John Harpool, executive chef and general manager at Bocca in Fayetteville, Arkansas, stopped by to tell Heaping Spoonful listeners how he parlayed a mild interest in food as a kid to a successful career -- and why his restaurant is committed to making everything from scratch, including all pasta, salad dressings, bread and desserts.

Ryan Hamra stopped by the Heaping Spoonful studios to tell how his expected career -- running his family's group of Wendy's restaurants -- was derailed by his father's death when Ryan was in high school ... and how he parlayed what he learned there and afterward to launch successful Blue Coast Burrito and Potbelly Sandwich Shop outlets in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Sally Mengel didn't even intend to have a real "business" when she first started making ice cream to sell in the Green Corner Store in 2011. But what a business she and her team have built, selling ice cream and other sweet treats in the Loblolly Creamery shop next door and at locations all across Arkansas. She stopped by to tell Heaping Spoonful how that all happened!

Chef Andre Poirot stopped by the studio to tell listeners the details of his long and fascinating career that has taken him from his home country of France to London, Bermuda, New Orleans and, for the last 18-plus years, to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he now serves as executive chef at 42 Bar and Table in the Clinton Presidential Center.

Chef Andre Poirot stopped by the studio to tell listeners the details of his long and fascinating career that has taken him from his home country of France to London, Bermuda, New Orleans and, for the last 18-plus years, to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he now serves as executive chef at 42 Bar and Table in the Clinton Presidential Center.

Sam Walker, executive chef at Theo's in Fayetteville, Arkansas, called the Heaping Spoonful hotline and explained the many steps along his impressive career journey -- from deli counter worker at Fresh Market to high-profile roles at several south Florida upscale restaurants.

Ben Brainard stopped by to tell Heaping Spoonful listeners how seeing a pressing need in the market -- a top-quality breakfast option in west Little Rock -- led him to partner with renowned chef/restaurateur John Currence to open the state's first Big Bad Breakfast.

Noted Arkansas food writer Kat Robinson stopped by to tell her unlikely story of how she became a TV news producer and later transitioned to become perhaps the most prolific and influential chronicler of the Arkansas food scene.

Brayan McFadden sat down to talk about being as chef at Brood & Barley in North Little Rock, AR, and how his Philadelphia culinary roots are evident in the restaurant's fun and eclectic menu. Like with the mussels, octopus and "the stupid burger".

Lisa Provencio-Jones and her husband Bert Jones, came to the Heaping Spoonful satellite studio in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to tell the historic story of the beginnings of Gaskins Cabin in 1864, how it morphed into a restaurant in the 1980s and what they've done to elevate it as one of the top steakhouses in Arkansas.