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102. High Tea: Xanthe Clay Jun 10, 2024

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On this episode of the High Tea series, Gabriel Ornelas sits down with Xanthe Clay, UK-based chef and food writer with 25 years of experience as a Telegraph columnist.

For the past 11 years Xanthe's been The World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy Chair for UK and Ireland. At the Telegraph she provides guidance on everything from roasting a Christmas turkey to baking the perfect loaf of bread. She's also focused on taking a deep-dive into topical issues such as ultra processed foods, ethical farming and sustainability.

In this episode, we discuss:

☑️Chef's are more connected to where food comes from

☑️Importance of Regenerative Agriculture

☑️The ripple effect and influence of fine dining

☑️The World's 50 Best Restaurants platform builds community

☑️Restaurants taking care of staff and valuing staff

☑️50 Best Talks in Las Vegas

☑️More casual restaurants on future lists (Xanthe's hope)

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The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024:

https://bit.ly/3KAMr6K

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101. Hot Spot: Jordan Kahn of VESPERTINE Jun 05, 2024

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As the Beatles sang in their 1967 hit, "All You Need is Love," they weren't just referring to the love of another but also the love of oneself. Our next Hot Spot guest, Chef Jordan Kahn, is writing a new chapter in his career, focused on redefining success and joy through love.

Jordan honed his skills under culinary icons like Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, and Michael Mina. He has been at the forefront of LA's culinary scene with his restaurants—Destroyer, an informal daytime spot serving sophisticated, wholesome fare; Meteora, a transporting, holistic restaurant focusing on live-fire cooking that opened in 2022; and the recently reopened Vespertine, his extravagant experiment in fine dining that closed for the greater part of three years.

Vespertine's previous accolades include two Michelin stars from 2019 to 2021, recognition as one of the Most Beautiful Restaurants by Condé Nast, and a spot on Time Magazine's prestigious list of the World's 100 Greatest Places.

Despite the awards, accolades, and so-called success, Jordan felt depleted and undernourished by his work. The pandemic, although devastating to the industry, also allowed him to slow down, find balance and meet the love of his life. His wife Zara has had a tremendous influence on him, helping him move "from the head to the heart" in both his creative culinary pursuits and in life in general.

Learn more about VESPERTINE:

https://bit.ly/3xek3UZ

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Learn more about Meteora:

https://bit.ly/3yQ6JXy

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100. High Tea: Cláudia de Brito Jun 03, 2024

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On this episode of the High Tea series, Gabriel Ornelas sits down with Cláudia de Brito, Dubai-based journalist, host, moderator and content creator.

Born to Portuguese-Cape Verdean parents in Singapore, raised in Dubai and educated in London, Cláudia's depth of experience and global perspective has helped her cover hospitality and travel for over a decade. She's was the Editor of several publications including Caterer Middle East and Hotelier Middle East. In 2021, she was appointed Gulf Academy chair for MENA's 50 Best Restaurants and is now also a Middle East Academy Chair for World's 50 Best Restaurants.

In this episode, we discuss:

☑️The Worlds 50 Best Restaurant 2024, Las Vegas

☑️MENA's 50 Best Restaurants Academy Chair

☑️Champions of Change Award 2023 | Nora Fitzgerald Belahcen of Amal in Marrakech, Morocco

☑️Dubai's current culinary scene

☑️What defines Middle Eastern hospitality?

☑️Where her chef friends are eating in Dubai

☑️Dubai as a culinary destination!

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99. High Tea: Kayla Stewart May 27, 2024

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On this episode of the High Tea series, Gabriel Ornelas sits down with Kayla Stewart, Houston-and-NY-based food and travel journalist, cookbook author and Editor of Eater Houston.

Kayla's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Eater, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and others. Her piece, "The Sweetest Harvest," won the 2023 James Beard Foundation Profile Award, and her story, "Teach a Man to Fish," will be anthologized in the 2023 edition of Best American Food Writing. She's currently working on a cookbook with Chef Christopher Williams about Black cuisine in Texas for Ten Speed Press.

In this episode, we discuss:

☑️Cultural applications to timeless American classics

☑️Cultural convergence in the dining scene

☑️Food and dining is changing. Tastes are changing

☑️American food has always been impacted by immigrants

☑️Generation of diners who want to know where their food is from

☑️Eater Houston working on coverage with Latino and Asian communities

☑️Cookbook about w/ Chef Christopher Williams

☑️Thoughts on future of storytelling in food

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https://bit.ly/4bRAhSK

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98. Deuki Hong + Matt Rodbard: Koreaworld May 22, 2024

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When was the last time you ate Korean food at your local Koreatown, enjoyed a K-drama on your favorite streaming service, or flipped open TikTok to a viral sensation soundtracked by a famous K-pop band? Have you noticed the impact of Korean cuisine and culture on our world? Maybe you're noticing it now, or perhaps you're already a citizen of Koreaworld, deeply connected to the culture.

Our next two guests, Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard, are true citizens of Koreaworld—global ambassadors with a deep love, passion, and appreciation for Korean food and culture. Their recent book, titled Koreaworld: A Cookbook, encapsulates this passion with over two years of travel specifically for this book and close to a decade of exploration.

Deuki is a Korean-American executive chef and owner of The Sunday Family Hospitality Group in San Francisco. Matt is a writer, editor, and author of food and culture books with more than two decades of experience. He's also the co-host of This Is Taste podcast. Together, 10 years ago, Deuki and Matt co-authored the New York Times Bestseller Koreatown: A Cookbook.

As they both witnessed the continued influence and impact of Korean culture worldwide, they were compelled to follow up their first book with Koreaworld: a story about vibrant people, community, and brilliant recipes. You're about to listen to the story of a culinary revolution.

Learn more about Koreaworld: A Cookbook:

https://bit.ly/3WQUcgv

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https://bit.ly/4bQHz99

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97. High Tea: Prairie Rose May 20, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of the High Tea series, Gabriel Ornelas sits down with Prairie Rose, Los Angeles-based journalist, trained sommelier, cocktail book author, and wine and spirits educator.

Prairie is Food & Wine's senior drinks editor and also the senior editor of Liquor.com. In addition to Food & Wine, her work has been featured in The Whiskey Wash, Forbes, Men's Health, Self Magazine, and Design Sponge, among others. She is the author of the book Mixology for Beginners: Innovative Craft Cocktails for the Home Bartender.

In this episode, we discuss:

☑️New move to Senior Drinks Editor, Food & Wine

☑️Ability to reach a broader audience, more culinary focused audience

☑️Exploration of non-alcoholic, teas, kombuchas, etc.

☑️Celebrity booze brands..finally some transparency

☑️The experts behind these "Celeb brands"

☑️How do we stay excited about beverage storytelling?

☑️What are we drinking summer 2024?

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96. High Tea: June Kim May 13, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of the High Tea series, Gabriel Ornelas sits down with June Kim, Los Angeles-based food media executive and Head of Video for Bon Appétit and Epicurious.

As Head of Video, June oversees numerous shows and series highlighting compelling chefs and restaurants, delicious recipes from their test kitchen, and other food and beverage culture formats that help bring Bon Appétit and Epicurious to life on screen. June and her team were recently nominated for two James Beard Awards, for their shows, On The Line and Street Eats, which are available on the BA website and YouTube.

In this episode, we discuss:

☑️Video and the world of storytelling

☑️Reinventing or redifining American cuisine

☑️Bringing BA to a more international audience

☑️Finding the talents in these international markets

☑️Street Eats with Lucas Sin

☑️Exploration of India and Mexico

☑️June loves the show, "The Bear"

☑️Pulling inspiration from Tik Tok

☑️Two James Beard Noiminations

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95. Dan Barber: Chefs Can Save Our Planet May 08, 2024

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This is an episode rerelease from our On The Pass archives. We hope you enjoy!

Can chefs step up and takeover our broken food system? Chef Dan Barber thinks they can and should. Dan is the Co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, author of The New York Times Bestseller "The Third Plate", and Co-Founder of Row 7 Seeds, a company developing and exploring new varieties of vegetables and grains.

We dissect today's broken food system and take a deeper look at the current state of our farms, how the seeds today have been modified for high yield rather than grown for nutrition, and how his company Row 7 Seeds is looking to combat that by breeding organic seeds that result in maximum nutrition and flavor.

Dan is someone who is deeply committed to the concept that better ingredients means better health for ourselves and for our lands. He also is adamant that chefs can be the vehicle to help change our world. Honest, open, and quite the conversationalist, this episode is not to be missed.

Learn more about Dan Barber and Blue Hill Farm:

https://bit.ly/3UPgL3v

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