New year, same us.

We could resolve to eat more kale, do 100 burpees a day or rein in our online shopping. But let’s be real… we’re not going to stick to any of that. Here at The Zest, we’re about adding joy to our life—especially if that joy comes in the form of food.

In that spirit, we’re kicking off 2025 by sharing some of our favorite gastronomic splurges—foods, restaurant meals, kitchen appliances and other things we think are worth going out of your way for. Maybe they cost a little more or require a bit more effort, but they’re worth the investment. Hopefully this conversation inspires you to create your own list of foodie goals.

For this conversation, Dalia Colón is joined by Zest team members Andrew Lucas and Alexandria Ebron. Plus Alex’s husband, Robert Ebron, stops by to tell us about a restaurant deal you won’t want to miss out on.

Related episodes:

• Potluck: Zest Staffers Reveal Our Favorite Cooking Hacks

• Food Hacks for Your Next Vacation from Travel Blogger Carrie McLaren

• Author Kristen Hare on Things to Eat in Tampa Bay Before You Die

‘Tis the season for lofty resolutions. Maybe you’ve vowed to stop drinking alcohol, run a daily 5k or cut your takeout budget to zero and cook every meal at home.

Whatever your goals for the new year, Jo Bakal says to start small. Jo is a Tampa-based wellness coach and cookbook author who’s sworn off meat, dairy products and cane sugar. She even makes her own oat milk.

We can feel your eyes rolling already. But hear us out—Jo made these changes gradually, going from a steak-loving New Yorker to a plant-based Floridian. And her advice can help you evolve into the next version of yourself, whatever that looks like for you. Jo stopped by our studio in Tampa for a chat with Dalia. In this conversation, they discuss how there are two types of food, and why Jo’s wellness tools aren’t as “woo-woo” as they might initially sound.

Related episodes:

• “The Sporkful” Host Dan Pashman on Pasta, Podcasting & Imposter Syndrome

• Eat Better, Feel Better: Simple Swaps from Carly Paige of FitLiving Eats

• Gabrielle E.W. Carter & Dr. LaDonna Butler on Food as Rest & Resistance

• From Florida to France: Food Writer Jamie Schler on Cooking with Oranges, French Hotel Life and More

Head to Lakeland to hang out with Kadean and Laures Dockery. They're the husband-and-wife team behind Our Noire Kitchen. Noire is French for black, and yes, they are a proud Black-owned company. Kadean is the chef; Laures runs the business side and takes all the great photos you see on Instagram.

The pair run Our Noire Kitchen out of the business incubator Catapult Lakeland, and they travel with their food trailer throughout Central Florida for pop-up events, catering gigs and private chef services. Dalia caught up with the Dockerys at Catapult.

Related episodes:

• Pasta Packs Co-Founders Nic & Greg Bryon on Pandemic Dinner Parties, the Flour Your Pantry Needs and Cooking While Black

• Soul Food Scholar Adrian Miller Will Headline the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival

• Beef Chief: Black Cattle Rancher Huey Howard Reflects on the Racism & Rewards of His 6-Decade Career

For many chefs, the road to running a kitchen starts with culinary school. But Hart Lowry forged his own path, working in restaurants across the United States, Europe and Asia, convincing chefs to take him under his wing.

It worked.

Today, Hart is culinary director for Hi Hospitality Group, where he oversees five Sarasota-area restaurants: Speaks Clam Bar, Kojo, Bar Hana, Palm Avenue Deli and Central Park. Hi Hospitality Group’s newest project is Central Park St. Pete.

Hart chatted with Dalia about his unconventional path to chefdom, the fundamental differences between French and Japanese cooking and advice for elevating a home-cooked meal.

Related episodes:

• Chef Mike Collantes of Michelin-Starred Soseki Modern Omakase on His 10-Seat Restaurant and a Hack for Making Better Sushi at Home

• Why You Should Stop Haggling at Florida’s Farmers Markets

• Chef BT Nguyen on How to Cook with Booze

• Chef Johnathan Rodriguez on Finding Cooking Inspiration

• Firehouse Chef Manny FD on Cooking for his “Second Family” and the Right Way to Extinguish a Kitchen Fire

Surviving breast cancer gave Rujel Buggs the motivation to eat right and exercise. It also gave her a new appreciation for comfort food—in moderation.

Moderation is the name of the game for Rujel, who shares healthy recipes and fitness inspiration on social media. But for holidays and Sunday dinners with family, she goes all out preparing Southern favorites like mac and cheese and peach cobbler pound cake. Rujel shares many of those recipes in her cookbook, A Taste from My Mother’s Kitchen: Southern Inspired Soul Food Recipes.

Dalia visited Rujel at home in Valrico and pulled up a stool at the kitchen counter. As they chatted, Rujel prepared lunch—a veggie-filled pasta salad. And for dessert? Peach cobbler. After all, everything in moderation.

Related episodes:

• Sunday Supper Movement & Stress-Free Family Dinners

• Janet Keeler on How to Create Your Own Thoroughly Modern Family Cookbook

• Chef Kenny Gilbert on Southern Food, Teaching Kids to Barbecue and Cooking for Oprah

• How to Prepare Restaurant-Quality Meals at Home: Advice from Chef Dennis Littley

This week, we’re dishing up excerpts from conversations related to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. First up, historian Andrew Batten discusses some of the food that might’ve been on the table at that first Thanksgiving meal in St. Augustine, and he explains why Florida is the birthplace of fusion cuisine. Then, Jacksonville media personality Yanira “Yaya” Cardona shares Puerto Rican holiday traditions that some Floridians practice. Finally, Chef Richard Anderson shares tips for lightning up traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Related episodes:

• Here’s What Was Served at the *Real* First Thanksgiving

• How Florida Became “the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine”

• How to Have a Puerto Rican-Style Holiday Feast in Florida

• Exploring the Oxford Exchange & Recipes with Executive Chef Richard Anderson

Whether you’re eating rack of lamb or chicken wings, make it beautiful. So says Debbie Wilson-Berment, better known as Chef Sagajo. (The nickname is a mashup of her kids’ names.)

Based in Delray Beach, the private chef is the author of the cookbook The Sagajo Experience: Recipes for Lifestyle & Entertaining, which came out earlier this year.

Dalia chatted with Chef Sagajo. In this conversation, she shares how roots in Trinidad & Tobago influence her cooking, and she recalls how family dinners got fancier when she moved to Canada and then the U.S. And just in time for the holiday season, Chef Sagajo offers advice for elegant entertaining that won’t break the bank.

Related episodes:

• Olivia Giesler of The Pearl at Water Street on Hospitality, the Michelin Guide and Being a Female Chef

• Chef Johnathan Rodriguez on Finding Cooking Inspiration

• Restaurateur Claudia Johnson on the Global Influences of Mexican Cuisine

It seems like there’s a coffee shop on every block, and they all offer more or less the same stuff. But one coffee company in Tampa is serving up much more than lattes and muffins.

Coffee Uniting People, or CUP, is a nonprofit coffeehouse that employs mostly people with disabilities. With three locations in Tampa, CUP teaches valuable life skills to folks who are too often overlooked for employment.

Dalia chatted with CUP barista Katie Huettel, along with CUP co-founders Greg and Laura Jones. In this conversation, the Joneses share why they started CUP and advice for business owners looking to hire and support employees with disabilities. Katie also explains how the skills she’s learning at CUP translate to the rest of her life. And the three of them share their favorite beverages and foods from the CUP menu.

Related episodes:

• For Young Adults—Especially Those with Special Needs —Cooking Skills Bring Independence

• Miami Herald’s Carlos Frías on Cuban Coffee, Edible Iguanas & Winning the James Beard Award

• The Cuban Sandwich—Our National Treasure

Fabricio Zambrano is one of the most dapper men you’ll ever meet. Perpetually dressed in fitted clothes and a panama hat, Fab looks, well, fabulous.

But he didn’t always dress like this. Because he didn’t always feel like this. For most of his life, Fabricio wore oversize T-shirts to hide his 5-8, 300-pound frame. He subsisted mostly on fast food and did not exercise.

But after Fab hit a life-threatening rock bottom, the Clearwater resident revamped his habits. He adopted a plant-based lifestyle, started exercising and eventually lost half his body weight. Today, the 61-year-old grandfather is known around Tampa Bay as Fab the Vegan. Through Facebook, Instagram and countless media appearances, he shares his journey and offers inspiration for anyone looking to make changes.

Dalia first met Fab when they both appeared on an episode of Bloom about plant-based eating. They recently reconnected for a conversation about Fab’s health journey, advice for changing one’s eating habits and how to deal with friends and family who oppose your new lifestyle.

Related episodes:

• Bonus Episode: Dalia’s New Cookbook, “The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook” Is Out Now!

• Eat Better, Feel Better: Simple Swaps from Carly Paige of FitLiving Eats

• Natalia Lima Veganizes Recipes from The Great British Baking Show

By Dalia Colón

Whether you’re a coffee fiend or you’ve sworn off caffeine, you’re likely to find a beverage you’ll love at Kahwa Coffee. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, the boutique coffee company specializes in—what else?—java.

But since starting Kahwa, owners Raphael and Sarah Perrier have expanded Kawha’s offerings—and its footprint. Today there are 18 locations; that’s one for every year Kahwa has been in business.

Dalia visited the Perriers at Kahwa’s headquarters in St. Petersburg. (Even the parking lot smells like coffee!) In this conversation, Raphael and Sarah share how they went from meeting in a cafe to leading their family and a coffee empire together. They also discuss how they keep customers engaged while drinking the same beverage day after day, trends in the coffee industry that have staying power and what they really think of Starbucks.

To see a video tour of the Kahwa roastery, check out our Facebook or Instagram.

Related episodes:

• Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co.

• Low-Carb Florida Life with Dennis Perez of Black Tie Kitchen

• Miami Herald’s Carlos Frías on Cuban Coffee, Edible Iguanas & Winning the James Beard Award