In this episode, my all-time favorite yoga teacher Jessica Weiss tells us how she handled maternity leave and new parenthood as a creative freelancer. We also talk about her prenatal yoga series, which has been an absolutely life saver for me during my pregnancy!! My favorite take away from this conversation is: TAKE YOUR TIME. That's a mantra to remember -- especially as a new mom -- even when life is a whirlwind around you and you feel the pressure to resume your career ASAP. To see Jess's yog...
May 05, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 74
I’ve wanted to have this person on for years. Spoiler: it’s my dad. But I’m not just having him on because he’s my dad, I invited him to be a guest because he has inspired me and my path in life -- has inspired me, and inspires me to this day! There are endless facets to his enjoyment and dedeication to his chosen work, but also for living his passions, for connecting with other humans, and adding positivity to the world. If you’d be even 5% as inspired by him as I am, this episode is a worthwhi...
Jun 18, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 73
Jessie Kanelos Weiner is an author and illustrator -- and she was the illustrator for my book, which publishes today, "Cheese, Wine, and Bread!" Her illustrations are absolutely incredible, and I'm excited to have her on the show. In this episode, we talk about how she landed on illustration as an art form, her side hustles, and telling stories with her paintbrush. She says, ""The work that speaks most to people is personal work," and I adore the way she defines keeping it quirky: Having the cou...
Apr 27, 2021•35 min•Season 3Ep. 72
Caroline Conner is an American entrepreneur living in Lyon, France. She is the woman behind Wine Dine Caroline — a company all about enjoying wine and learning about it in the most accessible way. She’s just the kind of wine lover I want to have as a friend because she doesn’t stand for snobbery, but her knowledge of wine — everything from the science specifics to historical background — is incredible. She has her WSET diploma, over 12 years of experience in the industry, and is currently pursui...
Mar 25, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 71
Anna Maggio is the author of the cookbook "Under the Olive Tree: Memories and Flavours of Puglia." (Gourmand World Book award Winner 2020!) Anna is an Italian-born and bred woman who has lived in London since her early twenties, but has been a proud proponent of Puglia, the southern Italian region when she spent her childhood. In this episode, I talk with Anna about some of the ingredients and recipes in her cookbook -- all of which are very simple and accessible -- and we talk about the concept...
Feb 24, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 70
Hi everyone! I start this episode with some big news: I've moved to Italy! And in the spirit of that move, I'd like to introduce you to someone who knows Italy like the back of her hand, adores it, and will make you want to eat pasta straight away. Sophie Minchilli was raised in Rome, Italy, to an Italian father and American mother (you may know of her mom -- author Elizabeth Minchilli, @eminchilli) and she is passionate about sharing Italian culture. In this conversation, we have a fun, nuanced...
Jan 12, 2021•26 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Jenny Linford is the food writer behind the massively popular Food Lover's London guides, Great British Cheeses , and many more drool-worthy books. Her most recent book is an absolute joy -- The Missing Ingredient : The Curious Role of Time in Food and Flavor. She currently lives in London, but has lived in Italy, Singapore (where her mother is from), Trinidad, and Ghana. In this episode we talk about the affect travel during the early years of her life has had on not only how she sees food cult...
Oct 10, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Author Cree LeFavour has the kind of writing career many creatives (ahem, myself included) dream of. She's authored four cookbooks (and has ghostwritten countless others), an acclaimed memoir, and most recently -- a novel! She has such an intuitive relationship with her creativity, and it was an absolute delight to talk with her about her path, and the sparks that have led the work she’s done. In this episode, we start by talking about her new novel, "Private Means," which is a fascinating (and ...
Sep 25, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Today's guest is Brian Quinn, a professional musician (the creator of this podcast's theme song!), and, yes, he's my brother. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, one of the preeminent music schools in the USA. Since then, he has worked as a professional musician, calling Chicago, IL his base. In this conversation we talk about everything from what it's like to be a professional, performing musician during this time of Covid-19, to discussing whether or not it's a good ideal to ...
Sep 03, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Hana Asbrink is the Executive Editor at Chowhound, and has an impressive resume that includes everything from being a senior editor at Food52 to working in the kitchen at Michelin-starred chef Jean-George’s ABC Kitchen restaurant in Manhattan. She also has her Masters in Journalism and attended the French Culinary Institute. From behind a desk to behind the cutting board, from working for startups to major outlets and dappling in the freelance game (where she founded Pantry Confidential), Hana h...
Aug 12, 2020•51 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Patricia Niven is a photographer who specializes in food, the people who grow it, cook it, and eat it -- and the interconnectedness therein. In this episode, we talk about how to find your creative "thing" (following your interests each step of the way), and also pushing yourself to continue reaching for new things (she does a 90-day checkin with herself, introspecting on what she's accomplished and what new pursuits she will start action on in the following 90 days). She arrived in London on a ...
Aug 03, 2020•47 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Julian George epitomizes the term “creative entrepreneur.” He runs a creative house, Made by Humans, and the company Chef Signatures, which includes videography, photography, and representation for chefs. Julian describes his background -- being raised in Southeast London primarily by his mother, an immigrant to England from Sierra Leone, and how he was on the lawyer path until his early twenties, when he became curious in media production. He started out at IMG Studios, followed by an in-house ...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 63
Patrice Poltzer is the founder of Patrice Poltzer Creative, a boutique video production company, and she also runs successful video storytelling bootcamps and teaches masterclasses on similar topics. As a self-described “late bloomer,” Patrice shares her story with us, in which she has consistently taken risks, and each risk (whether it ‘succeeded’ or ‘failed’) catapulted her into the next phase of her career. “Get comfortable taking risks,” she says. She also talks about how an element of succe...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Jen Phanomrat is an on-camera food personality -- one half of the food & lifestyle video company Just Eat Life. You may recognize Jen from her work with Tastemade, including her hit show Just Jen . She also won an episode on Food Network's Chopped ! (She and I competed against each other on that episode ... and she totally deserved that win!) Jen's a dear friend of mine, and I've wanted her have her on the podcast for so long. I'm thrilled to bring you all this conversation because there are...
Jul 06, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Oneika Raymond is the woman behind “Oneika the Traveller” -- the blog and Instagram platform -- and she’s also a video host personality and international speaker. This episode was originally posted in 2017 when Oneika and I had just finished shooting a video series together in the USA. It was episode #2 of this podcast!! I LOVE this episode, and am reposting it to give it new life now, as it is just as relevant right now as it was then. If you enjoy this podcast, you will LOVE this episode. Reli...
Jun 26, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 60
Kirby Broadnax has years of experience as a mediator, conflict coach, community-builder and facilitator. She has her Masters degree in Conflict Transformation -- which is a field of study similar to Conflict Resolution, but is a bit more all-encompassing and holistic in solving the issues at hand. Kirby is one of my dearest friends, we go way back, and over the years she has opened my eyes on many occasions by sharing her experiences as a black woman in America. It sounds trite to say, but she t...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 59
Dina Begum is a British Bangladeshi cook and writer. She’s the author of “The Brick Lane” cookbook, a member of the Guild of Food Writers, and she’s hosted Bangladeshi pop ups at Darjeeling Express, as part of their #WomenInFood series. In this episode, we talk about how she found her groove in the food world and the events that led up to her being one of the foremost spokespeople for Bangladeshi cuisine. “This is my time to cook my way out of grief,” she says. We also talk about the importance ...
May 29, 2020•26 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Ned Palmer is author of the book A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles , and he's the man behind The Cheese Tasting Company. Ned describes himself as a freelance cheesemonger; his passion for cheese is only equalled with his passion for jazz, philosophy, and theater--which are all fields he has also worked in! The convergence of these things led to a very interesting conversation about cheese, which looks at the foodstuff in ways you've probably never considered! Ned is fascinating, and ...
May 22, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Ravneet Gill is a London pastry chef who is behind the wildly popular pop-up Puff Bakery (with her partner Nicola Lamb), she started the technology company CounterTalk to be a community for people in the hospitality industry, and just released a cookbook called "The Pastry Chef's Guide." She's worked as pastry chef in restaurants as impressive as Michelin-starred St. John Restaurant ... the head chef there, Fergus Henderson has said that she's not only incredibly talented, but is exceptional at ...
May 15, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 56
I've wanted to have my mom as a guest on the podcast ever since I first had the idea to do it, and I'm thrilled to say that today's the day!! My mom, Susan Quinn, is so many amazing things rolled into one. She's just retired from a very successful career as an optometrist (yes, she's the original Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman!), but also throws herself into organizations to better our world. She is a passionate gardener and bread baker, and I knew we'd have a fun conversation for all of you to be a p...
May 08, 2020•37 min•Season 3Ep. 55
This year in October, I was invited to be a judge for the World Cheese Awards! (Yes, it was as epic as it sounds.) This podcast episode is a recap of my experiences there. The World Cheese Awards are put on my the Guild of Fine Food, and they're in a new country each year. This past year it was in Bergamo, Italy, and 3,800 cheeses were tasted! I talk with Mary Quicke, of Quicke's Cheddar, and she describes why she developed the professional cheese qualification in the UK, the Academy of Cheese. ...
Dec 11, 2019•14 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Polly Russell is a food historian and curates the Food Season at the British Library, an annual series of events. In her role as curator of Contemporary Politics and Public Life at the British Library, she curates a variety of events, but all of her work looks at the world through the lens of food. She has a PhD in Food! (Her doctorate looked at food and the politics of identity in post-war Britain.) She writes a fantastic column for the Financial Times called “The History Cook,” and has present...
Dec 01, 2019•1 hr 55 min•Season 2Ep. 53
"Go for the weird and wonderful," Lydia Harrison told me, and it just may be the best wine advice I've ever heard! Lydia is a Master of Wine -- the incredibly rigorous qualification that less then 400 people have worldwide. She's also a teacher at the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, WSET, and she taught me when I took my Level 2 Awards. In this episode, I give you sense of what it's like taking a certification course at WSET (thanks to my seat mate Tom for chatting for the pod, too!), and Lydi...
Nov 13, 2019•40 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Jessica Hammer founded the company Taste of Toulouse, which gives walking food tours in English in the city center of Toulouse, France. As an American, she and her husband moved to France a couple years ago and she has hit the ground running ever since. We talk about what it was like starting a business in another (non-English-speaking) country, and resources she tapped to make that transition as smooth as possible. We also talk about mental health and emotional intelligence as an entrepreneur (...
Oct 30, 2019•35 min•Season 2Ep. 51
It’s the 50th episode of the Keep It Quirky podcast! Woohoo! I can't think of a better guest to celebrate the big 5-0... Fuchsia Dunlop is one of my culinary and literary heroes. Her memoir, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read -- and the fact that it’s full of tantalizing food descriptions and recipes is the cherry on top! The new edition of it has a foreword from the fabulous Bee Wilson (a British food writer and histo...
Oct 16, 2019•34 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Katie Parla is a Rome-based food and beverage author/writer/food journalist/cookbook author and guide. She also cohosts a fantastic podcast, GOLA, with a woman named Danielle and they deep-dive into everything food & drink in Italy. Katie recently released her newest cookbook, “Food of the Italian South,” in which she tells us how those southern regions of Italy differ in personality (and food!) from the rest of the country. We discuss the role language plays in her life and career (she’s fl...
Aug 14, 2019•24 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Rebekah Peppler is a James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author (of "Apéritif: Cocktail Hour the French Way), food stylist, recipe tester and all around badass. She splits her time between Paris, LA and NYC and is currently working on a second cookbook, "À Table." She also wrote an article for the New York Times about the Aperol Spritz that blew up the internet, called "The Aperol Spritz Is Not a Good Drink." We talk in her Paris apartment about the fantastical and clichéd things that really do...
Jul 31, 2019•34 min•Season 2Ep. 48
This episode is not all about yoga -- but it is with one of my favorite yoga teachers in London, Mollie McClelland Morris. We use yoga as a jumping off point to understand the creative life and more happily move through -- and create in -- this world. We talk about being incremental about change, following threads of interest, "movement snacks" and the act of creation. I'm sure this conversation will give you a lot to think about and hopefully some tips to enjoy each day a bit more. Thanks to tr...
Jun 27, 2019•34 min•Season 2Ep. 47
I start this episode with some BIG NEWS! I'm writing a book!! (HarperCollins William Morrow will publish it in spring of 2021!) I give a quick breakdown of what it's about, and how it relates to today's guests.... First up, I talked with the founder of Natural Born Wine, Oli and Sam. They began their wine importing company three years ago, a career shift for both of them (they came from a writing background). I love their story of how they got into this path, which is unexpected and delightful, ...
Jun 12, 2019•31 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Frankie Celenza is a video personality and cook, with a hugely successful Tastemade show called Struggle Meals. In this episode we talk about how his career evolved from studying music production in college (where he would cook Italian meals in his dorm and sell plates to his classmates), to producing/hosting/shooting/editing a food television show for his local New York television station … to being one of the most recognized faces in the digital food space. We talk about finding momentum in yo...
May 22, 2019•39 min•Season 2Ep. 45
