Industry Night

It’s time to dine!

Tonight on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast, join us and our guest, celebrated chef and restaurateur Mike Friedman, of DC’s equally as celebrated Red Hen and All-Purpose restaurants.

Yes, we talk about Mike’s background. Yes, we delve into the origins and nexus points of Italian and Jewish cuisine (and their true, geographical nexus point: New Jersey!), but we’re also tasting some of Mike’s finest dishes, and, well, for us, that’s almost as much fun as talking with Mike. Almost. OK, pretty close!

Have a listen!

There’s nothing that Foodie and the Beast love more than … cheese! That’s why you should join us and our guest today, ‘big cheese” Jill Erber, founder and CEO of Cheesetique, a Northern Virginia specialty cheese shop and restaurant. Much as is wine, cheese is “in,” with more varieties, taste profiles and sources domestically and globally than ever before.

Founded in 2004, Cheesetique is a leader in driving accessibility to cheeses that are both rare and delish. Jill joins us today with tastes and talk of the wonderful world of cheese.

This week on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast, we have a true, Renaissance Man with us. Chef and restaurateur Victor Albisu is the man behind the Poca Madre and Taco Bamba concepts that have taken DC by storm. With more than a decade of experience in fine dining and upscale French, American and Latin American restaurants, our friend, Chef Vic, combines his culinary education with his Latin American heritage to bring a unique style of cuisine to his restaurant concepts.

Named 2015 Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) and selected as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award in 2016, Vic is no newcomer to success. Albisu’s first restaurant, Del Campo, was an upscale South American grill in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. In 2013, it was named a Best New Restaurant by Esquire magazine. In 2014, Washingtonian magazine called Del Campo “Washington’s best steakhouse.” Before pursing independent ventures, Albisu served as celebrity chef Laurant Tourondel’s executive chef at BLT Steak in downtown D.C. While at the helm, Albisu cooked for President and Mrs. Obama and led the restaurant to earn several accolades, including RAMW's Power Spot of the Year in 2012.

Outside the kitchen, Albisu is a member of the American Chef Corps, a network of chefs who serve as resources to the Department of State. In 2015, Albisu competed on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay and bested the host and grill master with his signature dish, steak & eggs. Albisu has appeared as a guest judge on Telemundo’s Top Chef Estrellas and the FOX TV series Hell’s Kitchen.

Join us for a truly delicious conversation with one of DC’s – and America’s – great chefs: Victor Albisu.

Our guests on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast are Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, part of the chefs/owners team at Chi-KO, DC’s (and soon to be the West Coast’s) awesome, Asian-inspired, Chinese/Korean fast casual concept that has taken DC by storm. Previously the widely-heralded executive chef at Wolfgang Puck’s fine dining restaurant, The Source, here in DC, Scott Drewno gave up the “fine” to join with his good buddies Danny Lee, founder and exec chef of DC’s beloved Mandu Korean restaurants, and Chef Drew Kim, to create a walk-in spot in DC’s Barracks Row that puts the best part of fine dining - the yummy, unexpectedly complex tastes in a variety of dishes – into mostly “get it to go,” fast casual service.

Danny and Scott join us to talk about Chi-Ko’s origins, its inner workings viz a viz a “regular restaurant, growing the concept to take on both coasts and about their newest concept, Anju.

Enjoy!

The 2019 Michelin Guide drops Monday, September 17th.

Our guests today for a special edition of Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast were Michael Ellis, International Director of the Michelin Guide

And Kyley McGeeney of Mission Michelin, who actually dined in all 110 restaurants honored in the 2017 Michelin Guide.

And … we picked up a delicious scoop: Patrick O’Connell, famed chef/owner of The Inn at Little Washington, who is celebrating his and the Inn’s 40th anniversary this year, has something more to celebrate – The Inn at Little Washington’s third Michelin star! – putting it in VERY prestigious company, among the few restaurants in the US and around the world with that coveted third star, the highest honor bestowed by Michelin on the world’s great restaurants.

Join us to hear all about it!

Our guests tonight are husband and wife team Mitch Berliner and Debra Moser, two entrepreneurs with big hearts.

Mitch is a trailblazing food entrepreneur who introduced the East Coast to Haagen Dazs ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove Bars and more in the ‘70s. And Mitch and Debra are founders of what now are four, Central Farm Markets located in suburban Maryland and Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. Debra and Mitch’s mission is to provide a professionally managed community venue, where customers can purchase high quality, locally grown fresh and prepared food, and to support agricultural innovation, green practices and sustainability. Each market supports its local community with activities, events, food donations and programming that help to educate, give back and fight hunger.

But wait … there’s more. Mitch and Debra also are founders and owners of MeatCrafters, salamis, cured meats and sausages made for charcuterie lovers everywhere. MeatCrafters skinny salamis are especially popular (They’re low card, low calorie and high in taste!) and can be found, along with their other products, at stores like Whole Foods.

Their story – and the many good deeds they do to help feed the area’s most needy – are a great listen! Join us!

This could be our most delicious show yet! Joining us on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast are sheep farmers John and Sukey Jamison own Jamison Farm in Latrobe, PA.

Set in the rolling Appalachian, their farm is home to a pampered flock of sheep and lambs that frolic and nibble in fields of bluegrass, white clover, wild flowers and seasonal grass pastures, while munching on free-choice hay bales throughout the winter months. Why’s that matter? Because their 100% natural diet and free-range lifestyle yield meat that is lean, firm, tender, delicate and pink, free of hormones, antibiotics, herbicides and insecticides. And meat that is prized by some of the most famous chefs in the world, past and present. In fact, John and Sukey reach jump-started their business by meeting the exacting standards of the Watergate Hotel’s legendary, Chef Jean-Louis Palladin, and they’ve been on a roll ever since, working with renowned chefs such as Dan Barber at Blue Hill, William Telepan of Telepan and Annie Quatrano of Baccanahlia in Atlanta.

A very talented cook herself, Sukey Jamison has created a line of hand-prepared lamb dishes, which include a Lamb Stew created in collaboration with the late, great Jean-Louis Palladin and Sukey's award-winning Lamb Pie.

Don't be sheepish about joining us for this scintillating hour of conversation with two of America’s eminent sheep farmers.

In today is Allison C. Cooke, architect and principal owner of CORE Architecture + Design. Allison is a design expert with over 17 years of professional experience, and just joined the ranks of the Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honorees. Allison’s behind the outstanding designs of restaurants you know, such as Jose Andres Minibar and Bar-Mini; Amy Brandwein’s Centrolina and Jeff Black’s Pearl Dive Oyster Palace.

Also in with Allison is Christopher Peli, a CORE Job Captain. While at CORE, Christopher is involved in many diverse project types from hospitality to urban design, renovation and new construction. He is currently pursuing his architectural license.

Today we’re talking about design trends … DC’s emerging neighborhoods …. CORE’s work at DC’s fabulous new Wharf … what goes into working with developers and creative people – chef/owners and restaurateurs, that is – to understand their wants, needs and visions for new spaces and then to translate all that into seamlessly flowing, innovative interiors that augment and compliment the vision, the menu and more.

This week on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast, we’re going conversation with the top DC top non-profit food organizations engaged in creating fair food access for all.

Our guests include Lauren Shweder Biel of DC Greens, which uses the levers of food education, food access, and food policy to advance food justice in the nation’s capital;

Beverley Wheeler of DC Hunger Solutions, which seeks to create a hunger-free community and improve the nutrition, health, economic security and well being of low-income, DC residents, and Philip Sambol of

Good Food Markets, a mission-driven grocery dedicated to developing retail solutions that work in, and for, food desert communities.

Can you go meatless? You might just be inspired to, after this show. Our guest on Industry Night with Foodie and the Beast is Erica Meier, Executive Director of Compassion Over Killing (COK), a national animal protection nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC. Working to expose cruelty to farmed animals and promote vegan eating as a way to build a kinder world for all, COK’s strategic efforts include undercover investigations, legal advocacy, corporate outreach, and public education.

Join us for a fascinating and eye-opening hour.