Radio Cherry Bombe

“I’m not sure what it is with society where people with disabilities are always an afterthought,” says Lakshmee Lachhman-Persad. For Lakshmee, a digital marketer with 20 years of experience in the tourism industry, the issue hits home. Her sister Annie was born with cerebral palsy, so Lakshmee knows firsthand how difficult it can be for a person with disabilities to navigate a city, even one as major and modern as New York, which they call home. In response, Lakshmee launched Accessible Travel NYC, a consultancy and website to help those looking to enjoy what New York has to offer by providing information on restaurants, transportation, accommodations, and more. Lakshmee shares her family’s story and also gives advice for those looking to make their businesses, events, or websites more accessible to the millions of people in this country with disabilities. You can visit Lakshmee’s site at accessibletravelnyc.com. 

Thank you to Kerrygold for supporting today’s show.

Plus, tune in to find out why Denise Yamaguchi, the CEO of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival in Honolulu, thinks Chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW Restaurant in Honolulu is the Bombe!

This dynamic duo is taking the food world by storm. Sicily Sierra and Mavis-Jay Sanders, partners in life and in business, are the founders of Food + People, a packaged goods company poised for growth that focuses on quality food, great flavor, and simplicity in the kitchen. They’re also the hosts of the IG Live show Drink Tank on @blackfoodfolks, where you can find them serving up candor and cocktails every Monday night. On today’s show, hear Sicily and Mavis-Jay share the story behind their company, their journeys through the world of food, and the details on their Maison Yaki pop-up launching today in Brooklyn. (They had us at meatloaf burgers.) We also get the details on their meet-cute story, which involves pricy pudding, food trucks, and the city of Los Angeles.

Find out why Jade Dee Atkins, the editor in chief of Pass The Spatula, the student magazine of Food and Finance High School, thinks Christina Tosi is the Bombe.

Thank you to Breyers CarbSmart for supporting Radio Cherry Bombe. 

Goodbye, buffets. Hello, Zoom. Marcy Blum is one of the premier event planners in the country, having organized weddings and various shindigs for the likes of LeBron James, Nate Berkus, and Katie Lee. But before she reached the pinnacle of party planning, Marcy had quite the journey, with stops at Performing Arts High School, a commune in Vermont, Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, the emerging New York City food scene in the 1970s—and more. Marcy was among the first female students admitted to the Culinary Institute of America, and she even worked with the legendary Edna Lewis at Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner. Marcy shares some of her stories, talks about the plight of party planners in a pandemic, and gives tips on how to make virtual events feel a little more personal.

Stay tuned to find out why Lisa Lin of Healthy Nibbles loves the Pasta Grannies of Instagram and YouTube.

Thank you to Sonos and Breyers CarbSmart for supporting our show. 

Photo: Dennis Kwan

Chef Millie Peartree has a simple code that she lives by: “If you can do something to help someone else, you do it,” she says. Millie is a chef, restaurateur, and recipe developer, but most importantly, she’s a humanitarian who’s spent the past several months making sure others don’t go hungry. This summer, Millie’s been working on her Full Heart Full Bellies initiative to provide thousands of meals to schoolchildren and combat food insecurity in the Bronx, and during the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic, she fed essential workers. (You can contribute to her Full Heart Full Bellies Go Fund Me.) We also talk about what’s next for this dynamo and get the inside scoop on her famous mac and cheese recipe. 

Plus, tune in to hear why Parisa Parnian, founder of Savage Muse and Savage Taste in Los Angeles, thinks that Chef Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon, founder of Mingle + Graze in Chandler, Arizona, is the Bombe!

Thank you to Sonos for supporting today’s episode.

“I just want to tell you how I feel about baking in case you don't know,” says Dorie Greenspan. “I feel that baking is magic.” Bake your day with this episode from the Radio Cherry Bombe archives. Tune in to hear beloved cookbook authors Dorie Greenspan and Joy Wilson AKA Joy The Baker chat about life, Julia Child, birthday cakes, and more from last year’s Jubilee NYC. It’s a conversation you don’t want to miss, whether you love baking, baked goods, or both. Introducing Dorie and Joy is Christina Ha, the co-owner and co-founder of Macaron Parlour and Meow Parlour in New York City. 

Plus, tune in to hear why Rhonda Cammon, owner and creator of Perfectly Cordial in Nashville, Tennessee, thinks that Keshia Hay, the Nashville-based private chef and owner of Sip N Bite, is the Bombe!

Thank you to Sonos for supporting Radio Cherry Bombe.

Pooja Bavishi knew she wanted to be in the dessert business, but she never envisioned herself as an ice cream entrepreneur. Then one year, during her annual Friendsgiving celebration, she broke out an ice cream maker her parents had given her and made two ice creams: ginger and star anise. Her friends raved and Pooja knew it was her a-ha moment. Fast forward: Pooja’s Malai ice cream is a growing brand with national distribution through Goldbelly and its own scoop shop in Brooklyn. Malai specializes in global flavors with a twist, many of which celebrate Pooja’s Indian heritage, such as Pumpkin Garam Masala Crumble, Jaggery with Tamarind Caramel, and Sweet Roti & Ghee. Tune in to hear all about Pooja’s cool journey. 

Thank you to Sonos for supporting Radio Cherry Bombe. 

Don’t miss this wise, warm, and wonderful conversation between Madhur Jaffrey and Padma Lakshmi. As Padma put it at this year’s Cherry Bombe Jubilee Conference, Madhur “is the greatest living writer on Indian food—ever.” Padma, the star of Top Chef and Taste the Nation and a best-selling author, interviewed Madhur at Jubilee and it was a riveting exchange that touched on a wide range of topics: protesting with Mahatma Gandhi, working with the legendary cookbook editor Judith Jones, facing discrimination as an Indian actress, and cheering on the young women championing both Indian food and representation today, like Priya Krishna and Meera Sodha. Madhur, who has written dozens of cookbooks, published her latest last spring, Madhur Jaffrey's Instantly Indian Cookbook: Modern and Classic Recipes for the Instant Pot.

Introducing Madhur and Padma are Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau. The sisters and culinary superstars from Jamaica are the authors of the cookbooks Provisions and Caribbean Potluck.

“When I think about the movements that Black women have given us and have sustained just in this generation, I have to wonder why is it that people don’t listen to and follow Black women?” asked FoodLab Detroit Executive Director and co-founder of FoodLab Sydney Devita Davison, citing Black Lives Matter, Black Girl Magic, Free Our Girls, Say Her Name, Me Too, misogynoir, self-care, and intersectionality. 

Devita joins host Tiffani Rozier for the final episode of the Afros + Knives miniseries. Tune in to hear Devita discuss her life as a first-generation Detroiter, how Hurricane Sandy inspired her to return to her roots, and her work at the FoodLab, where a community of local culinary entrepreneurs is committed to dismantling racism within the food system. “For me, it is more important for our work to be guided by the voices of the people whose bodies sit at the intersection of oppression,” says Devita. “When those bodies become free, we all become free.” 

You can follow Devita’s work at @foodlabdetroit and foodlabdetroit.com and you can find her on Twitter at @devitadavison. Host Tiffani Rozier can be found at @cheftiffanirozier and @afrosandknives. Be sure to subscribe to and support Afros + Knives wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thank you so much to Traeger Wood Fired Grills and GLOBAL Cutlery USA for sponsoring this episode. In support of Afros + Knives, Traeger has also made a donation to support Kia Feeds The People, an initiative by  @kiacooks to fight hunger and food apartheid by supporting the Black and QTPOC community in Brooklyn. And GLOBAL Cutlery USA has donated knife kits to the seniors at Food and Finance High School, New York’s only culinary-focused public school, to use for their internships and work-study programs.

“I’m an immigrant, a dancer, and a dreamer,” says Dominique Crenn, the world-renowned chef behind Atelier Crenn in San Francisco and author of the brand new memoir, Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters. Dominique shares her journey from scrappy tomboy to holder of three Michelin stars, to her breast cancer diagnosis last year and the love story that helped her through it. Dominique also talks about the current state of her restaurant group and her thoughts and concerns for the industry she loves so much. 

Thank you to the folks at Breyer’s CarbSmart and Sonos for supporting today’s show. 

Also, Aarthi Sampath, a chef at the Rainbow Room in New York City, shares why she thinks Chef Melba Wilson of Melba’s in Harlem is the Bombe!

Photo credit: Amanda Demme

“Food became more and more a revolutionary tool, opposed to what I just put in my body,” says activist Qiana Mickie, the special projects consultant for Just Food, the New York City-based pioneering food justice organization focused on community-driven solutions to inequities in the system. Qiana, who was most recently executive director of the organization, views food as a driver of enterprise, innovation, and equity, and she’s made it her mission to empower community members of color to lead these charges in the food community. Qiana joins Chef Tiffani Rozier, the host of the Afros + Knives podcast, to discuss the thinking behind her leadership transition, building safe and constructive workplaces for people of color—especially women, and ways in which white supremacy can impact the food justice space. 

You can find Qiana on Instagram @ragamickie. Host Tiffani Rozier can be found at @cheftiffanirozier and @afrosandknives. Be sure to subscribe to and support Afros + Knives wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Thank you to the folks at Traeger Wood Fired Grills for supporting our miniseries. Visit traegergrills.com for more. Traeger has also made a donation to support Kia Feeds The People, an initiative by @kiacooks to fight hunger and food apartheid by supporting the Black and QTPOC community in Brooklyn.