Writing Work. Rhubarb Love. And Hustle. Welcome to the first in a series of FOUR podcasts celebrating the Virginia Festival of the Book! In the next four days you will hear from the country's best and brightest when it comes to food writing. Today's episode? Food writer Sheri Castle , whose newest creation, Rhubarb , presents this misunderstood vegetable in a way it's never been discussed before. Sheri will be appearing at two events as part of the festival, including a talk I'm moderating, "Sav...
Mar 16, 2017•1 hr 23 min
Gluten-Free Work. Welcome to a conversation about bread, community, and how one small business owner is trying to tie those two things together. Susan Weiner of Orange Dot Baking Company , with her gluten-free Major Muffins, wants to not only provide a delicious bread to folks suffering from celiac disease but also hopes to provide job training for folks in our community who so desperately need it. Betty Hoge of the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center recommended Susan and after s...
Mar 03, 2017•1 hr 26 min
Teaching Work. Defining Success. What does success mean in today's culinary world? How do you define it for yourself against industry expectations? Meet Chef Todd Grieger of Culinard, The Culinary Institute of Virginia College in Richmond, someone who knows the Charlottesville food scene quite well. Especially since he's worked in most of our restaurants over the past 20 years including Downtown Grille, Blue Light, Maya, C&O, Mas, Glass Haus, and Red Pump Kitchen. When Jeff Dion of Discover ...
Feb 16, 2017•1 hr 50 min
Edacious - Food Talk for Gluttons is two years old! Talking up a blue streak! This year saw many changes including a new website, merchandising , and a new sponsorship model that will keep this podcast strong in its focus on community and on the stories of folks doing the Work of Food in our area. People edacious about what they do. Here are my favorites. The episodes where I was firing on all cylinders, where the conversations ran deep. I've included short clips of each as well as my own though...
Feb 03, 2017•1 hr 28 min
Pie Work. It's challenging. Never-ending. When you make the product you sell the work never stops. Thankfully, for Rachel Pennington baking is a passion. As a result, not only has The Pie Chest on the Downtown Mall become a first-stop for lovers of all things pie, it has become a safe space. A welcoming place where folks from all different backgrounds can meet, talk, commiserate, and create an environment of good feeling and fellowship. The kind that used to exist before people were so bent over...
Jan 20, 2017•1 hr 41 min
Here it is folks. My Golden Fork Awards for 2016! What did I eat that was noteworthy? A lot of stuff evidently. Here are the 10 dishes so tasty I remember them even months later. Which is how I construct the list each year and every year since 2009. It’s not a perfect method, just my own. Let me know what you think. Do you agree? Disagree? What did I miss? Thank you so much for your support, suggestions, and comments. I continue to be astounded and amazed at the amount of food talent in our regi...
Jan 06, 2017•1 hr 4 min
Salt Work. Welcome to an episode that's a "Must Listen!" if you have an artisanal food product or you have any interest in starting a business. Meet Cass Cannon, owner of Peg's Salt , a delicious seasoning salt with a great story attached. Cass didn't set out to become a salt purveyor, but her journey has brought her here. And she's done her homework. Companies like hers are why I started Edacious in the first place. One of her most important tips is to tell your story right up front both on you...
Dec 23, 2016•1 hr 23 min
Chutney Work. How does a gentleman from Yorkshire who works in marketing for Dance Place in Washington, DC end up making and selling chutney? Like so many food journeys, this one is long and meandering but ultimately full of lessons, challenges, and great rewards. Meet David Hopper of Chutney Ferret Industries , my guest for Episode 57. David grew up in Britain way before English cuisine was coming into its own. Lots of beef. Lots of bland. Lots of brown sauce. Thankfully his gran was a stellar ...
Dec 23, 2016•1 hr 27 min
"Recipes for Real Life"-Work. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In this episode we talk with Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper , a blog whose mission is creating simple, delicious meals with local, seasonal products. Even on a weeknight! You don't need a fancy copper pot or a million gadgets. These are recipes you will actually make. Recipes like Brown Butter Madeleines and Roasted Winter Squash Enchiladas. Some are her own while others are the work of fellow food writers promoting their cookbooks. ...
Nov 24, 2016•1 hr 30 min
Trying something just a bit different. It's a piece of food writing. But it's also a podcast episode. What do you call that? A Blogcast? I don't know. What I do know is I had great fun creating it and I hope you have just as much fun listening. Or reading. Your choice. Happy Thanksgiving. "That pie" recipe is below. Still not sure it deserved an award, but I'm trying to get used to it. Feeling incredibly grateful this November despite the world in which we find ourselves. We actually have a lot ...
Nov 22, 2016•22 min
Real Life Chef Work. "I'm Vivian. And I'm a chef." This is how Chef Vivian Howard starts off every episode of her Peabody award-winning PBS show, A Chef's Life . Being a chef is not glamorous. She wants you to know that. In each episode of the show she presents the real-life triumphs and tragedies behind what it takes to run a successful restaurant. That restaurant being Chef and the Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina which she owns with her husband artist Ben Knight. Owning a restaurant is hard ...
Nov 10, 2016•37 min
GO TO HTTP://EDACIOUS.CO/053 TO PURCHASE THIS EPISODE! Revival Work. Welcome to Sounds of the Summit, a compilation of stories, music, oral histories, and regional food studies collected during the 2016 Appalachian Food Summit in Berea, Kentucky. Back in 2013 or thereabouts, an interesting discussion developed on Facebook. Did cornbread have sugar in it? Or not? There were enthusiastic supporters on both sides, so much so a few enterprising folks decided to create a Facebook group dedicated to A...
Nov 07, 2016•13 min
Writing Work. Are West Virginia pepperoni rolls "just" bread and pepperoni? Or is it something more? Food as symbol of Appalachian identity, culture, and pride. Meet Courtney Balestier who used the word "just" as the starting point and focus of her talk at this year's Appalachian Food Summit in Berea, Kentucky where this conversation was recorded. Where most people see just a few ingredients, a simple food easy to dismiss, Courtney sees something ingenious and quite meaningful. Courtney is a Jam...
Oct 26, 2016•53 min
Sustainable Work. How does a newly transplanted chef ingratiate himself in what can be a challenging and certainly competitive market? How do you promote a fairly new restaurant when folks are still missing the one that was there before? Meet Chef Jeff Deloff of Threepenny Café who finds himself in this position. Threepenny has been open two years. So why don't more people know about it? What are the special challenges Charlottesville restaurants encounter when they open and how do they stay ope...
Oct 13, 2016•1 hr 56 min
Charlottesville Pie Fest is coming! Are you ready? In this BONUS episode we talk about this beloved competition that has occurred semi-annually in the Fall since 2009 to help area charities. This year's beneficiary is the Crozet United Methodist Church Food Pantry, a feeder for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank . Meet Brian J. Geiger and Marijean Oldham, Pie Fest founders and aficionados. Pie Fest began with the Pie Down. Back in 2008 during Twitter's infancy, someone innocently asked who made the b...
Oct 03, 2016•44 min
Wine Work. Sometimes in my travels, I meet a person whose excitement and passion for what they do is so all-encompassing I decide I must talk with them immediately. Meet Erin Scala, sommelier at Petit Pois and Fleurie restaurants in Charlottesville, Virginia. I met Erin during an incredible and completely unplanned experience at Fleurie during the Virginia Festival of the Book . Chef Nora Pouillion , Gail Hobbs-Page , and Martha Stafford invited me to dinner, so of course I said yes. When I obse...
Sep 30, 2016•1 hr 39 min
Bread Work. In France, the boulangerie or bakery is the epicenter of any great neighborhood. Folks stop in daily for fresh bread and pastries, sharing news of the day, making small talk, and commiserating over neighborhood issues. Not just a place to pick up simple, delicious food made with yeast, salt, and water but a gathering place. A community space. Meet Jason Becton and Patrick Evans of MarieBette Café & Bakery who are accomplishing the same thing in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Charl...
Sep 14, 2016•1 hr 30 min
Community Work. Meet Juliet Wiebe-King, head of marketing and social media for East Bali Cashews , a division of Red River Foods . An entirely new type of company with a community-centric business model. Completely sustainable with zero waste and a tiny carbon footprint. The ultimate in buy local. Gourmet cashew snacks as an economic savior? It's possible. Just ask founder Aaron Fishman. Bali? I'll admit, given my mission and region, when Juliet emailed I wasn't sure. I get a lot of emails from ...
Aug 31, 2016•1 hr 30 min
Healing Work. It's pretty fashionable to be a chef these days. But it's not always about the $40 plate. It's also about the $5 plate and the hard-working chefs toiling to create fresh, healthy, and yes, DELICIOUS food in America's hospitals. Meet Chef Otis Sims and Executive Chef Denis Callinan of UVA Hospital Nutrition Services. Classically trained culinary professionals making sure patients, staff, visitors, and folks in our community are getting the very best, most flavorful, and healthy dish...
Aug 18, 2016•1 hr 22 min
Bee Work Bonus! Experience an apiary through your ears! Last week in Episode 44 , we met Amanda Welch of Grubby Girl . Bee farmer and charmer. This week, we're donning our suits and heading out into the field to check on the hives. Because beekeeping is not a weekend hobby. Bees live precarious and fragile lives these days. It takes a lot of work to keep the immune systems of bees thriving and the hives healthy. So if you've ever wondered what an apiary sounds like, join us! Follow along on our ...
Aug 09, 2016•42 min
Bee Work. Welcome to Episode 44 where we meet Bee Charmer and Farmer Amanda Welch of Grubby Girl . Amanda has been a fixture at the Charlottesville City Market for years, selling her all-natural soaps, bath products, and granola, all produced with honey harvested at Meeting House Farm. I've loved her Farmer Person soap for a while. So nice and gentle with a honeysuckle scent that wafts about you without the threat of the plant taking over your entire garden. I could use her Cucumber Mint right n...
Aug 05, 2016•1 hr 32 min
Donut Work. Or is it doughnut? When they're this great, who cares? Meet Matt Rohdie of Carpe Donut . How does a former social worker end up in the donut business? Is Matt Rohdie a Shokunin of donuts? I believe so. When starting Carpe Donut, Matt set out to make one food, using the best ingredients, and to make it really well. He wanted to create a comfort food, not necessarily uber-healthy but one every person enjoys. A treat! It came down to fries or donuts. Aren't we thankful he chose the latt...
Jul 21, 2016•1 hr 32 min
Best Food Business Advice. What if you got almost 100 local food business folks together to learn and share how to be more successful and avoid common pitfalls? You'd have the Business of Food Conference held June 20th at the Omni. I was thrilled to be named a Community Partner and spent the day recording interviews, gathering valuable tips and information to strengthen our food community. The result is five terrific short interviews, each one offering a different viewpoint from a unique area of...
Jul 08, 2016•1 hr 21 min
The Work of Teaching. Remember Cooking Live? As a young woman working three jobs while attending school full time Chef Sara Moulton's show was the highlight of my day. Every evening Sara guided me through simple, fresh, and healthy recipes. Unlike shows like The Great Chefs of San Francisco , these were recipes I actually wanted to try. And did. To this day I credit Sara with teaching me how to cook for myself, as do thousands of others. For almost 40 years Sara Moulton has worked in the culinar...
Jun 23, 2016•59 min
Food Community. Whether you're helping to feed the hungry or exchanging ideas and culture across oceans the concept of community is prevalent in Charlottesville. And important. Always has been. Not only does connection go in tandem with the concept of community, it acts as the glue holding neighborhoods together. When you make strong bonds, you create community. In this episode I'm thrilled and honored to present two examples of folks working to ensure we have strong connections so our food comm...
Jun 10, 2016•1 hr 22 min
The Work of Teaching Cooking. Since 2008, Martha Stafford of The Charlottesville Cooking School has been guiding folks in her beautiful kitchen in the Meadowbrook Shopping Centre to become more confident in the foods they prepare. Why a cooking school? From a young age Martha wanted to teach. And from a very young age she was always cooking. The atmosphere of cooking classes, the energy it creates, with everybody participating and not just sitting around watching, becomes a communal experience. ...
May 26, 2016•1 hr 40 min
Food Business Support. Do you have a great idea for a food business? To succeed, you're going to need more than that. Over half of new restaurants in this country fail within the first year. That's not good news in a place like Charlottesville where you might be competing with over 400 other restaurants for customers. Luckily, we have such an encouraging community here for small business. I've never presented an idea to someone and been discouraged. But as in so many things, you can't succeed al...
May 12, 2016•1 hr 27 min
Spice Work. Can a spice store be a community gathering place? It can. Meet Phyllis Hunter of The Spice Diva . This former opera singer turned shop owner has been bringing people together over their shared love of spices since opening her shop in The Main Street Market in 2011. The Spice Diva is not only a source for fresh and unusual spices for local chefs, bartenders, and food enthusiasts, but a way for community members from other countries to find reminders from home. Her cooking classes brin...
Apr 28, 2016•2 hr 27 min
Food Views. The way people view "good food" differs depending on whether they're a privileged mother of two selecting asparagus at a farmer's market, or a lower middle class mother who needs to live on the busline and is wondering how she will feed her children until her next paycheck, or a mother in India or Africa whose dearest wish is to live near a grocery store. To have choices. Meet Dr. Leni Sorensen, culinary historian, food advocate, and home provisioning expert . She's lived quite a lif...
Apr 14, 2016•2 hr 38 min
Nadjeeb Chouaf of Flora Artisanal Cheese knew he'd found his vocation within two weeks of working behind the cheese counter at Whole Foods. Why? He fell in love with the product, as well as the fact there was so much "exclusive information" (to coin his phrase) around it. Information not many people know and he was eager to share. Welcome to Episode 35. Yes, Nadjeeb became enamored by watching an expert cheesemonger at Whole Foods work his magic. Making folks feel comfortable in an arena that ca...
Mar 31, 2016•1 hr 20 min
