“Often restaurants are comprised of a bunch of broken toys that have never had the sense of belonging” This statement rings true for many restaurants which is why culture plays a big role in whether a restaurant succeeds or fails, and unfortunately the current kitchen culture is a bit broken. From line cooks at the local diner, to Michelin star restaurants in France, the broken kitchen culture permeates through all. It seems that the nature of the business (see above statement), including the lo...
Jul 09, 2022•37 min
Working your way up from dishwasher to chef to restaurant owner is the ultimate success story, but no easy task. Something our guest can be proud to say he has achieved, not only as an owner of one restaurant, but two successful establishments that we can’t stop raving about. In today’s episode, Philip Krajeck, owner of Rolf and Daughters and the newly opened Folk in Nashville, Tennessee, sits down with host and friend, Eli Kulp to discuss his lifelong passion for food and his journey in becomin...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 6 min
What's the first thing people think about when the great city of Philadelphia is mentioned? What's the single most common reference to Philadelphia? Oh so often, it is the cheesesteak. The ubiquitous hot meat sandwich, covered with cheese whiz that so many Philadelphians love, but some even loathe. It's often mentioned before such historical giants as the declaration of independence, the writing of the constitution, or even the Liberty Bell itself. And of course, if you've ever spent time in Phi...
May 27, 2022•1 hr 18 min
In the third and final interview of the CHEF Radio LIVE! event, Eli sits down with Chef Kurt Evans of Everybody Eats, which is a group dedicated to increasing food security and building community and their mission is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in the fight against hunger. Chef Kurt is also fighting for reform in the US criminal justice system – using food as his medium. Through the ground-breaking End Mass Incarceration dining series, which is a brave new restaurant business...
May 23, 2022•34 min
In the second of the three part podcast, CHEF Radio Live!, Chef Jenn Carroll joins Eli on stage to discuss her latest venture where she brings exciting and meaningful events to life with her company, Carroll Couture Cuisine, as well as all the amazing online work that she's doing to teach aspiring chefs and home cooks different recipes and techniques. They dive into her history working with such great chefs as Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin, the three Michelin starred temple of seafood in NYC, where...
May 16, 2022•30 min
Coming to you LIVE! from the kitchen at MANNA, acclaimed Thai chef, Nok Suntarnanon, sits down with Eli in front of an audience of 130 people at CHEF Radio LIVE! , which raised over $19,000 for the life saving work that the team at MANNA does. Listen in as we get some of the latest info on her new restaurant, her recent trip to Thailand and the one, very Philly food, that she has yet to try.
May 13, 2022•38 min
As a chef, when you are able to successfully apply your point of view to a cuisine that may be often overlooked or antiquated, it can easily translate into pure gold. That is exactly what the husband-and-wife duo, Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, have done with their genre-bending menu at their Michelin starred restaurant, Don Angie in New York City. A Caesar salad made with chrysanthemum leaves, BBQ calamari with pepperoni fried rice, and prosciutto and papaya in tamarind are just a few examples...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 41 min
Imagine it's April 20, 2020, and finally your dream of owning your own place becomes a reality. You've worked really hard to someday have the opportunity to be your own boss, so you grab the entrepreneurial spirit by the balls and go for it, signing your name on the dotted line, not knowing what's lurking just around the corner. Well, this is the story of Huda, Chef Yehuda Sichel's debut restaurant that opened in the middle of the pandemic in downtown Philadelphia in the summer of 2020. Listen i...
Apr 15, 2022•1 hr 17 min
It’s not breaking news that opening a restaurant is hard, but opening one in the middle of a pandemic is borderline insanity. However, when you open a restaurant with such a hyper focus on the primal aspect of food and root to snout cooking over open flames, it’s borderline brilliant. Chefs David Feola and Scott Calhoun opened up their love letter to offcuts, Ember and Ash, in South Philadelphia, where they cook in their custom kitchen that's built to use live fuel and where they work with local...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 22 min
There's nothing better than a homegrown success story, and this next podcast is proof of that. Justin Rosenberg, founder of Honeygrow restaurants, has quite the story to tell. It's a story of resilience, courage in business, and great leadership, because it wasn't always sunny in Philadelphia for this local brand. Established in 2012, Honeygrow was on an explosive trajectory, growing outside the Philadelphia market quickly and expanding as far west as Chicago, which proved to be too much too fas...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In this can't miss podcast, one of the greatest culinary minds America has ever produced, Chef Wiley Dufresne, sits down with Eli to discuss his journey as a chef and modernist cuisine champion. Curiosity has been a leading edge for everything Chef Wiley does, and as one of the first chefs to start asking questions about the chemistry and science behind cooking, he began to develop his own New York version of modern cuisine. Working with food scientists and modernist chefs around the globe, he b...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, Eli sits down and chats with the incredibly talented and passionate chocolatier, Christopher Curtin, to talk about his journey of learning, which has led him around the globe in search of finding the best skills and techniques, as well as finding the best and most rarest cacao for his tremendous chocolate. His creative flavors and methods have put him and his chocolates amongst the world's best, which he credits to the foundations of hard work that he learned as a nationally ran...
Feb 17, 2022•1 hr 3 min
As an absolute technician in the kitchen, Chef Ron McKinlay has ushered the Toronto stalwart, Canoe Restaurant, into a new era with his breath-taking craftsmanship that combines old-world technique with modern day sensibilities. After taking over Canoe four years ago, Chef Ron has continued to push the narrative and shine a spotlight on the amazing ingredients coming from the forests, oceans, and farms that make up his culinary ecosystem. Working for some of the best chefs around the globe, Chef...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 10 min
As a chef who has kept an open mind throughout his career, which has had many different influences on him, Tyler Akin describes his journey, from falling in love with Southeast Asian cuisine to opening his beloved Pho spot, Stock, to his current love affair with modern, French brasserie cooking at the recently updated and re-launched Le Cav, in the storied Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware. Chef Akin opens up about going from studying law in DC to working for a bakery in West Virginia and ho...
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 22 min
Chef, author, inventor and all around food enthusiast, Alex Talbot, sits down with Eli to discuss his journey with his dynamo doughnut brand, Curiosity Doughnuts, where their boundary pushing doughnuts are flipping the script on the industry. Eli also reminisces about the days as a young chef when he would spend hours pouring over Alex’s (and his wife, Aki’s), Ideas In Food, food blog where they would post about their journeys in exploring foods, flavors and cooking techniques. Alex and Aki were...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 19 min
In this episode of CHEF Radio, we invite local coffee roaster and owner of Caphe, Thu Pham, into the studio to talk about her growth from being a one-woman show to running a full-blown coffee shop in the Kensington neighborhood of Philly. Her recently opened spot has been the talk of the town as it’s Philadelphia’s only purely Vietnamese and Southeast Asian coffee shop, where she focuses on showcasing the flavors of her family’s heritage and proudly plants the Vietnam flag in Philly.
Dec 22, 2021•56 min
Raised by two chefs, Michael Vincent Ferreri was destined to do great things. Michael left everything behind in upstate New York to start fresh here in Philadelphia, where he began working with Michael Solomonov at Zahav, Joey Baldino at Zeppoli and Tyler Akin at Stock and Res Ipsa. After blowing up the scene with Res, Michael took over the kitchen at Irwin‘s in South Philadelphia where, through his minimalist approach to Sicilian cuisine, he has made Irwin’s a must-go restaurant in Philadelphia...
Dec 16, 2021•58 min
As a true pandemic story, Kismet Bagels came on the scene in 2020 after Alexandra & Jacob began experimenting with bread and bagels out of sheer boredom in their home kitchen after the pandemic took away both of their incomes as well as access to foods they craved. Just as kismet, aka destiny, brought these two childhood crushes together after 20+ years apart, bagels became their livelihood and passion after both their careers where put on hold. Hear how these two have manifested their desti...
Dec 07, 2021•56 min
In this episode, Diana Widjojo of Hardena restaurant, located in South Philly, sits down with Eli to discuss the rich history of the restaurant that she now runs alongside her family. Hardena is truly a family run operation that started with her mother, Ena, relocated from Queens New York to open the restaurant and start cooking for the local Indonesian population. Listen as Diana speaks about how she’s now embraced her roll as the leader of the pack and shouldered the responsibility to continue...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Join us as Chef Eli talks with former NYC Steamfitter turned self-taught chef, Marcus Anthony, about how his Jamaican heritage has influenced him to embrace and share the central flavors of Jamaica with chefs and home cooks alike after starting his own business, Wah Gwan. Named from the ubiquitous Jamaican greeting that literally means “What’s going on?”, Marcus has set out to inspire people in the kitchen by creating delicious salts and spice blends that deliver high impact flavors simply and q...
Nov 11, 2021•57 min
Take a listen to the chef/owner of Philadelphia’s hottest restaurant, Her Place, where Amanda cooks food that is inspired by her love for the classics as well as the many great chefs that she has worked for in Philadelphia, New York, Montreal and even Italy. When listening, it’ll be very easy to hear her passion come through the speakers and you can understand why people are so excited to eat her food.
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Chef Randy Rucker of River Twice restaurant sits down with Eli to talk about his journey as a chef, which led him from Texas through New England and now Philadelphia. Using his personal approach to food, Randy finds creativity through the stories of the farmers, growers & fisherman that supply his restaurant.
Oct 21, 2021•1 hr 13 min
This week we invite friends of Adan Trinidad into the studio to pay tribute to his life as a chef and friend after he recently passed away suddenly. Adan was a beloved member of the Philly dining scene and a testament to the positive impact that an immigrant can have on the people around them. Live life today because tomorrow’s not guaranteed. RIP Adan.
Oct 14, 2021•54 min
Take a deep dive into the intricacies of operating a post-Covid restaurant with Chef PJ Calapa of NYC’s Scampi and The Spaniard. In this podcast you will hear about the early days when PJ and host Eli Kulp were roommates and fellow ambitious cooks navigating the steamy kitchens of Manhattan. PJ, a native of Texas, talks about how his upbringing still impacts the way he eats, cooks and leads his teams.
Sep 30, 2021•1 hr 24 min
In this episode of The CHEF Radio Podcast, Eli gets down and dirty with chef Michael Thor of the Whiskey Kitchen in Raleigh, North Carolina. Michael and Eli share a common past as both chefs were critically injured within months apart of each other and both while opening a new restaurant. Thor as he goes by, talks candidly about his experiences as a chef who has suffered a severe spinal cord injury and how he continues marching forward constantly fighting the battle to walk again. This is an ins...
Sep 09, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Jezabel Carega is the Owner of Jezabel's Cafe, a restaurant that incorporates dishes and furniture that represents her Argentinian roots and culture. Jezabel is also the Founder of Fuerza for Humans, an organization committed to supporting those with mental health issues in the food industry. On this episode, Eli Kulp sits down with Jezabel to talk about her Argentinian upbringing, her childhood memories of her parents and food, and her intricate incorporation of food and furniture in Jezabel's ...
Aug 20, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Monica Glass is a nationally recognized pastry chef with experience working in and consulting with Michelin restaurants, hotels, bakeries, cafes, catering, and cultural institutions. She has been recognized with “Best Pastry Chef” awards from Food & Wine Magazine, Boston Magazine, and Zagat, as well as being named a Food Network’s ChoppedSweets Champion in 2021. On this episode, she joins Eli in the studio to discuss what she’s been up to on her culinary journey as of late. Monica and Eli sp...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Jamila Robinson is the Food Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, a position she took on after serving as editorial director for Atlantic Media, managing content development for USA Today and overseeing food coverage for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jamila is also Chair of the James Beard Foundation’s Food Journalism Awards Committee and the North American Academy chair for the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. On this episode, Eli Kulp sits down with Jamila to talk about her Detro...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This week host Eli Kulp has a bonus episode! Listen in as he speaks with founders of two companies innovating the food/restaurant industry. First, he speaks with Nabeel Alamgir, whose company, Lunchbox, provides restaurants with the tools and tech to get off the predatory third-party apps and reclaim their digital sales and direct to consumer ordering. Check out Lunchbox here: https://lunchbox.io/ Next, Eli interviews Arnold Byun and Stephanie Loo of With Warm Welcome, a community-driven, grassr...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 9
