Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another fun and flavorful episode of The Passionate Palate! My guests today are two brothers-in-law from New Jersey who turned their love of barbecue into a booming halal smoked meat business called Holy Smokes. They’re known in their family as the Pitmasters and they do catering and food festivals. One comes from the world of construction, the other from business management, but together they’re building something amazing with barbecue. 

I learned so much about the art and skill of BBQ and Smoked meats and I hope you enjoyed watching and listening to our Smoking Hot conversation! Stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors like this:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another fun and flavorful episode of The Passionate Palate! The guest on this episode is the extremely talented Tabitha Gessling who is a licensed cosmetologist, hairstylist, bridal specialist, and content creator who inspires people to embrace their own beauty. And guess what? She’s also a foodie at heart!

We talk not only about beauty and makeup but also the importance of embracing your inner beauty! 

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai 

Hi Foodies,

Life served me something I didn’t order… a fractured foot.

I’ll be taking a short break from The Passionate Palate podcast while I rest, heal, and catch up on some comfort food.

But don’t worry—new episodes and foodie conversations will be back as soon as I’m back on my feet (literally)!

In the meantime, I’ll still be posting food content, funny skits, and behind-the-scenes stuff on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook, because you know I can’t stay away from food talk for long! So please follow me there @thepassionatepalate

Thank you for supporting me on this journey!

Love,

Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another fun and flavorful episode of The Passionate Palate! This episode is very special to me because my guest is my beautiful daughter Liyana Illyas! Liyana is a Junior in College and double majoring in journalism and political science! She hopes to be a lawyer one day and I’m super proud of her for all her hard work and achievements. Liyana is a foodie like her mama and loves trying out different foods and flavors from around the world.

In this episode, Liyana talks about her love for pasta and ramen noodles and her favorite restaurants in NJ and NY!

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another fun and flavorful episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode,my guest is mi amiga colombiana y mi profesora de español, Karly Gutierrez!  

Karly is a foodie like me and reminisces about her life in Colombia and coming to America and we talk about the grandeur of Colombian food, art, music and dances! 

Check out @karly.gu on Instagram and Tiktok and give her a follow!

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another flavorful and inspirational episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode,my guest, Tatiana Nuñez, reminisces about how her grandma founded the Famous John’s Fried Chicken in NY in the 1970’s. It’s an absolutely beautiful and inspirational story about a young dominican woman who came to America and founded a Fried Chicken Empire! Please check out @johnsfriedchicken on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok and give them a follow!

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another delicious and thrilling episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode, I have a very interesting, informative and educational conversation with Siraj Salahudeen. We talk about his early days as a restaurateur, event planner and motorcycle rider in Sri Lanka to all his achievements today here in the US, most importantly his goal to ride all 50 states! Please check out @theeventsnyc @salahshalal and @salahtherider on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok and give him a follow!

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another delicious episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode, I have a sweet and wonderful conversation with my twin friends Dilu & Jini Kulatungam, who own Joy Cupcakes and Lulu & Me Cheesecakes in Melbourne, Australia!. We take a walk through memory lane from our days in middle school in Sri Lanka to when they moved to Australia and started their baking careers!

Please check out @joycupcakes and @luluandme_cheesecakes on Instagram and Tiktok and give them a follow and If you're in Melbourne do try their delicious cupcakes and cheesecakes!

If you love fun and flavorful conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai 

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another delicious episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode, I have a very interesting and Insightful conversation with Jaffar Wahdat, the founder and owner of Juicy Platters in NJ who also recently opened his Burger joint. We take a walk through memory lane where Jaffar talks about how and why he started his popular chicken and gyro restaurant, the ups and downs of running a restaurant business and his new creation,the delicious Golden Burger! 

If you live in NJ do check out @juicyplatters and @jaffarsburgers on Instagram and Facebook.

If you love delicious conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcastPlease Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

 Zai 

Hi Foodies,

Welcome to another delicious episode of The Passionate Palate! In this episode, I have a very interesting and flavorful conversation with Sri Lankan Restaurateur and Entrepreneur David Cruse who resides in Melbourne, Australia. We talk about his love and passion for food and cricket! If you haven’t tried Sri Lankan food I highly recommend that you do! I guarantee you’d fall in love! 

If you’re living in Melbourne do visit David at his restaurant and check out @spicywicket on Instagram and Facebook.

If you love delicious conversations like this, stay connected for more food content, laughs, and global flavors:

@thepassionatepalate on Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube,Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to:

Follow or Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review — it helps more foodies discover the podcast. Please Share this episode with someone who’d love it!

Thank You!

Love,

Zai.