The CHEF Radio Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 103: Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai in LA Nov 17, 2023

Show notes

What would you say if I told you that a Disney artist, who helped bring animated films to life as well as designed video games and Disney theme park attractions, won a James Beard award this year for Best Chef California? Well, in today's podcast, we welcome Justin in to talk about his highly improbable journey from a first-generation Thai kid who grew up in his parents restaurant to one day leaving his artistic profession to come back to take over after his father had a debilitating stroke. This podcast has all the elements of a heart wrenching and uplifting Disney film, and we can't wait for you to listen!

Here's what else was talked about:

Justin doing the inaugural Voi•ãge dinner at Kalaya with Chef Nok
Starting out as an artist at Disney
How certain aspects of his time at Disney still play into his decisions at Anajak Thai
Justin's and Eli's shared love for drawing out dishes before they begin to develop them in real life
Literally growing up in his mom and dad's restaurant
His mother would give him "showers" in the bathroom at the restaurant!
How beat up the physical space of Anajak is after 40+ years in business
When he had to take over the restaurant for his ailing father and the difficulties of filling his shoes…literally
Learning from other chefs and friends in the business
Are drop lines for servers necessary, or should guests be left to figure out the dish?
What kind of chef do you want to be?
The importance of hiring people who compliment you and fill the void in your knowledge
Justin's early memory of trips to Thailand to visit family
How his father, after his stroke, still came into the restaurant using a wheelchair to help direct and train Justin
Justin's incredible James Beard speech

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A huge shout out to our sponsors, Maxwell McKenney and Singer Equipment, for their unwavering support, which allows us to be able to bring these conversations to you. Check out their websites for all the amazing equipment they can supply your restaurant with to make your team more efficient and successful.

Meez, is one of the most powerful tools you can have as a cook and chef because it allows you to have a free repository for all of your recipes, techniques and methods so that you never lose them. Meez does way more than just recipe development though, it's an incredibly powerful tool that any chef or restaurant would benefit from.

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Episode 102: Author Spotlight - Andrew Friedman of The Dish and Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

How many different individuals go into serving one plate of food in a restaurant? How many people, including producers, delivery personnel, cooks, servers, and porters, does it take to get each singular ingredient of a dish to the table? Maybe that's not something you ever thought about; however, Andrew Friedman, author of the newly released book titled "The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food", spells it out for us in his book and takes a deep dive to help the reader understand how many hands go into growing, raising, picking, butchering, and delivering a single dish.

Here's what else you'll hear:

The many chefs he has written cookbooks for, including Chef Jimmy Bradley, Paul Liebrandt and Alfred Portale
The incredible work that he's done on his podcast, Andrew Talks To Chefs, and the trust that he has developed over the years with chefs
How he got into writing and fell into the culinary world after hoping to be a screenwriter
Writing the book, Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll, and why trust was such a major factor in being able to write that book
How he was able to land an interview with Chef Wolfgang Puck
Writing his newest book and the premise behind it
Working with chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark in Chicago to write the book
The one dish that he decided to right about and why he was at first unsure, but in the end, he felt great about hit
How he followed the food from seed to plate and what role it played in the logistics of it all most impressed him
Diving deep into the background of each employee who helps bring that one dish to life
How the kitchen is a safe haven for many people who may not be compatible with the traditional career path
Why sketching out dishes for Eli was important in minimizing how many times he had to try it out during the research and development phases

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Meez, which is one of the most powerful tools you can have as a cook and chef because it allows you to have a free repository for all of your recipes, techniques and methods so that you never lose them. Meez does way more than just recipe development though, it's an incredibly powerful tool that any chef or restaurant would benefit from.

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Peace, Love & Chicken Grease

Episode 101: Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna, Bar Futo and Crispy Gai in Portland, Maine Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

Do you have dreams of controlling your own destiny rather than waiting in line for your turn to step up in a restaurant owned by someone else? It seems like an obvious question, but maybe it isn't because not everyone has the same ambition. What you are going to hear here today is the improbable story of a chef who was so driven to be their own boss that he bought a beat-up hot dog cart, shined it up with some stainless steel cleaner, hammered out some dents, and opened Portland, Maine's first sushi hand roll cart, calling it Mr. Tuna.

Here's what else is on deck:

How being sick of the grind inspired him to get creative and start a hand roll cart
The short summer season in Maine
How Portland has a very high restaurant per capita number
Jordan paints a picture of what the fishing docks look like in Portland
How he fell into the world of sushi
Convincing the owners of a restaurant to put in a sushi bar that he ran for his first taste of running his own business
Deciding to move to Portland in order to put on some roots
The challenges of running a food cart in a climate that has snow on the ground many months of the year
The impeccable seafood that he gets to serve his guests in Maine
Eli and Jordan talk about their favorite oysters from Maine.
How a sushi chef can manipulate fish to get the most out of it
How a sushi chef can breakdown preconceived notions of their guests and get them to try fish they may know otherwise
Why he does not use fish from Japan
Jordan talks about his fleet of food trucks that go out and around the Portland area
Starting his Thai-style fried chicken concept with his partner
What's next

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 100: Daniel Boulud of Restaurant Daniel, Café Boulud and the Dinex Group Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

For our 100th episode, we take a road trip to New York City to talk with the legend himself, Chef Daniel Boulud, of Restaurant Daniel, Café Boulud, DB Bistro, and more. In this 100th episode, Eli has the opportunity to ask Chef what it takes to stay on top of the mountain for 30+ years as his restaurant celebrates its own incredible milestone. Chef Daniel graciously opens his dining room up to us as we sit down and talk about the early years that shaped him and the people along the way who mentored him to become the great chef that he is. As someone who is a direct disciple of chef Paul Bocuse and who worked in some of the great houses of French cuisine, Chef Daniel has seen this industry transform itself over the years into the diverse, multicultural industry it has become.

Here's what else was discussed:

Perspective and why it's so important to maintain it
Chef gives gratitude and credit to all the people who helped make his dream come true
Eli talks about the many chefs that he's worked for who have come up through Chef Daniel's kitchens
Chef takes us back to the farm that he grew up on outside of Lyon, France
The incredible tradition of taking a plate of "fricassee" to the neighbors after slaughtering a hog
Making goat cheese and selling it at the farmers market in Lyons with his father
The importance of understanding the circle of life and why growing up on a farm helps you appreciate the animals that you are cooking
How Chef Daniel got his first apprenticeship at a two-star Michelin restaurant
The legendary chefs that he worked for who shaped him
How Chef Paul Bocuse became his mentor and took him under his wing
The reason Chef Daniel came to the United States and the legendary chef that he worked for at the Watergate in DC
The incredible influence that the famous winemaker, Robert Mondavi, had in bringing French chefs to the US
Chef talks about his 30th birthday, where chef Jean-Louis Palladin cooked a dinner of live animals, including a live lamprey that he brought to the table
Working at Le Cirque with the famed Sirio Maccioni
The beautiful practical joke that was played on him when leaving Le Cirque
Looking back on 30 years and the incredible perspective chef still has
The current threat to profitability in our industry
How to maintain a culture among many different restaurants with many different partners
The importance of creating upward mobility in his company and how building out the new Café Boulud will allow some of his key players to move up

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 99: Chef Dave Beran of Pasjoli in Santa Monica Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

What is the biggest moment in your career as a chef? Is it opening your first restaurant? Maybe it's when you receive an accolade that you were always dreaming of, or maybe it's getting a really nice review from your city's food critic. These are all great moments, without a doubt, but I would venture to say that the biggest moment in a chef's career is when they finally start to find their own voice in their food, when all of these past experiences, dishes, and efforts come together in a unique vision that is completely their own.

Dave Beran, today's guest, had a very unique way of finding his voice in food. In fact, he was given the rains of a Chicago restaurant that would completely change every four months. That restaurant was aptly called Next, and it is a restaurant that pushes the imagination and boundaries of what our industry can do. Next would lead him to find his own style and voice, and ironically, after loathing the 1910 bistro menu Next began with in 2011, it led him down a path to where he is today, cooking in Santa Monica with his critically acclaimed Pasjoli, an elevated French bistro where they cook food that is rooted in Southern California but inspired by the markets of Paris.

Here's what else was talked about:

How the name of the restaurant came to fruition
When Dave and Eli met after becoming Food & Wine Best New Chefs together in 2014
Dave's introduction into the industry as "Toast Boy"
Working for chef Michael Tramano at Tru in Chicago
The intricacies of Pommes Soufflé
Getting a job at Alinea restaurant and why they start cooks as a food runner
How his mentor, Chef Erick Williams of Virtue, helped guide him
The day they got a call from Chef Grant Achatz telling them he had cancer
The relearning process after Chef Achatz came back to the kitchen after receiving treatment
How Alinea changed the game for modern food in America
When he decided to open Next, and why there were 20,000 names on the list for reservations when they opened
The moment he started to find his own perspective in food
Opening his tasting menu-only restaurant, Dialogue
Training actor Jeremy Allen White at Pasjoli to prepare for his lead role in The Bear
Eli and Dave w poetic about Chicago's Italian Beef sandwich!
How they cook at Pasjoli and use old school techniques when roasting meats
Why teaching his team so important to him and why he even opens the financial books for his team to learn and empower them

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 98: Chef Ana Castro of Lengua Madre and Acamaya in New Orleans Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

Success in our business is never a linear path, and it will always be met with unexpected ups and downs that will challenge you at your lowest and enthrall you at your highest. After our guest, Ana Castro of Lengua Madre and the up-and-coming Acamaya, worked in a New York City restaurant with a toxic environment that nearly killed her, she was contemplating leaving the industry altogether and pursuing a career in her family's line of work as an architect. But, after departing New York City for New Orleans, Ana began to surround herself with true friends who supported her and also lifted her up in a way where she began to enjoy the industry again and found a new food language that was at the core of her being and connected her to her roots as a Mexican. Lengua Madre, which translates to Mother Tongue, perfectly describes the style of food she is cooking, where she's able to use inspiration from her family's roots as well as the vast and seemingly endless flavors of Mexican cuisine to create awe-inspiring meals that have made the industry stand up and notice. What Ana may lack in experience running a restaurant, she makes up for in youthful exuberance and bullish energy that is infectious when you hear her talk.

Here's what else was discussed:

How Eli and Ana met at the Beard Awards in 2023
The family tragedy that impacted her first James Beard finalist award
Interning at Relae in Copenhagen
The importance of her Abuela (grandmother) in her family as the matriarch
The hilarious tradition that they have for birthdays in her family
Being born in the States as an "anchor baby", but growing up in Mexico City
The goal she has that involves her fellow Food & Wine Best New Chef class of 2022
How her family came from extreme poverty in Mexico
Growing up in the kitchen, surrounded by her grandmother and aunts, and why she was not allowed to open her mouth
Coming from a family of architects and engineers, and how she applies some of those inherent skills to her operation
Why she works hard at being extremely organized and creating an efficient kitchen, and the impact it has on her anxiety
Why you need to be vulnerable as a chef to create an environment of trust and accountability in your organization
The moment she realized she had to get out of a toxic kitchen that was physically and mentally abusive, to the point of panic attacks
Why she considers herself "a white passing Mexican", and how people perceive her
The importance of putting creative limitations on yourself and your menu, and why that will ultimately make you more innovative
Chef walks us through some of her favorite menu items to explain her vision for her food. Think Nixtamalized sweet potatoes!
Why Eli feels her perspective as a chef is so refreshing

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 97: Chef Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

It's not every episode that we get to sit down and talk with a pioneer of our industry, and in today's show, we invite Chef Amanda Cohen to sit down and bring her incredible perspective on cooking and life as she reminisces about the vegetable forward journey she has been on over the last 20+ years. In 2008, Amanda opened up Dirt Candy, a groundbreaking vegetarian restaurant that took NYC by storm, and became one of the hottest tickets in town, where curious and passionate guests alike jockeyed for one of the 18 seats available each night. Fast forward 17 years, and Dirt Candy continues to pack it in, albiet in a larger space, each night as her loyal customers and fans show up to eat her clever and cheeky crave-inducing takes on classic combinations.

Here are some other highlights of the discussion:

Being from Toronto and why it holds a special place in her heart
Growing up in the cold weather, playing hockey/skating
Writing a cookbook and waiting until she was ready to say yes
Why winter is her favorite season for products
The dish that put her on the map
The trouble with opening a "New American" restaurant
Going from an à la carte menu to a tasting menu format
Being one of the first to do away with the typical tipping system in 2015
The pricing conundrum of running a vegetable-focused restaurant
Working at the controversial Pure Food & Wine
The frustration when customers tell you they "liked it" but then leave you a bad review
Why her leadership philosophy is "being adaptable"
How Amanda incorporates her team into the menu design and creates new dishes
Why the starting pay in her kitchen is $29/hour

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Josh Sharkey - Chef, Entrepreneur and Founder of meez Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

Josh Sharkey trained under some incredible, generational chef talent, like David Bouley, like Indian super star chef, Floyd Cardoz, and the Great Gray Kunz, and in doing so, he built up his repertoire and his résumé, so no matter what he did, he would be successful. But after working for these industry titans, he found himself on a new mission. It was after he lost an important notebook that was chock-full of recipes and techniques that he had been taught over the years that he came up with the idea of developing software where no recipe, no technique, or learned knowledge will ever go missing again because someone lost their notebook.

Here's what was discussed:

After his father passed when he was just a teenager, he began cooking for his family
Training as a chef in Oslo with Chef Terje Ness at Oro
Eating donkey in Piedmont
Working with Chef Floyd Cardoz at Tabla and why it was a dream kitchen
Cooking with headlamps during the NYC blackout of 2003
Working with Chef David Bouley at the restaurant's height
Why working in Café Gray, with Chef Gray Kunz, was so instrumental in his upbringing
The perfection that is the Kunz spoon
Josh's first foray into entrepreneurship with Bark Hotdogs
No matter how good your product is, you have to be able to tell a story with your food
The moment he came up with the concept of his recipe company, MEEZ
Why MEEZ is an incredibly powerful tool for kitchens
How they painstakingly converted product yields into the software
The ease of training your teams when using MEEZ
Why building MEEZ has given him more fulfillment than his career in the kitchen

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 96: Dominic Piperno of Hearthside Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

There are so many phases throughout our lives, and restaurants are really no different. Many restaurants start off as one concept and then slowly evolve into what ultimately works best for the business. That evolution might be slow and gentle, barely felt by the guests, or it could be a clean break to start anew.

Today's Guest, Dominic Piperno, a South Jersey native, recently made the life-changing decision to go from an ala carte menu, where he was working 100 hours plus, to a bimonthly, rotating prefix menu, where the chefs are able to become students of the game again and learn new techniques, dishes and create exciting new menus. What was the reason for this? Well, it was because he realized he was working himself towards inevitable burn out and he was tired of missing many of his young daughters milestones as well as not spending enough time with the rest of his family. Tune in and here how a chef, who was at his breaking point, was able to envision a new phase and a more sustainable vision for his restaurant, Hearthside 2.0

Here's what else we talked about:

The charm and allure of Collingswood, New Jersey
Two European parents and how food was central to their family dynamic
The memories of visiting the tiny Calabrian village of his father's hometown
His father's guidance and wisdom and how it's been so important to him throughout his career
The incredibly rich, fertile ground of South Jersey and the products that come from it
Working for Chef Joey Baldino at Zeppoli in Collingswood and Greg Vernick at Vernick Food & Drink
Falling in love with live fire cooking
The way he knew he was ready to open his own place
How the name Hearthside came about
The financial aspect of operating a live fuel concept
How switching from an à la carte format to a tasting menu has literally changed his life and given him new energy
The many benefits of having a tasting menu concept
How becoming a father has impacted his point of view when it comes to leadership
How chef holds himself accountable
Why mentoring is so important and why he enjoys it so much
How being on this podcast is a full circle moment for Dominic

Welcome to our newest sponsor, Meez, which is one of the most powerful tools you can have as a cook and chef that allows you to have a free repository for all of your recipes, techniques and methods so that you never lose them. Besides that, it does way more, so check them out and make sure you use the discount code that you'll here in the podcast to upload 25 free recipes to the platform.

Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

Episode 95: Ashleigh Shanti of Good Hot Fish Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

Every once in a while, there are these chefs, where it's as if they've been hand picked by some sort of celestial chef "being", that says, "Hey young chef, I know exactly the type of work you're going to do", and whether or not you subscribe to divine intervention, one thing we know, when a chef hits at the right time, with the right product and with the right mix of authenticity, storytelling and purpose, that chef can light the world on fire. And today, we we get to hear from one of those chefs in Ashleigh Shanti, who possesses an intrinsic desire to pick up the torch of her ancestors to insure her family's roots, history and recipes are not lost to the sands of time, but rather rediscovered and celebrated.

Here's what else was talked about:

Growing up in coastal Carolina and working in seafood shacks
How nostalgia helped drive her career
Working with Vivian Howard and learning about eastern North Carolina
How a display at the Shenandoah National Park made her realize that Appalachian blacks were underrepresented
How Benne On Eagle really changed her as a chef and as a leader
Chef John Fleer's impact on Ashleigh and many other chefs
The responsibility that she has for keeping her family's food history preserved
Black foodways are kept orly over the years, which makes them more vulnerable to being lost forever
What kind of discoveries she's had while writing her new cookbook
Why owning the story of her food is so important to her
Her new restaurant, Good Hot Fish, opening soon
What a fish camp is and why it's such a major part of who she is
A Guyanese word that had a major impact on her
Why chefs are naturally advocates

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Email Eli with any comments, concerns, criticisms, guest requests or any other ideas or thoughts you might have about the show. eli@chefradiopodcast.com

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