NC F&B Podcast

The future Mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina must be Billy Mellon. Billy is a driving force behind putting Wilmington on the culinary map. Manna is one of the culinary beacons of North Carolina, east of interstate 95. Thanks to his stick-to-itiveness, resiliency, innate sense of hospitality and his attention to detail, Manna is thriving.

In addition to building a restaurant, Billy shakes hands, kisses babies, finds up-and-coming musical acts and also directs the 40 Eats culinary collaborative. He literally does it all from helping to raise his son, curate the wine list, oh and now he's writing a book.

Billy is not only the future mayor of Wilmington but he is also the angel feeding the people "Manna" from heaven. Fascinating does not even begin to describe Billy; you will have to listen for the whole story. On top of everything, we learn what Ronnie James Dio means and the origin of Devil Horns. When I tell you this episode has it all, believe me.

Walk up the down staircase a few times in your life. Going in the opposite direction will give you perspective and give you insight into the minds of Dean Neff and Lydia Clopton. Dean and Lydia's journey took them from Athens, GA to Atlanta through Asheville, NC to finally settle on the coast in Wilmington, NC.

Some Chef's come in with pre-conceived notions of what a restaurant in going to be but not Dean and Lydia, they let the place and space dictate the menu. Some might say they listened to the waves. Pinpoint takes fresh and local ingredients and turns them into sophisticated yet crowd pleasing food. We learn how local catfish can be elevated into an ethereal dish and how roasted dandelion root can turn into delicious ice cream.

Dean Neff learned from the best such as Hugh Acheson and Jonathan Fleer, after fifteen plus years of world class tutelage Dean was ready for his own restaurant. With Lydia Clopton providing desserts to equal Dean's savory menu a gem of a restaurant was born right near the water in downtown Wilmington, NC.

CLICK FOR TICKETS TO 'PORK & RUM' JANUARY 28TH, 2018

Would you like to be wealthy?

Listen closely to Chef Ben Barker's wisdom and you will be rich with stories of humility, North Carolina history and family values. Chef Ben Barker is literally a living legend of NC, he has won the James Beard award for best chef in the southeast and has been nominated six times. His restaurant Magnolia Grill was the epicenter of North Carolina Cuisine for decades.

The coolest part of Ben's story goes beyond the man. Karen Barker, Ben's wife is also a James Beard award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2003. On top of all their success, the Barkers are still in the game as they are intimately involved in their son Gabe's restaurant Pizzeria Mercato.

Join us in Carrboro, NC where we sat down to chat with the Godfather of North Carolina fine dining.

Charlie is quite a big Deal! Learn how one man, who could at times be perceived as curmudgeonly, is in fact a gregarious restaurateur. Charlie Deal is a chef, sommelier and innovator all wrapped up into one.

We covered everything in this episode. We learned why Charlie left the Golden State behind to move to North Carolina. Hear how he changes food to match the wine. Why there is too much sugar in most Asian food. We learned the art of the short list and how to cleverly buy close out wine deals. Listen to why Charlie is in love with Gamay. Oh yeah we also talked about virginity.

I told you this one has it all!

Jordan Salcito is a woman possessed with success. Whether the task is staging at Restaurant Daniel for Daniel Boulud or working harvest in Burgundy for Alix de Montille she will achieve. Get this woman to a spin class in the morning and watch her run the world for the rest of the day.

Jordan joined us at Poole's Diner in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Jordan was in NC to raise awareness for her creations Bellus wines and Ramona. While Jordan was here we took the opportunity to chat about what it's like to work for David Chang and be the Director of Wine and Special Projects for Momofuku restaurants. We also got behind the scenes of what it's like to sit for the Master Sommelier exam, be a mom and a somm and finally what High-Low means.

Listen to this episode to be inspired, awed and entertained. Jordan's story is one of endless energy and drive plus intelligence and charm. Forget TED Talks, sit down with Jordan for about an hour.

Say yes, that is the motto that Sunny Lin lives by and how Sophia Woo gets her to join in on the Pho-King fun. These girls turned their lives upside down and literally took a wild ride in creating the Dump Pho (pronounced fuh) king food truck. Within a year of beginning the Vietnamese food truck they were approached by The Food Network to compete in The Great Food Truck Race television show. Despite almost crashing the truck and many other potential disasters, the newly named Pho-nomenal truck won the Competition. The winnings from the television show gave the ladies a small nest egg, Sophia had an idea, Sunny said yes and soon enough Mofu Shoppe opened in downtown Raleigh, NC. This episode takes you on a grand journey. You will learn how a biomedical engineer and a PWC accountant upheave their lives and follow their passion into the culinary realm. From food truck wars to battling the restaurant scene in downtown Raleigh, these ladies are warriors!

Out to the coast we traveled, (that's right, Wilmington, North Carolina) to find out what's new with Co- Tar heel of the Year Mrs. Vivian "High Rent/Big Time/The Viver" Howard & her man at arms Mr. Ben aka Benny "Big Time" Knight. Max and Matt vetted Benny's Big Time Pizzeria and made sure the coast was clear for you to visit. https://www.facebook.com/bennysbigtime/ This Pizzeria is appropriately named; everything about it is truly Big Time! We found out this project was a Ben does and Vivian ask questions later scenario. In the end, sometimes the husbands do know best and this place is proof. Find out about their neopolitanesque pizza, the wood fired ovens and how they came to put their trust in Chef James Diecchio aka "we love Dim." One final tidbit, a little birdie told me you might see this episode on season 6 of A Chef's Life. (http://www.pbs.org/food/shows/a-chefs-life/) Director Cynthia Hill and crew had the cameras rolling! Oh and I almost forgot we find out more about Vivian's rock star reading with her son, tune in!

Creating with your hands is almost as sexy as that scene from Ghost with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Who knew that local North Carolina clay, a stove on steroids (aka a kiln) and one brain researcher could be so damn cool? I'll tell you who did, TV's John May and bad ass chef Mike Lee of M Sushi, M Koko and soon to be M Taco. Those two culinary titans recognized that the dinnerware of Matt Hallyburton could showcase their food in a fervently stylish but useful way that no other plates had done. John and Mike are not the only one's to have recognized Matt's talents, his lore has stretched south as he has caught the eye of chef Sean Brock and collaborated with him to create plate ware for the new Husk restaurant in Georgia. Matt explains pottery from the digging of the clay to the firing of the glaze. In this episode you will learn about "throwing a piece," temperature use on clay, North Carolina potting history and why some glazes are better than others. When you listen to this episode you will understand the importance of sexy but useable ceramic dinnerware!

Rich molasses and sweet unrefined sugar is how you make rum, a new lifestyle and a fortune. Well, maybe not the fortune part at least not financially but spiritually, scientifically and flavorfully the Lassiter's are building a fortune! Rebecca and Gentry Lassiter have a fresh and intellectual spin on how to build a business and market a spirit. Artistic latitude, "Distill My Heart," from Redboot Stills, Iowa and the white oak from Blackwater barrel in South Carolina is what differentiates Lassiter Rum from the rest. In this episode you will hear how a corporate couple transitions into the world of distilling and sometimes more importantly the marketing of spirits. This episode has it all, family, tears, laughter, nerd rum speak and legal malarkey. Gobble gobble ladies and gents, listen while you baste your turkey!

Fascinating is not often a word you associate with a butcher, but that's Meredith Leigh. http://www.mereleighfood.com Meredith is not only fascinating, she's a bad ass butcher, a writer and most importantly a thoughtful human being. This is the story of how a vegetarian ends up seeing the other side of meat, or in other words ethical meat. In this episode we learned how you can DIY butchering at home with sub primal meats such as the "Chuck Eye Roll," "The Craft and Poetry of Curing Meat at Home," bit.ly/2A1OtuI why "I'm Right and You're an Idiot," and finally why Max has an adolescent brain. Rarely in life do we meet people who are so considerate of not only the environment and every thing in it but, also aware of adverse perspectives. Whether you are a carnivore or a vegetarian this is a must listen. Thank you Meredith for your awareness and for your literary works.