Dana launched her macaron bakery out of a small test kitchen in New Jersey at the age of 30 after leaving her job as a magazine photo editor to pursue a culinary degree. When Dana started applying her background in editorial photography to her business’ social media channels and the unique approach of photographing her macarons as though they were bottles of perfume or expensive jewelry, the business began to take off. Today, Dana has grown her business to ship direct to customers and wholesaler...
Sep 28, 2018•50 min•Ep. 57
Suzanne Cupps is the Executive Chef of Untitled and Studio Cafe in the Whitney Museum of American Art. Born and raised in South Carolina, Suzanne spent summers on her grandfather’s farm, but dodged her mother’s requests for help in the kitchen. A math major in college, she worked in Human Resources after college before taking the leap to attend the Institute of Culinary Education and start a new career in the kitchen. She started at Annisa, working under Chef Anita Lo, and played an integral rol...
Sep 20, 2018•50 min•Ep. 56
Pooja’s interest in cooking started as a child in North Carolina, watching the early versions of cooking shows on television and then trying to recreate the recipes in the kitchen herself. Though she pursued other interests in fair and affordable housing through the non-profit sector, she continued to follow her ice cream-making hobby. She was particularly inspired by the blank palate of an ice cream base, when she discovered that the same spices of her parents’ Indian cooking – ginger, rose pet...
Sep 13, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 55
Nigel Sielegar is an web designer who on a whim decided to open a stand at the Queens Night Market, selling traditional Indonesian coconut desserts with his cousin. Within one year of launch, Moon Man has created a line of carefully presented desserts, making them not only delicious, but visually appealing, an asset in today’s Instagram-heavy food culture. They have also received press from outlets including Culture Trip, Eater and the New York Times. NY Times food writer Ligaya Mishan named the...
Aug 16, 2018•54 min•Ep. 54
Loren Brill was a young college graduate working as a yoga instructor when her world was turned upside down: she had cancer, Hodgkin's Lymphoma to be exact. After the shock wore off, she sprung to action, determined to take better care of her body through food. She began to cut processed sugars, hydrogenated oils and common allergens from her diet -- but found she was unable to satisfy her sweet tooth with commercially available cookies and cookie dough. So why not make her own? After long hours...
Aug 09, 2018•52 min•Ep. 53
Elena Liao knew something was missing. She had been in merchandise planning at some of the nation's best retailers for almost 10 years, but she didn't feel captivated by her work. As she looked for side hobbies to do in her free time, she found herself naturally drawn to coffee -- pourovers, specifically -- yet during class she would be drinking tea from her birthplace of Taiwan. Taiwan's complex history has given it a special relationship with oolong tea -- a lightly oxidized tea somewhere betw...
Aug 07, 2018•59 min•Ep. 52
Joseph Yoon started his career in music but decided to pursue his love of cooking and became a private chef and caterer. It was while catering an exhibition with an artist friend that he cooked with insects for the first time, and he hasn't looked back. As the Founder of Brooklyn Bugs, Joseph has become an advocate for eating insects and an expert in the diverse and flavorful works of edible bugs. Join us for a conversation (and tasting) of some of the world's most delicious insects! Why Food? i...
Jul 31, 2018•56 min•Ep. 51
Garrett Oliver is the Brewmaster of the iconic Brooklyn Brewery and a world-renowned expert on beer, but few people know that he started his career as an international rock band manager and music producer. Join us for a wide ranging and wildly off-topic conversation about the arc of his long and storied career, what makes a good beer, and how to look great in hats. Why Food? is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.co...
Jul 19, 2018•55 min•Ep. 50
Kerry Brodie started her career in nonprofit communications before deciding to pivot to pursue her love of cooking. While in culinary school, she realized she could use the skills she was learning to create a more sustainable, more welcoming environment for refugees newly arrived in the US. She launched Emma's Torch, a restaurant and culinary job skills training program for refugees and asylum seekers, as a popup in 2017, and opened as a full service restaurant in Brooklyn in the spring of 2018....
Jul 12, 2018•48 min•Ep. 49
Raquel Jacquez Sharp is an educator and activist around healthy food and the Communication and Partnerships Manager at the Sylvia Center. Join Raquel and two of her students, Isatou and Halima (both 17) for a discussion on changing food habits among teenagers, and building food careers from a young age. Why Food? is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jun 28, 2018•55 min•Ep. 48
After working for several years in classical music, Julian decided to enroll in culinary school to pursue a lifelong passion for pastry and baking. He worked in some of NYC's best kitchens, eventually becoming Pastry Chef at the Crosby Street Hotel. In 2010, he decided to make another career change and become an entrepreneur, and leaving his full time job to launch Melt Bakery, making and selling ice cream sandwiches at outdoor markets in NYC. Since then, he and his partner have built Melt Baker...
Jun 27, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 47
Yuan Ji is a former anti-trust attorney whose love for Oaxaca (and its mezcal!) inspired her to launch Erstwhile Mezcal. She's partnering with master mezcaleros in Oaxaca whose families have been making mezcal for generations, and importing the results of their expertise to the US. Join us for a deep dive into the how mezcal is made, the differences between agave varietals and Yuan's personal story of exploration and entrepreneurship. Why Food? is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at http...
Jun 13, 2018•56 min•Ep. 46
So far on Why Food?, we've talked to many food entrepreneurs about taking the leap from their former careers into food and beverage -- but what if you’ve already launched a successful, growing food business when another steals your heart? In this episode, Big Mozz founder Matt Gallira tells us about when (and why) he decided to pivot from his tomato sauce business, Atlantic Ave Company, to focus on taking his hand-stretched mozzarella and deep-fried mozzarella stick tent at Smorgasburg into the ...
May 24, 2018•52 min•Ep. 45
50 Meals in 50 States. To most people, this seems a crazy idea; to Yana Gilbuena, a passionate Filipino chef who had just been laid off from her full-time furniture design job, it was just the kick she needed to start her new life in food. She packed up all her things and went on an epic road trip across the United States, cooking traditional kamayan feasts - hands-only Filipino dinners - for communities from small towns in North Dakota to metropolitan cities in California, and even to our non-c...
May 17, 2018•48 min•Ep. 44
In the summer of 2005, Dario Wolos joked to his friends he would start a taco shop inside a Volkswagen, or "combi" as the locals called it. The name "Tacombi" was dreamt up, then promptly forgotten after several rounds of mezcal. He was still working in the finance department of an internet startup in London at the time, but something clicked after that night and shortly afterwards Dario quit his job and found himself back in Mexico, dipping into his life savings to buy a 1963 VW Kombi. He drove...
May 10, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 43
Carolina Santos-Neves started in data entry at epicurious.com but found herself spending more and more time thinking about the elaborate meals she was cooking for her friends. After several years, she decided to take the leap and go to culinary school, and went on to help open two critically acclaimed restaurants. Join us for a conversation about her career and the evolution of her culinary philosophy emphasizing ingredient-forward cooking that considers health, seasonality, and social impact. W...
Apr 19, 2018•54 min•Ep. 42
Chi Bui led many lives before her current one in chocolate. Her well-to-do Vietnamese family fled their home city of Hue after the war; her parents lost everything immigrating to the U.S., but ultimately resettled her and her five siblings in Philadelphia. Chi's mother ran a food truck for 20 years, a feat of labor and love from where Chi learned preserverance and leading by example. She went on to major in literature at the New School while fixing computers part-time -- which serendipitously le...
Apr 12, 2018•54 min•Ep. 41
When Kristin Canty's young son developed severe allergies, she found relief by feeding him raw milk. She couldn't have known that would start a lifelong mission of advocacy and activism through filmmaking and food. Her feature film, Farmaggedon, exposed the hypocrisy of the FDA and USDA's regulation of small farms and was distributed widely to great critical acclaim. She went on to become a farmer herself, raising livestock and growing produce to supply her restaurants Wood's Hill Table and Adel...
Apr 10, 2018•49 min•Ep. 40
This episode, we're taking a fun approach to (re) introduce ourselves - by each taking half an hour to interview the other host! First up is Ethan Frisch, Founder of Burlap and Barrel. Ethan started in the food world as a pastry chef and activist ice cream maker before moving into humanitarian work overseas. In Kabul, he discovered he discovered fragrant fields of cumin and it planted a seed for his future. Now, he runs a single-origin spice company sourcing exceptional varieties from all over t...
Mar 29, 2018•54 min•Ep. 39
Scott Norton began making ketchup in his college apartment almost 10 years ago. It was 4 years after Malcolm Gladwell wrote that Heinz could never be overthrown - but Scott didn’t buy it. So he and his Co-Founder, Mark, set out to disprove this theory with a product that was the complete opposite of any available on the market and Sir Kensington’s was born. Mark went on to work in finance, joining Lehman Brothers a month before the historic crash, and travel across Asia for a series on folding b...
Mar 26, 2018•58 min•Ep. 38
Michele Tanenbaum was burnt out after spending decades in the fashion industry. She began to experiment with making sweet treats for both humans and canines as a gift for her friends - and quickly things blossomed into a full-blown cookie business. Now Lucky Bites - which is named after her terrier Lucky - is in its seventh year and reaching tens of thousands of avid fans online. Join us as we talk about how Michele's design eye has influenced her cookie business, navigating the world of Instagr...
Mar 16, 2018•56 min•Ep. 37
Dianna Daoheung left a career in advertising because she wanted to work with her hands. She decided to challenge herself by enrolling in a culinary school's pastry program, where she found she loved the science behind bread baking. She took a job at the newly-opened Mile End Deli in Brooklyn, where she learned the fundamentals of Jewish cuisine and when Mile End's owners decided to open a bagel shop, Dianna was the natural choice to run it. Since then, she's overseen its significant expansion, b...
Mar 12, 2018•53 min•Ep. 36
Jeremy Lyman began sketching floorplans of his future business at 16, but found himself only working on his "coffee project" during bad days at work. He wanted to fill a hole in the NYC market for a hospitality-driven coffee concept - except he didn't know anything about coffee. Serendipitously he met his Co-Founder Paul, and together Birch Coffee started with a trip to CoffeeFest 2008. Now, Birch Coffee has 9 locations across NYC and its own roastery in Long Island City. Join us as we talk abou...
Mar 01, 2018•58 min•Ep. 35
Andrew Jacobi always flirted with the idea of starting a food business, but found himself chasing the competitive high of private equity after college. After yet another late night, he decided to think more seriously about his long-harbored love for meat. After learning the beef supply chain first hand and meeting his founding chef, Ricky, Andy started Untamed Sandwiches, a fast-casual concept with 3 locations across NYC. Untamed's unique focus on braised meat as the centerpiece has allowed him ...
Feb 27, 2018•55 min•Ep. 34
Matt Shapiro was in law school when he read about a Midtown street vendor's cart being wrongfully confiscated by the police. He was immediately moved by the issue and began to work with the Street Vendors Project, an arm of the non-profit organization Urban Justice Center, that advocates for and provides legal representation to all types of street vendors in NYC - from food trucks to grocery carts to craft & clothing vendors. Join us as we wade through the issues of immigration and race, per...
Feb 13, 2018•48 min•Ep. 33
Ligaya Mishan is the author of the New York Times ' "Hungry City" column, where she reviews New York's "great, unsung" restaurants. Her career has taken her from an MFA in poetry to writing book reviews for the New Yorker to her current job, where she tells the stories of immigrants and entrepreneurs through the food that they serve. Join us as we talk about how someone who grew up eating spam and frozen peas now reviews restaurants serving food from dozens of countries, and as we grapple with q...
Feb 12, 2018•52 min•Ep. 32
Rob Laing was a successful tech entrepreneur in Japan when he first realized his stressful, nonstop lifestyle was leading him astray. After leaving his company, embracing a plant-based diet and taking time to learn more about his food sources, he came across the burgeoning indoor vertical farming movement - and saw the impact he could make on the food industry while leveraging his tech background. Rob started Farm.One in 2016 with 350sqft inside New York's Institute of Culinary Education, growin...
Feb 04, 2018•49 min•Ep. 31
Devika Kumar found herself at a crossroads after having her first child. She had successful career in investment banking and an MBA from Harvard Business School, but she wanted to leave a legacy of good food for her newborn boy. Her love for talking to others and telling their stories propelled her down the path of food, from surveying customers at Tom Colicchio's 'Wichcraft to forging relationships with new produce farmers at FreshDirect to overseeing the supply chain at L'Atelier de Robuchon. ...
Jan 20, 2018•49 min•Ep. 30
With a love for good food and wine in comfortable and welcoming surroundings Tim and Nancy Cushman poured themselves and their finances in to their first restaurant, O Ya, in Boston, to create a space where they would feel comfortable. On todays episode they are celebrating the ten year anniversary of O Ya and reflecting on the other four restaurants that reside under the umbrella that is Cushman Concepts, as well as rolling back the years on their respective careers in music and advertising. Se...
Aug 03, 2017•55 min•Ep. 29
Have you craved New York bagels when you are on the west coast or needed the Caramel Pecan Pie from Blue Owl Bakery in Missouri? Brad Koenig was a lover of all regional foods and wanted access to them from his home in Menlo Park, California. Previously a partner at Goldman Sachs for over 20 years, Brad turned his food desires in to a business and created FoodyDirect which ships delicious foods from restaurants and artisan producers all over the country. Why Food? is powered by Simplecast . See P...
Jul 27, 2017•40 min•Ep. 28
