The Atlanta Foodcast: A Food Podcast

John and Vivian are two of the most congenial, creative, well-respected, and influential people I know — and they aren’t chefs. They happen to own and operate SqFt Studio which ALSO happens to be the design and architecture firm responsible for some of Atlanta’s most beloved restaurants.

These two have created an incredible firm and business that bolsters the creativity of Atlanta’s dining scene. If you’d like to see some of the incredible projects they are behind, check out their projects page.

We sat down to record this episode on their patio, just off the Beltline.

Jason Santamaria, co-founder of Second Self Beer Company, is no stranger to bold flavors. Growing up in the restaurant world, it started early for him. Thusly co-creating a brewery where the intentional and calculated approach to flavors and styles was on the forefront.

Jason and I sat down for a conversion on how they got started with the brewery and where they’re headed.

If you’d like to learn more about Second Self, check out their website: https://www.secondselfbeer.com

Follow what they’re up on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as well.

Chef Pano and his family have been serving Atlanta (and now several other US cities) for almost forty years. His story, rooted in Yiayia’s cooking, has progressed from attending Culinary Institute of America, working under Eric Ripert, Jean-Georges, and the great Thomas Keller. Now, running Kyma for almost 20 years, Chef Pano has shown Atlanta true Mediterranean hospitality and it feels like he’s just getting started.

What drew me to Kyma years ago was dining as a vegetarian. There is so much attention given to the veggie-forward approach for veg/vegan diners — which really sets Chef Pano and his team apart.

In our conversation, you’ll hear how his early years in the kitchen got started, how he worked under some of the most prolific chefs in the country, and authored his first cookbook — which was published in 2018.

If you’d like to learn more about Kyma and the other restaurants in the group, head here: Buckhead Life

Pick up a copy of Chef Pano’s Book here: Modern Greek Cooking

in case you hadn’t heard, I wanted to let you know we’re bringing back The Atlanta Foodcast for a second season — and it’s happening in just a few weeks!

Well, friends, the time has come. It’s time to put a stop to this madness!

Just kidding. It’s the final episode of Season One! Can you believe it? We’ve come a long way since launching the podcast and it all culminates here in episode 33. This episode is a bit of a recap from Season One with a few clips from a handful of interviews.

I also wanted to provide a few of my thoughts on the dining scene in Atlanta and the landscape of our amazing culinary community.

Next, I also wanted to provide a bit of a preview for Season Two of the show! That’s right, there’s going to be plenty more for all of you listeners out there. We have a few surprises up our sleeves yet, so keep an ear to the podcasting ground to get a glimpse of what’s next! More news coming soon.

Many, many thanks to all of our guests who joined us for Season One of the show. If you’d like to leave a comment below, please feel free to do so.

We’ll see you in Season Two, friends.