Radio Cherry Bombe

We’re live today with Jami Curl of QUIN, the cult candy company based in Portland. We'll chat about her new book, Candy Is Magic, how she creates her happiness from scratch, and what it’s like to live with the world’s cutest cat.

We'll also talk about running a modern candy company. When she was getting QUIN off the ground, Jami wanted to make great handmade treats, but without the yucky ingredients found in conventional candy. Today, she uses Oregon-grown fruit, fresh cream and butter, and all-natural extracts and colorings to make her caramels, gumdrops, lollipops, and something she calls Chocolate Magic Dust.

The boss behind The Beatrice Inn in New York City, Chef Angie Mar is one of the hardest working chefs we know and 100% an original. A late bloomer in the food world, she was in the real estate business for years and realized being a chef was her true calling. After culinary school, she worked for Chef April Bloomfield, then helped turn around The Bea, as she calls it. Not only did she garner rave reviews for the place, but she bought the restaurant from its owners last year. Tune in to hear more of Angie's impressive story. P.S. The news didn't break in time for our interview, but Angie is one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs 2017. Make sure you pick up the issue. We're happy to see Food & Wine has recognized more female chefs this year than ever before.

Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough? Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Cracked Black Pepper? Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons? With flavors like that, it’s no surprise Salt & Straw Ice Cream has legions of fans in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles. We talk to co-founder Kim Malek about what it takes to get an ice cream company off the ground. She joined forces with her cousin, cashed in her 401(k), and now they helm one of the fastest growing ice cream brands in America. Kim, who’s got a great big heart, also chats with us about everything from accountants to adoption to Anthony Bourdain. She's a warm person in a chilly (but yummy) business, and you won't want to miss this conversation.

One legend and two legends-in-the-making join us for this show. Chef Jody Adams of Boston's Porto, TRADE, and Saloniki is a trailblazing chef and restaurateur–and a humanitarian, which happens to be our favorite kind of human. Then we’ll be talking to Keavy Landreth and Allison Kave, the founders of Brooklyn’s Butter & Scotch, which they call the Bar & Bakery of Your Dreams.

The cookbook queen with a good appetite is in the studio today! Melissa Clark has written 38 cookbooks, many of them in collaboration with some of New York’s most celebrated chefs. Her latest cookbook, Dinner: Changing the Game, proves she isn’t stopping anytime soon. Dinner was designed to help anyone figure out what to make any night of the week, without falling back on what you’ve eaten before. Melissa is a favorite around our office and her effortless work ethic a inspiration to food writers around the world.

Imagine fitting four years worth of trash into a 16-ounce mason jar? Lauren Singer, founder of The Simply Co., an organic cleaning product company, tells us how she did it. Her zero-waste blog, Trash is for Tossers, has empowered millions of readers to lead greener lives. We also talk macarons and meows with pastry chef/baker/entrepreneur Christina Ha and her business partner and husband Simon Tung. Christina co-founded the popular patisserie Macaron Parlour before opening New York’s first cat cafe, Meow Parlour. Tune in for her next on-brand adventure: Cat Camp.

One of these women is America’s new Top Chef champion! We talk to Brooke and Shirley right before the big reveal about their experience on the cult cooking competition and how they bonded during this latest season, filmed in Charleston and Mexico.

So who are these two women? Both were on Top Chef in previous seasons and returned for another chance at victory. Brooke is the co-owner and co-chef of Hudson House, The Tripel, Playa Provisions, and Da Kikokiko in Los Angeles, while Shirley is the chef-owner of Steamers Co., a seafood restaurant set to open later this year, also in Los Angeles.

Tune in to hear what it's like behind the scenes of Top Chef and see if you can guess who had to pack their knives.

Listen to our first live radio event! We taped this show in front of an audience at Hedley & Bennett headquarters near downtown Los Angeles. Editorial icon Ruth Reichl and Chef Nancy Silverton of the Mozza restaurant group talk friendship, food, and feminism with host Kerry Diamond. Author Stephanie Danler reads a steamy excerpt from her bestselling novel Sweetbitter, and Hedley & Bennett founder Ellen Bennett shares her pep talk titled "The Art of the Hustle."

How do you become an A-list food stylist? Susan Spungen, one of the most in-demand food stylists around, shares the details of her fascinating career. She was the founding Food Editor of Martha Stewart Living and co-authored Martha's Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook; she frequently contributes to Bon Appétit and Food & Wine; and she brought delicious dishes to life in the films Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated, and Eat, Pray, Love.

Patrick Diamond, a member of the Surfrider NYC executive committee and the campaign lead for the Rise Above Plastics initiatives, calls in to talk about bag bans and ways to break your single-use plastic habit.