Kelsey is a chef, owns a restaurant and catering company, a wife, mother, and a "Gulf Southerner".  She's a Top Chef winner and Fan Favorite from her season. She continues to make appearances competing and judging. We talk about her early life trying to figure out what she was good at and ultimately choosing culinary school over college. We discuss her love of plants, teaching her children to be kind humans and we break down all things "Southern".

Show Notes: 

Music by Colin Killalea & Curtis Fye

Logo by Moochie Creative

Crista is a chef, restaurateur and hotelier originally from Wisconsin and now living in Northern CA. She has been credited with transforming her little Northern California town of Guerneville into a buzzing vacation getaway. You can find Crista across Food Network with appearances on Guy's Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay and Tournament of Champions. In this episode, we talk about her younger years growing up in the restaurant business to her making the leap out of the corporate world to follow her dreams in hospitality. We discuss her love of creating an experience for her guests, both in her restaurants and hotels,  her love of real estate, travel, and so much more.

Show Notes: 

Phil Rosenthal is the creator of the iconic sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”, but you may recognize him as the Creator/Executive Producer/Writer and Host of one of the most popular food & travel shows on Netflix, “Somebody Feed Phil”.  Phil is a food enthusiast, and has always been a supporter of restaurants and food culture. In this episode we discuss his early days as a struggling actor, finding his way into a successful writing career and his love of food and travel and sharing that with others.  

Marti is a mother, a cook, a writer, and cookbook author. She is from Alabama and now living in San Sebastián, Spain. In this episode, we talk about our Southern roots, her journey to Spain, overcoming imposter syndrome, her love of vermouth and her culinary journey.

Adeev and Ezra Potash are identical twins, jazz musicians, TV personalities and food enthusiasts. They have performed with John Legend, Diplo, Snoop Dogg and Jon Batiste. Since moving into the culinary space, they have hosted shows like Southern Road Trip with The Potash Twins, Bravo's Beats and Bites, and their latest, Takeout Twins. In this episode, we talk about their music career, their food journey as the proteges of celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern, our shared love of waffle house and so much more!

Simon Majumdar is a food critic, food historian, author, cook and TV personality. After leaving his career in publishing, Simon has been traveling the world and sharing his experiences through his writing and podcast. You can find Simon across various Food Network TV shows acting as judge and a commentator. In this episode, we discuss his early years growing up in England with his Welsh mother, Indian father and three siblings, his interesting career path and his turning point moment that led him where he his today. 

Show Notes: 

Music by Colin Killalea & Curtis Fye

Logo by Moochie Creative

Edited by Susan Kemp 

Michael Voltaggio is a chef, cookbook author, restaurateur, and a dad of two daughters. His impressive culinary resume includes working for Master Chef Peter Timmins, Chef Charlie Palmer and Chef José Andrés. He rose to fame after his season 6 Top Chef win and has been a mainstay in culinary competitions since, both judging and competing. In this episode, Michael tells funny stories of his early days as a cocky chef and gets real about being a dad. He and I discuss how he discovered this career at a young age, the highs and lows of getting to where he is today and how he is navigating and enjoying life now! 

Aarti Sequeira is a former news producer, a cookbook author, and food TV personality. She's known for her season 6 win on Food Network Star and has since been a mainstay on the Food network through judging and competing. In this episode, Aarti and I discuss her Indian roots and growing up in Dubai, her first career in journalism, motherhood, her battle with postpartum depression, and how she continues to navigate her career. Aarti is honest, real, transparent and the loveliest of souls!

Chef Antonia Lofaso is an American chef and restaurateur known for her TV appearances on Top Chef, Cutthroat Kitchen, Guy's Grocery Games and Tournament of Champions. She owns the restaurants Black Market Liquor Bar, Scopa Italian Roots and DAMA in Los Angeles, CA. In this episode we discuss how she became a chef, navigating the restaurant industry, being a mom, love and loss and so much more!