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There was a time when theme park food meant hot dogs and giant turkey legs. But these days, amusement parks offer something for just about every palate, from gluten-free and allergy-friendly to kosher and halal.

If you’re vegan or leaning into a plant-based diet, you’ve got more options, too. And finding them is easier, thanks to the website and social media account Universal Orlando Vegans. It’s the brainchild of Shelby Castle, a vegan and Universal passholder.

On her website and social media accounts, Shelby documents vegan-friendly finds at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, CityWalk and nearby hotels. She also co-hosts the podcast Taste of Universal, which is under the umbrella of The Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast.

In our conversation, Shelby shares her favorite vegan foods at Universal Orlando around Central Florida. She also offers advice for transitioning to a vegan lifestyle.

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It’s the most delicious time of year at the Most Magical Place on Earth. We’re talking about the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

The annual event takes place through Nov. 23 at EPCOT’s World Showcase. That’s the area of the theme park whose architecture replicates a bunch of different countries. One minute you're taking a selfie in front of a replica Eiffel Tower; next thing you know, you’re climbing the steps of an Aztec temple in fake Mexico. Throughout the year, each “country” in EPCOT highlights its cuisine. But during the Food & Wine Festival, things get even more elaborate, with special kiosks featuring bespoke food and drinks.

Dalia recently attended the festival, as did her WUSF colleagues Leslie Laney and Mark Schreiner. In this bonus Zest episode, they’ll share their experience and offer tips for eating and drinking your way around the world.

Related episodes:

• EPCOT Culinary Director Albert Youngman Brings a World of Flavors to Florida

• Journalist Judith Smelser on Zoom Wine Tastings, Disney Sommeliers and How to Find Your Next Favorite Bottle of Wine

• “Happiest Plate on Earth” Podcast Hosts Dish on Disney Dining

• AJ Wolfe of Disney Food Blog

A lot of people we interview on the podcast come to feel like family. But this week’s guest actually is family.

Dalia is chatting with her stepdaughter, Ariel Colón, who is a 25-year-old professional basketball player.

Ariel has been playing basketball since she was in elementary school, which is when Dalia first met her. And she hasn’t stopped. She played throughout high school and college, and she now splits her time between pro teams in Lares, Puerto Rico, and Aveiro, Portugal.

Before Ariel headed back overseas, she and Dalia sat down at home to talk about the role food has played in her basketball career. In this conversation, she shares how her eating habits have evolved over the years, how her diet changes when she’s playing overseas and food advice for us mere mortals.

Related episodes:

• Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes — And the Rest of Us

• How Gatorade Went from Gainesville to Global Brand

• Students Dish on Dorm Food, Shared Kitchens and Cooking in College

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chef Tracie Hartman on Feeding the Team, Pre-Game Ice Cream and Tom Brady’s “Very Disciplined” Diet

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When Marques Clark was a kid growing up in St. Pete, he lived on food stamps at home and free lunches at school—in other words, low-quality food.

Now as an adult, Marques is on a mission to teach healthier options to kids, particularly Black children. So in 2014, he started YES CHEF Village. Short for Youth Enrichment Service (YES) Children’s Healthier Eating Foundation (CHEF), the program educates kids and their families about better food options through community dinners and other initiatives.

Marques, who also goes by the name Chef Omaka, stopped by The Zest studio in June 2024 to chat with Dalia Colón. In this conversation, Marques discusses his journey to a healthier lifestyle, the connection between nutrition and physical/mental health and the prevalence of food deserts in Black neighborhoods.

Related episodes:

• 10 Tips for Cooking with Kids

• Lunchboxmafia: How to Make a Lunch They Can’t Refuse

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

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Fall is busy for a lot of us, whether you’ve got kids back in school, a big work project to finish before the end of the fiscal year, or you’re trying to get your garden planted. Whatever your situation, the last thing you need is to stress about cooking.

Dalia and the Zest team recently met up remotely to discuss our favorite ways to save time, money and sanity in the kitchen. We all brought a few suggestions, like an idea potluck. In this conversation, you’ll learn:

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Randy Wayne White is the author of dozens of novels set in Florida, including the fan favorite series about fictional marine biologist Marion “Doc” Ford. White’s latest Doc Ford novel is One Deadly Eye—as in, eye of the storm, just in time for peak hurricane season. The novel took him on a book tour that included stops at—where else?—Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille.

The restaurant, which White owns with two business partners, has four locations along Florida’s Central Gulf Coast. In June, the Terra Ceia resident stopped by the eatery’s location at the St. Pete Pier, where he’d come to do a reading and book signing. But first, he settled into a booth with Dalia for a chat.

Related episodes:

• Conscious Cuisine: How to Choose Sustainable Seafood

• 20 Tips for a Better Hurricane Food Kit: Advice from Janet Keeler

• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ “Cross Creek Cookery” Turns 80: Reflections from Food Writer Jeff Houck

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If brewing your own beverage sounds like your cup of tea, then this bonus episode is for you. Back in March, we brought you an interview with Riverview resident Ginain Grayes of the website CookPraySlay and the podcast Cook the Garden. Today, we’re sharing an episode of Cook the Garden that we think you’ll enjoy.

In this conversation, Ginain chats with Nicole Wilson of Tea for Me Please. The New award-winning tea writer and educator shares tips for selecting and brewing your perfect cup of tea.

Do you prefer hot or iced beverages? Hit us up on Facebook or Instagram and spill the tea.

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Dietitian, nutritionist and occasional Zest guest Wendy Wesley chats with Nanette Wiser about Wendy's new podcast, St. Pete Eats.

Related episodes:

• 7 Tips for Eating More at Home: Advice from Dietician/Nutritionist Wendy Wesley

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

• 10 Tips for Cooking with Kids

Earlier this season, we heard from Adrian Miller. Nicknamed the Soul Food Scholar, the Denver-based researcher has written several books on African-American culinary traditions, including Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue and The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas. His first book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. He also appears in the acclaimed Netflix docuseries High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.

Adrian visited Florida in February to headline the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival. The evening before the main event, he spoke at Collards After Dark at The Cuban Club in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood. In a conversation on stage with Dalia, Adrian shared tales from the latest topic to catch his interest—beverage preferences of U.S. presidents. We’re sharing that conversation here with you on the pod.

Adrian delves into which presidents made their own wine, which abstained and who drank confiscated booze during Prohibition. He also explores how wine is selected for White House state dinners, which first lady favored daiquiris and why all of this matters.

Related episodes:

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

• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’

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

• Dr. Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” African Roots of Florida Foods

• From the Big House to the White House: Dr. Martha Bireda on Foodways of the Enslaved