen he featured at one spot that became the rage. Today he's thrilling patients, families and staff at CARTI, a Little Rock-based cancer care facility. And, yes, he still prepares THE ramen from time to time.

Meredith Chapuis, one of the three founders, and Chef Dylan McClure tell listeners how their For the Love nonprofit in Northwest Arkansas doesn't just feed hundreds of food-insecure people each week but also helps build community and create the connections that help people find new opportunities to improve their lives in multiple ways.

Scott Rains dropped by to talk about how his skills, his menu and his restaurant -- Table 28 in the Burgundy Hotel in West Little Rock -- have progressed over the 10 years he's been the executive chef there.