How Did I Get Here? With Ryan Poli

In this episode, chef Ryan takes the podcast all the way to Austin, TX to chat with legendary pit-master, author, recipient of James Beard's "Best Chef" award, and recognized member of the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, Aaron Franklin. 

The chefs talk about going from a small BBQ operation on the side of the interstate to being an internationally acclaimed restaurant, nerd out about grills and fire-building, and talk about what's next for the Franklin family.

Check out Franklin's Barbecue here:
franklinbbq.com

In this episode, Ryan chats with chef/owner of St. Vito Foccaciaria Michael Hanna about guerrilla tactics in finding investors, opening a restaurant, and how the journey from fast-casual fry-cook to owner and head chef of a celebrated Italian restaurant has shaped his relationships both in and out of the kitchen.

Check out St. Vito here:
stvitonashville.com

Today's episode tackles some big, albeit heady, ideas. Is AI going to change the restaurant industry? How about the way we interact with each other as a whole? Will Ryan's prophetical musings on Gen-Z come true? Listen in to find out what this week's guest, chef Greg Kuzia-Carmel, thinks. 

Kuzia-Carmel runs both Canteen and Camper out of Menlo Park, CA. Rooted in relaxing, "normal" experiences with top-notch cuisine, the celebrated chef and restauranteur wanted to bring a sense of community and lucidity to a tech-driven region of the Golden State. His emphasis on hospitality and carefully sourced seasonal ingredients, alongside his impressive resume (Per Se, Mugaritz, Toro, Quince, to name a few) have landed him in an excellent position to accomplish this lofty goal.

It's been a hot minute since we've had an episode pop up on the podcasting airwaves, but we're back at it with esteemed guest Joe Frillman from Daisies (Chicago, IL). Frillman utilizes seasonal, hyper-local ingredients for his restaurant concept in Logan Square, drawing on his brother (Tim Frillman of Frillman Farms) to provide the freshest produce for his delightful array of vegetable-forward dishes and his time spent abroad for his inventive pasta dishes.

In this episode, Ryan and Joe talk about getting started as a chef, travel (notably the difficulty of transporting knives on a plane), cheesemaking, and much more.

Check out Daisies:
daisieschicago.com

Ryan goes deep with pastry chef extraordinaire Andres Lara. The two share a conversation about cooking, working with people above their paygrade while they were getting started, and the memorable, tangible moments that made lasting impressions on them both in and out of the kitchen.

Check out chef Andres Lara here:
instagram.com/andresflara

Longtime food columnist of the Tennessean Jim Myers left the food critic world to become a restaurant proprietor. His latest venture seats him comfortably in a General Management role at Nashville's historic Elliston Place Soda Shop. Originally opened in 1939, the midtown staple was acquired in 2019 by Tony and Lisa Giarratana. While the classic shop has gotten a much needed facelift, most of the elements remain true to the history and culture of the place. Myers and Ryan talk through the history of Nashville as a chili-parlor town (long before becoming synonymous with our friends to the north in Cincinnati), re-opening a historic restaurant, and the difficulties of food journalism in a modern day world which is inundated by click bait and fleeting social media posts.

Check Out Elliston Place Soda Shop:
ellistonplacesodashop.com

Chef Colby Rasavong sits down with Ryan to chat about his new restaurant concept, Bad Idea. A native of Alabama, Rasavong calls upon his Laotian heritage to infuse his food with Southeast-Asian flavors. Working under esteemed chef Sean Brock at Husk and Audrey, Rasavong honed his culinary skillset, which comes across in the beautifully-plated dishes coming out of the kitchen at Bad Idea.

Check out Bad Idea here:
badideanashville.com

Nashville-via-Miami food journalist Jackie Gutierrez-Jones is editor of, and longstanding contributor to, the Nashville branch of Eater magazine. Contrary to what one may think, her culinary musings and professional journalistic approach to food certainly haven't soured her taste (play on words intended) to Nashville's burgeoning food scene. 

She has become a vocal champion for some of our cities finest eateries both old and new, using her platform as more of an educational and awareness tool than your run-of-the-mill food critic.

Jackie and Ryan discuss her transition from graphic design into journalism, current goings-on in the Nashville food space, and egregious Yelp reviews.

Check out Eater Nashville here:
nashville.eater.com

Ryan sits down with award-winning chef and restaurateur Tim Hollingsworth. The guys reminisce about their days at the French Laundry, finding balance between the industry and personal life, and Hollingsworth's "elevated fast food" pop up, Chain.

Tim Hollingsworth grit his way through the industry, from working as a line cook in his teenage years to cooking at some of the world's finest restaurants. Hollingsworth has received multiple awards, including the Bocuse d'Or and recognition from the James Beard Foundation as "Rising Chef Star of the Year." He has also appeared on several culinary television programs, such as Top Chef, The Final Table, and Guilty Pleasures. In 2015, he opened his modern American concept Otium in downtown LA.

Check out Tim here:
timothyhollingsworth.com

Chef Nicholas Romero stopped through town to help out in the kitchen at Ryan's new Nashville restaurant venture, Iggy's. During the episode, Ryan and Nick discuss the chef's many successful fine-dining ventures, reminisce on old times, and that one time Ryan accidentally worked at Disneyland. 

Nicholas Romero has been the Chef de Cuisine at a number of well-praised restaurants over the years, including Los Gatos, CA's Manresa (three Michelin stars), Chicago's Smyth, and Grace (also in Chicago, where he won best chef de cuisine at the seventeenth annual Jean Banchet Awards in 2014 ). His culinary expertise and lifelong kitchen experience make for an interesting conversation.