It’s a new year, and that means our dear friend, Michael Whiteman–aka, “the dean of restaurant consultants”–will give us his annual food trends reports. (It’s his 9th episode of Snacky Tunes.) What does Michael think we should be on the lookout for in 2019? Next-generation fast-casual restaurants, marijuana going mainstream, automation and more.

Michael is the co-founder of the legendary hospitality consulting company, Baum + Whiteman LLC, renowned for creating two of the world’s highest grossing restaurants, more 3-star restaurants than anyone in the United States and numerous international food, hotel and related concepts.

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In this special episode of Snacky Tunes we’re in the Caribbean, and come ashore at the 11th annual Cayman Cookout at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. We meet up with the cookout’s host: the legendary chef Eric Ripert. Eric shares with us his history with this island paradise, and also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what makes the Cookout one of the most popular culinary events in the world.

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It’s an all-Louisiana episode, taped at the legendary Dockside Studio. Our episode opens with the legendary Ton’s Drive-In, located in Broussard. Hollie Girouard is the third-generation owner / operator of this family eatery that’s been dependably serving up comfort food classics for breakfast and lunch since 1963. For the return of “Snacky Tunes 5’s” we sith with Justin Tocket, engineer at the storied Dockside Studio, who takes us through its history. Located in the heart of Cajun Country, Dockside has been home to sessions from such talents as Allen Toussaint, B.B. King and Arcade Fire. Finally, we are treated to the old soul, three-time Grammy nominee Roddie Romero. Showcasing the modern day Louisiana Sound, Roddie’s been performing Cajun and Creole music live since he was in middle school, and has led the band the Hub City All Stars for nearly 30 years.

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Timothy Hollingsworth is one of America’s most respected chefs. He began cutting his teeth in kitchens during high school, and age 21 he became a commis at Thomas Keller’s venerated The French Laundry in Napa Valley. Timothy eventually became the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine, and under Keller’s tutelage even competed in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or world cuisine contest in Lyon, France, in 2009. (He came in 6th, which at the time was the highest finish ever for an American chef.) Now living in Los Angeles, Timothy has opened Otium, C.J. Boyd’s Fried Chicken and Free Play. We talk to him about his illustrious career so far, and get the skinny on his recent victory on Netflix’s cooking competition show, The Final Table.

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Chef Zach Swemle and Marlee Blodgett are the dynamic duo behind the beloved Neapolitan-inspired La Morra Pizzeria. The pair met in NYC, and decamped for Charleston, SC, where Zach built a mobile pizza oven from the bed of trailer. La Morra then developed a fast and dedicated following. A year later in the summer of 2017, they rolled out of town and headed to Los Angeles where they’ve been wowing the masses with their slow-fermented dough and wood-fired pies. Dev Ray is the solo project from California native Devin Ratliff, former member of dream-punk bands So Many Wizards and Tomemitsu. Dev Ray’s debut 2017 single was a moody synth cover of The Pointer Sisters’ classic, “I’m So Excited”. We catch up with him at Dangerbird Records’ studio where he gives us a live listen to his newest songs.

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We swung through London’s East End this past March to meet up with chefs Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke who gave us a preview of their Shoreditch restaurant St. Leonards. Since opening in May, the duo’s “fire and ice” menu, fueled by a raw bar with shellfish and various crudos and a wood-burning hearth offering up veggies, seafare and meats, have made St. Leonards one of the most popular restaurant openings in London this year. We dig into our archives and revisit one of the loudest musical performances we’ve ever had on the show with Boston sludgy punk rock trio Kal Marks. It was September 2013, and the band was just on the verge of releasing their first full-length album, Life is Murder.

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It’s a special episode of the show recorded live in front of an audience at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles. Our guest is esteemed New York City chef and long time friend, Ignacio Mattos. A native of Uruguay who trained under legendary chefs such as Francis Mallman and Alice Waters, Ignacio is the culinary force behind the popular and critically acclaimed restaurants Estela, Café Altro Paradiso and Flora Bar. He joins us to talk about his career and also his first-ever cookbook, Estela.

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We’re in Philadelphia, and that means roast pork and broccoli rabe for sure, but also meeting up with longtime friend of the Tunes, Chef Marc Vetri. His flagship eponymous restaurant, Vetri Cucina, turned 20 this year, and also launched a Las Vegas location on the 56th floor of the Palms Casino Resort. Marc’s fourth cookbook, Mastering Pizza, also hit the shelves. As usual, Marc’s been keeping super busy, and he catches us up on it all. And from the archives, enjoy a classic performance from Eli “Paperboy” Reed!

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Jeff Gordinier, Food & Drinks Editor of the venerated Esquire magazine, sits down with us to discuss his 2018 list of the country’s best new restaurants. (You’ll have to tune in to find out who landed at the top spot!) He gives us a real behind-the-scenes look at how the list and its awards came together, and recounts all the miles he traveled for research. Jeff also shares with us his memories growing up in Pasadena, seeing The White Stripes perform for the first time and hanging out in London with Oasis.

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We catch up with Fellow Heritage Radio Network host and PR industry veteran Shari Bayer. Shari is the founder and president of Bayer Public Relations, a full-service public relations, consulting and marketing agency in NYC that specializes in culinary and hospitality, mostly representing restaurants. Her show All in the Industry is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes talents in the hospitality industry, and is nearing its 200th episode. It airs live on Wednesdays at 4PM ET. Though they currently reside in Brooklyn, garage punk rockers PowerSnap trace their roots back to Tel Aviv where two of their three members originally hail from. The band recently released their new EP, Delatency, and have been on their first-ever tour promoting it. Check out PowerSnap’s single, “Chemistry.”

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