Joiners

What does the future of the hospitality industry look like? What are the best ways to find work/life balance as a chef and parent? And does Danny have a solid gold car? We're sorting it all out with Chef Jason Vincent in one of our longest episodes yet. With decades of experience leading acclaimed restaurants like Nightwood and Giant, as well as spearheading industry healthcare initiatives, Jason has a wealth of wisdom to share. 

This week we're talking: Jason's winding path through some of the city’s most lauded kitchens; what the healthcare crisis looks like for both front and back of house staff; whether hazelnuts are over or underrated — and of  course, so much more.

This week on Joiners, we are thrilled to welcome Chicago culinary legend Todd Stein. With over 30 years of experience working in acclaimed kitchens around the country and overseas, Todd shares incredible stories and insights from his extensive career. We cover his early days working under renowned chefs like Keith Korn and Michael Kornick, being on the opening team at MK, winning major accolades as executive chef of Cibo Matto, and as always, so much more.

Our guest this week is Adam Witt, AKA Omnivorous Adam, a chef and videographer bringing major energy and enthusiasm to the online food space. He sits down with us and tells us all about his unconventional journey, from washing dishes as a teen to jetsetting for celebrity clients later on. We get into everything that fuels his relentless curiosity, from epic food crawls around Chicago to nerding out over cookbooks and obscure YouTube channels. Plus: Adam’s stint on a food truck in LA, his favorite places to shop for ingredients, the key to making videos people actually want to watch, and so much more!

This week, we’re garnering critical consensus with Adrian Kane, Editorial Director of restaurant recommendation authority The Infatuation. We trace Adrian's unexpected path from recommending eateries while dying hair at the salon to leading one of Chicago's most influential food sites. Adrian tells us about getting her start with the company in its early startup days, how she approaches editing the diverse voices on her team, the method behind The Infatuation's dining alias strategy, and much more. From getting scoops on new openings to dealing with the occasional Twitter outrage, we get the inside look at life as an editor on the food scene beat in Chicago.

What happens when a hockey-loving finance major turned firefighter hopeful decides to trade in his gear for a shaker tin? This week we're exploring that trajectory with Joe Briglio, co-owner and beverage director of Chicago's Blade Runner-inspired cocktail den Nine Bar. We journey along Joe's unexpected career path that led him from college summers slinging drinks at concerts to designing some of the city's most interesting neon-tinged cocktails. Joe tells us about emerging reinvigorated after a shocking diagnosis, Tim and Joe reminisce about their time on the trading floor, we learn all about the genesis of Nine Bar, and so much more.

This week, we’re flouring a clean surface with acclaimed pastry chef Sandra Holl, owner of the beloved Floriole Cafe & Bakery in Lincoln Park. Sandra shares her journey from growing up in Rockford, Illinois to unexpectedly falling in love with French pastries during a year studying abroad in France. She tells us about the process of opening Floriole, starting small with just a tent and a few pastries at local farmers markets, to establishing a flourishing cafe and bakery we know and love today. In a conversation that is both literally and figuratively sweet (she brought us a box of pastries), we talk: baking philosophy focused on the balance of quality ingredients and techniques, tips for enterprising home bakers, vying for the top of the class at culinary school, and so much more.

In this episode of Joiners, we interview Pineapple Audio founder and CEO Matt Edgar, an expert in hospitality audio with an ear for how sound can enhance spaces and experiences. Matt shares his journey from touring musician to becoming one of the top names behind sound systems in hotels, restaurants, bars, and other venues across the globe. In a wide-ranging conversation, Matt provides an inside look at creating memorable sonic identities for hospitality brands through a blend of audio art and science. Featuring: sleeping in vans, balancing music with conversation, the future of audio, and so much more. Plus: Tim provides some much-needed clarification around the Tierney Split. 

This week, journalist Ari Bendersky joins us to discuss his career covering food, wine, spirits, and travel in Chicago. Ari reflects on his time as founding editor of Eater Chicago during the golden age of food media in the city, when he competed with outlets like Time Out Chicago while cultivating an underground network of insiders feeding him scoops. Ari digs deep into his newsletter Something Glorious, a recent passion project where he writes about wine, cocktails, restaurants, and adventures abroad. Conversation also touches on Chicago's underrated suburban dining scene, the next era of Asian-inspired steakhouses in the city, building his freelance writing process around discovering and telling people's stories, and as always, so much more. 

Jeff Donahue, Vice President of Operations at Heisler Hospitality, joins us to discuss his long career in Chicago's hospitality scene. Jeff reflects on formative experiences at renowned restaurants like Fogo de Chão, Nacionale 27, and The Aviary, as well as lessons learned from mentors like Adam Seger and Grant Achatz. He explains the inspiration behind concepts like Sportsman's Club, Big Kids, and Estereo, which he created alongside creative partner Wade McElroy. Jeff also reveals details on upcoming Heisler projects like Friends of Friends in West Town and Lobo Pizza's third location in the West Loop. We talk about what makes a good barback, serving Dustin Hoffman, hidden gems in the often overlooked Dunning neighborhood, and so much more. 

This week, Chef Erling Wu-Bower discusses his storied career in Chicago dining and the highly-anticipated opening of his new restaurant, Maxwells Trading, in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor. Erling reflects on formative experiences at renowned restaurants Publican, avec, Nico Osteria, and Pacific Standard Time, as well as lessons learned from mentors like Rick Bayless and Paul Kahan. With Maxwells Trading, which he's opening this winter alongside business partner Josh Tilden, he aims to cook "intimately personal cuisine" that incorporates his broad culinary influences, from Chinese and Thai to rustic Italian. Plus: after some culinary confusion, Tim conjures an accurate metaphor for sous-vide meat.