Hi, everyone! The holidays may be behind us, but we’re diving headfirst into 2025. Can you believe it? Happy New Year! I’ve been reflecting on what an incredible 2024 it was, and wow—what a ride!Let’s start with travels: I’ve been all over the map! St. Martin’s Grand Case? Check. Medellín, Colombia? Absolutely—coffee tastings and Michelin-starred meals galore. New Orleans for the Beard Conference? You bet, and I ate everywhere. If you want the full scoop on my adventures (and what I ate), head to my Insta highlights.Closer to home, the DMV food and drink scene kept thriving with major openings:Kwame’s DogonMikey Friedman’s AventinoMike Rafidi’s La ShukranKevin Tien’s reimagined Moon RabbitKeith McNally’s swanky Minetta TavernStephen Starr’s Pastis and MozzaPlus new hot spots like Bar Cana, Press Club, and Binge—a low-ABV/no-alcohol haven.This is just the tip of the iceberg! So much happening in food, drink, and what I like to call wellness. (Don’t @ me.)Now for today’s show: I’m back in Marshall, VA, exploring all things Fauquier Fabulous thanks to Laura Torpy of Fauquier County Tourism. Last time, I was at The Whole Ox. Today, I’m at the Field & Main Restaurant.Let’s talk about Virginia wine—an industry that’s exploded in the last 50 years. From just a handful of wineries to over 300 statewide (30+ in Fauquier alone!), the growth is extraordinary. Joining me today to chat all things wine:Kiernan Slater Patusky of Slater Run VineyardNeal Wavra, proprietor of Field & Main and CEO of Red Truck BakeryLeah Papadopoulos Constable, Vineyard & Cellar Manager at Molon Lave VineyardsOh, and mark your calendars: the Fauquier County Wine Showcase is coming up on February 8th. Stay tuned for more details.Watch the full episode here or listen to it here.  

Hello everyone. Look, I am somewhere new. You may recall the four shows out at Barrel Oak Vineyards. Remember that? Every week I would drive out and let the blood pressure just drop. And what did I tell you I did after every trip? I would drive down the road from Barrel Oak into the pretty little town of Marshall. I’d stop by Red Truck Bakery for a few cookies and then I would have a late lunch at the Whole Ox where I’d order The Big Ox two 1/3 lb beef patties ground in-house with special sauce and all the fixings. Then I’d swaddle around a little in the market to pick up some wine, some amazing well-curated snacks and some steaks.I’ve always been obsessed with the Whole Ox because it’s in this little gem of a town and carries everything I want from a little independent butcher shop and market and where am I today?!The food is great there and, you know, it's kind of everything you want from an independent butcher shop and market, which sort of leads me to where I am today. So I'm across the street from the Whole OX. I am in this new gorgeous kitchen and event space called, are you ready, the Whole OX 2. Yes, they have expanded and I cannot wait to catch up with this badass butcher. Her name is Amanda Lohoyak.Listen to the full episode here and watch the full episode here.  

So it’s good to be back with you. Last week was pretty special being out at Fauquier County - horse country - letting the blood pressure drop as I left the city and drove out to Marshall. If you haven’t heard my chat with the amazing butcher boss babe, Amanda Luhowiak, owner of The Whole Ox — you need to — and take a scroll through insta to see all the deliciousness. NOW This week I do have another pretty incredible woman joining me. As many of you know, most of my family resides in Philadelphia. My brother, his wife and my dad are physicians up there, my sister is a lawyer and my cousins own restaurants. So needless to say, I am in Philly quite a bit and I can speak for my family and myself when I say we are huge fans of today’s guest, Ellen Yin. Ellen is founder and co-owner of High Street Hospitality Group (you know, a.kitchen + bar, Fork, High Street Restaurant & Bakery, High Street Hoagies and The Wonton Project oh and an a.kitchen + bar now in Washington Circle. I have a High Street Restaurant & Bakery story but before I bring Ellen on a bit about where I have been and what I have been doing:How lucky am I to have snagged a cozy window seat at Pascual just days before Chefs Isabel Coss & Matt Conroy’s spot was crowned one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America?Guacamole & Tostadas (Pro-tip: Do NOT share the smoked papaya)Charred Eggplant 🍆 Tamale (my top pick of the night!) luscious and velvetyDelicious Duck 🦆Let’s get into Ellen!My family loves Fork. We have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries there over the years. But! I was on a media trip to Philly when I had one of my all time favorite bites at High Street Restaurant and Bakery —> A pumpernickel bialy with white fish salad. Oh em gee — and I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen the fist time on the James Beard red carpet when I emceed for Hilton at the JBAwards 2023 right before she won her James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur in 2023 — To All those listening may I please introduce a true Industry Leader, author, award winner and a co-chair of Sisterly Love Collective - which we will get into - Listen to the episode here and watch the episode here.  

Per usual there is so much there’s so much going on and I’ve been eating, drinking, rubbing shoulders and shaking hands — I have really found myself chatting with some of the very best and brightest in the Industry - including today’s guest. I really do love what I do. Let’s go down memory lane shall we? I mean if you follow me on insta than you see a lot of what I am doing but you know I want to chat about it!  And then I will be bringing on this week’s guest:Journalist-turned-director-turned-activist: Joanna James. Joanna thinks a woman’s place is in the kitchen and I agree!Okay the DL on Chefs For EqualityYou know Your girl loves high tea and I just hosted a tea party at Zinnia in Silver Spring.I kind of just want to hang out at La Bonne Vache all the time. I want to just slather foie gras terrine on toasts and drink my roseRosedale is the new spot by Ashok Bajaj. It is exactly what a neighborhood restaurant should be: casual, pizzas, salads and Frank Ruta’s roasted chicken,Hungry? I didn’t event talk about my dinner at Dōgon, I’ll save that tasting trip until next week!Joanna James is  behind the film A Fine Line and is also the Founder & President of MAPP — MAPP is a 501-C3 non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the landscape of the hospitality & culinary industry through mentorship, advocacy, purpose, and the power of women (MAPP).Joanna likes to say, It shouldn’t be easier for a woman to be a CEO in this country than it is to be head chef and she is taking the standard, tearing it up into little pieces and demanding and effecting change - watch the full episode here or listen to it here.  

Hello it’s so good to be back on air. I did take another little break and there is a reason for that! I’ve had stuff!  There’s so much going on and I’ve been eating, drinking, emceeing and cavorting with some of the very best and brightest in the Industry. So as per usual I’m going to take you on a  little trip down memory lane on where I have been and what I have been doing.  AND then and only then I will be bringing on this week’s guest - the lovely and always entertaining Joe Yonan. I think Joe and I met a little over 15 years ago when he first came to the DC to jon the Washington Post Food section. Fast forward to today Joe is the 2x JBF award-winning food & dining editor at the Washington Post. He is the author of Cool Beans, Serve Yourself, Eat Your Vegetables and now the newly published Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking. Watch the full episode here or listen here.   

Last I left off that I was having lunch at Jose’s with Alice Waters and Joan Nathan — and a few others because Alice was in town to receive Julia Child Foundation award AND I was there at the Museum of American History and so was former award winners, Danny Meyers, Sean Sherman, Grace Young, Jacques Pepin on and one of my guests today  Toni Tipton Martin — to honor Alice who has been a champion of local sustainable agriculture for over four decades.So that is the perfect segue to Toni Tipton Martin and Morgan Bolling.Their glorious new cookbook, When Southern Women Cook from America’s Test Kitchen, reflects the diversity of the South, the women who live there and their personal culinary histories. My understanding is that this book came together thanks to Toni - (who is the EIC at Cook’s Country Magazine) and Morgan’s - (who is the executive Editor at the publication) — conversations about the intersection of food & women empowerment.More than 70 women (several of whom have been on this show) share their Southern roots through storytelling and recipes.Yes, there’s recipes for fried chicken (8 actually and we will find out why) and so many other favorites but more importantly Toni and Morgan provide a space for women to take control of the Southern Culinary narrative.When Southern Women Cook — History, Lore and 300 RecipesAnd if you do not know, Toni Tipton Martin is multi time James Beard Award–winning author and is one of the founders of the Southern Foodways AllianceAnd Morgan Bolling is a tv celebrity, as a cast member of the Cook’s Country TV show.Watch the full episode here or Listen to it here.  

Hello it’s so good to be back on air. Took a little break — well not really a break I’ve been working but I took a few weeks off from this show to get inspired and bring renewed energy.  Now to today’s guest. I love when I bring on people that I have known since the beginning of my time in this industry. Monica Bhide — nowMonica Saigal — we both started covering the food scene at the same time. Monica had a day job but she was writing mesmerizing articles for The New York Times, Bon Appétit, The Washington Post, and NPR. She has always blended stories of food with culture and her personal connections. She is a prolific writer — cookbooks like Modern Spice and The Spice is right, novels like Karma & The Art of Butter Chicken and Inspirational books like In Conversation with Exceptional Women (which Monica was generous enough to include me in) she now has a new book, a children’s book Papa’s Butter Chicken.Monica and I have truly not caught up in a bit. We are going to get personal and talk about her journey, her writing career and why everyone loves butter chicken! Listen to the episode here or watch it here.  

So today I am back with the Peter Chang family at their latest restaurant in the DC Area - NiHao Arlington, at the new Amazon headquarters at National Landing in Arlington, VA. The vibe is very hip and summery, with an airy street-facing bar and lots of delicious small plates. Lydia Chang designed the gorgeous space and I cannot wait to catch up with her. ALSO on this show is good friend and recent James Beard & RAMMY award winner Masako Morishita — so excited to have two boss babes with in with me today.I met Masako before she was ever in a restaurant kitchen. I remember where I met her! We were at the opening of Officina and your boyfriend at the time (now husband) introduced us. You were making something — dumplings doing pop ups? Anyway a year or so later you joined me on F&TB — you were executing at Brent Kroll’s Maxwell. And now you winning all sorts of well-deserved accolades while behind the stove at Perry's. How did you go from being the captain of the Commanders cheerleading squad to the 2024 James Beard Foundation’s Emerging Chef and the 2024 RAMMY’s Rising Culinary Star of the Year.At the end of today’s show, Lydia and Masako agreed to a short panel discussion on the trials and tribulations of being immigrant Asian women in the hospitality industry. Lydia’s team laid out a feast for our discussion — it was honest and frank and delicious  — tune in here 

Hello and welcome to another episode of Industry Night! Taking a break this week from residencies — although haven’t they been fun?! Loved being out in Delaplane, Virginia sitting amongst the vines of Barrel Oak  and the mountains of the Shenandoah off in the distance. It's such a treat to tape this show on location but sometimes, just sometimes,— my guests are all the way across the country so we pop on the screen to chat here in my not nearly as sexy as a vineyard … office.So for those of you who know me it takes a lot for me to gush about my guests. I like to play it cool — I mean it’s my job to interview people and I have had the pleasure of chatting with so many of the greats in this industry. But today I am a little giddy, totally fan-girling and maybe a tad nervous of the— Chef, author, food activist and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California —  Alice Waters — She is also this year’s recipient of the Julia Child Award — The award recognizes those who have an impact on the American culinary scene and has been given by the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts since 2015, and comes with a $50,000 prize. Previous awardees include Grace Young, José Andrés, Danny Meyer, and Jacques Pépin and last year’s award winner Sean Sherman - several of those I’ve interviewed here on this show.Alice will be honored with the Julia Child Foundation Award on 10/17 in Washington DC as part of the Smithsonian’s National Food History Weekend.Also in with me today to talk about the Award and its significance is-Curator of Food History at National Museum of American History; Paula Johnson — good friend and a return guest to the show-Eric W. Spivey, Chairman and Trustee, The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary ArtsListen to the full episode here or watch the episode here.  

Good friend, beer guru and beverage director and partner of Neighborhood Restaurant Group - Greg Engert - he’s out here with me today! And since we covered wine here at the winery part of Barrel & Oak it’s now time to talk the Brewery part!First and foremost, did you know that August is Virginia Craft Beer month? With more than 200 craft breweries throughout Virginia and being named one of the Top Seven Beer Destinations by Travel Channel, it's no surprise that the state dedicates the entire month of August to celebrating Virginia craft beer. And in with me with is Jon Bowman, Brewmaster here at Barrel Oak. The brewery was named Virginia Brewery of the Year at the 2024 New York International Beer Competition, thanks to Jon.You can listen to the latest episode here.