The Zest

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Season 7 Trailer Dec 29, 2022

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Here's a taste of what we're cooking up for the new year. Season 7 premieres on Jan. 5, and new episodes are released every Thursday.

Season 6 Finale: 360 Eats Takes Leftovers from Food Waste to Food Truck Nov 24, 2022

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The holidays mean food—and food waste. Today on our season 6 finale, we’ll meet a mother-and-son duo who are doing something about it while helping those in need.

We’re about to meet a mother and son who are reducing food waste and tackling food insecurity in Northern Pinellas County. Ellen and Cameron Macleish [ma-KLEESH] are the cofounders of 360 Eats. The nonprofit turns surplus food into meals for the hungry and compost for gardeners. Cameron is the executive director, while Ellen is the executive chef.

Dalia met up with them at Kitchen 24, a commercial kitchen in Oldsmar where they store and prepare the food. In our conversation, Cameron and Ellen explain why food waste happens, what they’re doing about it and how you can reduce food waste in your own kitchen.

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“Epicurious One” Stephanie Love Is Disrupting the Wine Industry, One Chicken Wing at a Time Nov 17, 2022

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Stephanie Love’s philosophy on wine is simple: “Wine is for everybody.”

Through her company, Epicurious One, the St. Petersburg resident offers wine education trips and other experiences. Participants praise her down-to-earth approach, including Stephanie’s wine-and-comfort-food pairings and her descriptions of wine as people with different personalities.

In this conversation, Stephanie shares the importance of supporting minority-owned vineyards, suggests wine to enjoy with chicken wings and offers advice for finding an affordable wine you’ll like.

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Awww… Shucks! “OysterMom” Deborah Keller on the Importance of Sustainable Aquaculture Nov 10, 2022

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For Deborah Keller of Tallahassee, the world is her oyster. After a 29-year career with The Nature Conservancy, Deborah turned her attention to sustainable shellfish. Nicknamed the OysterMom, she has been farming and selling fresh oysters for nearly a decade.

In this interview, the conservationist describes the impact of climate change and hurricanes on oystering. She also explains the far-reaching economic impact of Florida’s oyster industry, recounts the bureaucratic red tape she encountered along the way and describes the serenity and stress she experiences on oyster harvesting day.

And of course, we had to ask Deborah about her favorite way to eat oysters.

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Dr. Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” African Roots of Florida Foods Nov 03, 2022

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We always love digging into food history, so we’re excited to welcome back friend of the pod Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie. He’s an author and professor of history and foodways at Babson College outside of Boston. Among the courses he teaches is African History and Foodways. We always learn something from Dr. Opie, and he has the best stories.

In this conversation, he explains the African roots of Southern staples like watermelon, beans and rice, and Coca-Cola. He also details how enslaved Africans brought their farming techniques and cooking methods to America, and how Reconstruction-era politics led to racist food stereotypes that persist today.

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Punk Rock Foodie Derrick Fox Spills Secrets of the MasterChef Kitchen Oct 27, 2022

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He’s a little bit foodie, and a little bit rock ‘n roll. This week, we’re catching up with musician-turned-MasterChef contestant Derrick Fox.

The Fort Myers native graduated from Estero High School and went on to enjoy a career as a drummer with the Naples-based rock band Later Days. After years of touring, Derrick recently put away his drumsticks in favor of his other passion: cooking. He now works as a private chef, splitting his time between Dallas, Fort Myers and Los Angeles—where he competed twice on reality cooking competition show MasterChef. In season 6, he was a runner-up. And in season 12, he tied for seventh place. While Derrick didn’t bring home the trophy, he parlayed his stint on the show into a podcast called A Bunch of Losers with Derrick Fox.

On his podcast, Derrick interviews also-rans from reality TV competitions while they all drink from mugs with a FOX emoji. At the end of each episode, he puts guests through a blind taste test—because whether he’s making music, competing on a reality show or dreaming up new creations for his dessert brand, Epic Mega Cookie Company, Derrick is a foodie at heart.

Dalia recently chatted with Derrick Fox, a.k.a., Derrick Peltz, about how his music career prepared him to be a chef, and what home cooks can learn from the MasterChef kitchen.

“Now Food Doesn’t Have to Travel”: Hyperlocal Agriculture with lemonGRAFT Founder Zach Correa Oct 20, 2022

Show notes

This week, we’re exploring the benefits of hyperlocal agriculture with Zach Correa, founder and CEO of lemonGRAFT. The Tampa-based tech platform allows neighbors to buy and sell home-grown foods.

Zach’s idea has been getting a lot of attention lately. Last year, Zach scored a fellowship with NPR’s How I Built This podcast. And you may have heard him back in July on WUSF’s Florida Matters. In our conversation, Zach explains how lemonGRAFT works and how buying local—as in, your neighbor down the street local—can lead to a more sustainable and equitable food system.

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“Latino Orlando” Author Dr. Simone Delerme on the Rise of Florida’s Hispanic Restaurants & Markets Oct 13, 2022

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Explore how Central Florida became a hotbed of Latino food businesses—and the cultural mashups that followed.

Learn how marketing tactics by housing developers led to an influx of Puerto Ricans to Orlando in the 1970s and '80s. What followed was a proliferation of restaurants, supermarkets and small food businesses targeting Latinos in Central Florida. Our guest is Dr. Simone Delerme, author of Latino Orlando: Suburban Transformation and Racial Conflict.

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How to Prepare Restaurant-Quality Meals at Home: Advice from Chef Dennis Littley Oct 06, 2022

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Today we’re geeking out on the details that can help your home-cooked meals taste more like restaurant-quality creations. For advice, we turned to Chef Dennis Littley, the food and travel blogger behind Ask Chef Dennis.

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Get a Taste of Ukraine at Oksa Cakes Bakery & Bistro in Flagler Beach Sep 29, 2022

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As the war in Ukraine continues, meet a Ukrainian couple bringing a taste of their homeland to Florida. Oksana Petrova and her husband, Sergiy Petrov, own Oksa Cakes Bakery & Bistro in Flagler Beach. Oksana discusses her favorite Ukrainian delicacies and how the war has affected their business.

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