Join us for a conversation with Abena Foli, who is the founder and co-owner of POKS Spices . Abena was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, where she lived until 2006 when she immigrated to the United States for her college education. Her passion for food comes from her farmer-father who taught her how to blend spices and to understand the culinary heritage of cooking authentic West African meals. Abena’s food science background and 10 years of corporate food industry experience exposed her to...
Aug 05, 2021•42 min•Ep. 177
Join us for a conversation with renowned chef and activist Reem Assil . Reem is a Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, CA, and owner of the nationally acclaimed Reem’s California in Oakland. The restaurant is Reem’s California Mission in San Francisco, inspired by Arab street corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them. Reem has garnered an array of top accolades in the culinary world, including back-to-back James Beard Semifinalist nods for Best Chef: West. She is a grad...
Jul 22, 2021•43 min•Ep. 176
Join us for a conversation with Ariana Tolka, CEO and co-founder of Balkan Bites . They specialize in comfort foods such as burek, a flaky, stuffed phyllo pie that is a daily staple in the Balkans and the Middle East. After years of working for marketing and non-profit organizations, she found her calling—to share and preserve Balkan culture with authentic family recipes that have been passed down through generations. If you count on HRN content, become a monthly sustaining donor at heritageradi...
Jul 15, 2021•37 min•Ep. 175
Join us for a conversation with Bobbie Garbutt , live from Grenada! A 4th generation cocoa and spice farmer in Grenada, Bobbie didn't envision her career in agriculture. Kicking off working life as a production assistant for a fashion label in London, her curiosity about food systems led her to jump ship and start her own catering company before the pandemic brought it to a grinding halt. The extended time spent at home allowed her to rediscover the unique significance of her mother's family far...
Jul 08, 2021•42 min•Ep. 174
Join us for a conversation with Samah Dada ! Samah is a New York City-based recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger behind Dada Eats . Drawing from her Indian heritage and inspired by the foodscapes of London, California, and New York, she is the host of Cooking with Samah Dada on the Today Show ’s digital channel. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Why Food? by becoming a member ! Why Food? is Powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at ...
Jul 02, 2021•37 min•Ep. 173
Join us for a conversation with Margaret Nyamumbo, founder of Kahawa 1893 . Margaret is a third generation coffee farmer and grew up on a farm in Kenya before immigrating to the USA. After earning her MBA from Harvard, she went on to work on Wall Street when she rediscovered her passion for coffee. She founded Kahawa 1893 with a mission to close the gender gap in coffee. In Kenya, over 90% of labor in coffee comes from women, but they aren't fairly compensated because they don't own the land. Ka...
Jun 24, 2021•51 min•Ep. 172
Join us for a conversation with Preeti Mistry , acclaimed chef, author and speaker and two time-nominatee by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef of the West. They were the Co-Founder & Executive Chef of Navi Kitchen and Juhu Beach Club (both closed) as well as the co-author (with Sarah Henry) of The Juhu Beach Club Cookbook. Born in London and raised in the US, Preeti was a contestant on Top Chef Season 6 and has been featured in numerous publications including Food & Wine Magazine,...
Jun 17, 2021•47 min•Ep. 171
Join us for a conversation with Ederique Goudia , the Detroit-based chef and entrepreneur. Ederique Goudia is the co-owner and Executive Chef of Gabriel Hall , a restaurant and music venue dedicated to celebrating the food, music, and culture of New Orleans, in the West Village community of Detroit. She also co-founded In the Business of Food, a consulting agency for women and POC-led food businesses. Ederique’s commitment to a more fair, sustainable, and equitable food economy was the cornersto...
Jun 10, 2021•43 min•Ep. 170
Join us for a conversation with Hetty McKinnon , author of the new cookbook, To Asia with Love . Hetty is is a Chinese-Australian cook and food writer, based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of three other bestselling cookbooks: the best-selling Community , Neighbourhood , and the award-winning Family . Hetty is also the editor and publisher of multicultural food journal Peddler , and the host of the magazine’s podcast The House Specials . She is a regular recipe contributor to New York ...
Jun 03, 2021•53 min•Ep. 169
Join us for a conversation with journalist Larissa Zimberoff , author of the brand new book, Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat , from Abrams Press . Larissa covers the intersection of food, technology, and business, and her work has appeared in the New York Times , the Wall Street Journal , Bloomberg Businessweek , Wired , and more. Larissa often presents on, moderates, and leads panels on food tech including at Stanford, reThink Food, Culinary Institute of ...
May 28, 2021•54 min•Ep. 168
Join us for a conversation with Yao Zhao, founder of 50Hertz Sichuan Pepper . Born and raised in Chongqing, China, he is an economist and clean energy expert, and has worked in China, India, the Middle East, and currently in Washington DC. Yao started the company based on the belief that Sichuan pepper and its tingly numbing sensation will strike a chord with foodies everywhere. When Yao is not making Sichuan pepper oil, you'll find him trekking through the Pantanal in Brazil or along back roads...
May 20, 2021•46 min•Ep. 167
Join us for a conversation with Peter Reinhart, Chef on Assignment at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC. In addition to his role as a chef instructor in the Baking & Pastry program, Peter teaches a course on food media, and he is also the founder and executive director of the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread. ( www.breadsymposium.com ) Peter is the author of 13 books on bread, food & culture, and is on a never-ending search for the perfect pizza. His boo...
May 13, 2021•43 min•Ep. 166
Join us for a conversation with Rob Dunn , professor of applied ecology and author of the new book Delicious , about the ways that flavor has influenced human evolution. The book is a fascinating look at how humans have always thought about flavor, and how our search for delicious things to eat has supported our evolution, contributed to our diverse cuisines and cultures, and driven interactions with our natural and built environments. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit pod...
May 12, 2021•50 min•Ep. 165
Join us for a conversation with Ann Armbrecht , director of the Sustainable Herbs Program of the American Botanical Council, and author of the new book The Business of Botanicals . She is a writer and anthropologist (PhD, Harvard 1995) whose work explores the relationships between humans and the earth, most recently through her work with plants and plant medicine. She is the co-producer of the documentary Numen: The Nature of Plants , and the author of the award-winning ethnographic memoir Thin ...
May 07, 2021•41 min•Ep. 164
Join us for a conversation with Alex Godin , founder of Lemontree , a non-profit that helps hungry people find free food. He started his career when he was still in high school–dropping out to raise $1M in venture funding for his first startup. Since then he's organized a celebrity telethon with stars like Herbie Hancock and Judd Apatow, an adult summer camp, and the internet's premier destination for hand-painted oil paintings of emojis. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit ...
Apr 16, 2021•45 min•Ep. 163
Join us for a conversation with Suresh Pillai and Carrie Dashow, the married co-founders of Atina Foods . They adapt traditional Ayurvedic recipes to incorporate global and locally available produce for their unusually delicious, fermented, and preserved condiments that help to balance your health and life. Based in Catskill, New York, Atina Foods' handcrafted condiments add flavor complexity in a simple spoonful to home-cooked plates throughout New York and beyond! Atina Foods Expands upon and ...
Apr 09, 2021•50 min•Ep. 162
Join us for a conversation with Sue Bette , owner of Bluebird Barbecue in Burlington, Vermont. Sue is a James Beard Award-nominee and former educator who uses her restaurants to build a connection between food, health, and mental well-being. She is a member of the Leadership group of the Independent Restaurant Coalition , and the recent co-founder of Vermont Independent Restaurants , an emerging coalition to preserve and advance the VT restaurant industry faced with challenges from the COVID-19 ...
Apr 02, 2021•43 min•Ep. 161
Join us for a conversation with Andre Springer, Founder of Shaquanda Will Feed You . Andre was born in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, and is of Barbadian descent. Andre began performing in the streets and bars of NYC at the age of 20, with much of his art being the creation of his drag alter ego, Shaquanda Coca Mulatta. The body of Andre's work has been in performance, sculpture, and film. While manifesting his creative side he also spent 18 years in the restaurant industry...
Mar 26, 2021•45 min•Ep. 160
Nicole Januarie is a Director/Producer of Vallery's new series, Vallery Bakes Your Questions , on Food Network. Nicole partners with brands and individuals to assess how to creatively communicate their message through strong and impactful content. After more than a decade of ideating, strategizing, producing, and directing videos for multi-million dollar brands and start-ups, Nicole has learned what truly drives conversations and moves individuals to an emotional connection. It's not mastering t...
Mar 18, 2021•49 min•Ep. 159
Join us for a conversation with Manal Kahi, co-founder and CEO of Eat Offbeat , a refugee-driven food company that delivers authentic eats & treats made by refugees who now call New York City home. Manal moved to NYC to pursue a career in environmental affairs, but the Hummus she found in grocery stores led her on a different journey. She founded Eat Offbeat to help New Yorkers discover authentic cuisines from around the world all the while creating quality jobs for talented refugees. Herita...
Mar 12, 2021•56 min•Ep. 158
Join us for a conversation with Deb Perelman , author of the legendary blog Smitten Kitchen . Deb is a self-taught home cook, photographer, and the creator of smittenkitchen.com , as well as the author of the New York Times bestselling cookbooks "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" and "Smitten Kitchen Every Day." Deb lives in New York City with her husband and their two children. Photo Courtesy of Christine Han. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Why Foo...
Mar 06, 2021•44 min•Ep. 157
Join us for a conversation with Heather Marold Thomason , butcher and owner of Primal Supply Meats . Primal Supply is a Philly-based butchery committed to whole animal practices and changing the local food system. Heather went from dance to graphic design to butchery, training in pasture-based livestock farming and whole animal butchery. In 2016, she founded Primal Supply Meats, a modern butchery and grocery. Photo Courtesy of Jillian Guyette. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonpr...
Mar 02, 2021•54 min•Ep. 156
Join us for a conversation with David Benzaquen , one of the world’s leading experts in the plant-based food industry and the founder of Mission: Plant , a holding company advancing the plant-based sector with strategic investments and consulting services. Prior to founding Mission: Plant, David spent nearly a decade leading a corporate strategy consulting firm for plant-based consumer products and founded one of the first plant-based seafood companies. He and his companies have been profiled in...
Feb 19, 2021•44 min•Ep. 155
Join us for a conversation with Paige Lipari , local hero and owner/cook of Archestratus Books + Foods in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Lipari is a Sicilian-American poet, music maker, cartoonist, and cook. Her collection of poems, music, and illustrations, Family of Many Enzos , was published by Augury Books in 2012. She was previously an editor at A Public Space. She worked in many of NYC’s finest bookstores (McNally Jackson, Idlewild, and Housing Works Bookstore to name a few) before opening her own....
Feb 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 154
Join us for a conversation with legendary food writer Mark Bittman to discuss his brand new book Animal, Vegetable, Junk , a history of food and humanity. Mark has been a leading voice in global food culture and policy for more than three decades. Born in New York City in 1950, Bittman began writing professionally in 1978. After five years as a general assignment reporter, he turned all of his attention to food. His first cookbook, Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking , was published i...
Feb 05, 2021•54 min•Ep. 153
Join us for a conversation with Claire Schlemme and Caroline Cotto, Cofounders of Renewal Mill . Committed to finding solutions at the intersection of food, sustainability, and accessible nutrition, Renewal Mill is an award-winning startup creating a new circular economy of food by upcycling the byproducts of food manufacturing into premium ingredients & plant-based products. Their signature product is okara flour , made from the byproducts of tofu and soy milk manufacturing. Heritage Radio ...
Jan 30, 2021•35 min•Ep. 152
Join us for a conversation with chef and entrepreneur Kiki Aranita . Kiki is co-chef and owner of Poi Dog , a Hawaiian restaurant and catering company that closed its Rittenhouse, Philadelphia location in July 2020. For years, her goals involved celebrating the underrepresented cuisines of multicultural origins as well as seeking to minimize food waste. She recently launched a line of bottled Poi Dog sauces inspired by Hawaiian cuisine and favorite dishes from her restaurant. She is also a write...
Jan 22, 2021•40 min•Ep. 151
Join cohosts Vallery and Ethan for a conversation with Kate Sullivan . Kate is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and creator/host of To Dine For on PBS. The show tells the story of creators and dreamers who have reached success through ingenuity and innovation. Their favorite restaurants become the backdrop for a passionate and fascinating conversation about life, success, and what it takes to pursue and achieve the American dream. Previously, Kate spent five years as the evening news an...
Jan 16, 2021•47 min•Ep. 150
Join us for a conversation with Anjali Bhargava, founder and CEO of Drink Resilience turmeric elixirs. A former portrait photographer, Anjali decided to launch her own turmeric power, sourcing fresh turmeric and dehydrating it with other fresh ingredients, and Resilience was born in 2015. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Why Food? by becoming a member ! Why Food? is Powered by Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califo...
Dec 17, 2020•39 min•Ep. 149
Join us for a conversation with Yorm Ackuaku , the founder of esSense 13. A platform dedicated to raising the profile of African food globally, esSense 13 has hosted events including the African continent's first food hackathon, food business pitch competitions and dining experiences in Accra, New York City, Washington D.C. and London. A former CPA, Yorm graduated from Marquette University and holds an MBA degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In 2018, Yorm launched...
Dec 10, 2020•47 min•Ep. 148
