Culinary Characters Unlocked
David Page is a long-time journalist who reinvented food television when he created Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He is also an author, having written the award-winning book Food Americana.
All Episodes
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 46
CHEF MARISA BAGGETT ON SHATTERING EXPECTATIONS AS A FEMALE, BLACK, JEWISH SUSHI CHEF, AND REDEFINING SUSHI HER WAY EP 46
Marisa Baggett had never seen sushi, never tasted sushi, when a customer asked for it at her Starkville Mississippi café. And that launched her quest to master the age old Japanese culinary tradition, graduating from the California Sushi Academy, and championing creativity that remains true to the fresh and local soul of sushi, such as her southern influenced sushi made with ingredients including pickled okra, catfish, and collard greens. She says anyone can learn to make their own sushi at home, and she’s written the cookbooks to help people make it happen. She’s also writing about Japanese food — sushi and much more — in a Substack column called Dear Sensei at dearsensei.substack.com.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 45
CHEF ERIC LEVINE ON TURNING BROOKLYN FAVORITES LIKE HOT DOGS AND KNISHES INTO ELEVATED CULINARY MASTERPIECES— AND ON ACHIEVING CELEBRITY AND SUCCESS WHILE REPEATEDLY BATTLING CANCER . EP45
Chef Eric LeVine was so taken by cooking that before he even attended culinary school, he wrote a letter to groundbreaking chef David Burke at the legendary River Café in New York – and got hired. He credits Chef Burke with setting him on the path to culinary achievement and, after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Levine cooked at a variety of restaurants, winning a three-star review from the New York Times. He then began opening restaurants of his own, building a restaurant group that now includes locations in Brooklyn and on Long Island, offering cuisines that run the gamut from burgers to handmade pasta to elevated high-end cooking that evokes his life, such as an upscale homage to the bagels, knishes, and hot dogs from the Brooklyn of his childhood. Along the way he was named champion on Chopped. And he did it all while repeatedly battling cancer.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 44
OWNER AMY MILLS ON SECRETS BEHIND THE ICONIC BARBECUE RESTAURANT FOUNDED BY HER FATHER, MIKE MILLS, THE FIRST PITMASTER NAMED GRAND CHAMPION THREE TIMES AT THE INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED MEMPHIS IN MAY BARBECUE COMPETITION. EP44
Amy Mills grew up surrounded by barbecue. Her father Mike Mills owned 17th St. Barbecue in Murphysboro, Illinois and was the first pitmaster ever named Grand Champion three times at the “super bowl of swine,” The Memphis in May barbecue competition. Her father passed away a few years back and Amy now runs the growing operation which includes two restaurants, a sauce factory, and catering. She’s kept the quality and the flavor up to her father’s standards and reveals some of the secrets for creating 17th Street’s signature ribs, brisket, sausage, and more. She’s now consulting and teaching barbecue classes as well.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 43
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNING CHEF ALON SHAYA - EP 43
James Beard Award winning chef Alon Shaya, born in Israel and raised in Philadelphia, was cooking for his family from the age of seven. When he was getting into trouble as a teen, his high school home economics teacher intervened, getting him his first fine-dining cooking job when he was just 16. He says she saved his life. He went on the Culinary Institute of America, then cooked in a variety of restaurants, become an executive chef at 21. He won the 2015 James Beard award as Best Chef South for cooking at the Italian restaurant Domenica which he co-owned in New Orleans, and then the following year, his Israeli cooking at Shaya in New Orleans the James Beard award The following year his restaurant Shaya, offering Israeli food, won the James Beard Award as the country’s best new restaurant. He then moved on to open two more highly popular Israeli restaurants, in New Orleans and Denver, and is now growing his Pomegranate Hospitably group with locations featuring other cuisines as well, including a restaurant in the Bahamas.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 42
CHEF ALYCIA WAHN MARTINDALE ON MICHELIN RECOGNIZING HER NEW TORONTO RESTAURANT; COOKING CREOLE, CARRIBEAN, AND LATIN AMERICAN FLAVORS NORTH OF THE BORDER; AND WHY SHE’S SCRATCH- MAKING HER OWN BUTTER AND BACON. EP 42
Chef Alycia Wahn Martindale is cooking up southern flavors north of the border at Conejo Negro (Black Rabbit in Spanish), the massively popular Toronto restaurant she owns with her husband and their good friend. The menu is a combination of Creole, Caribbean, and Latin American cooking. And she is making everything possible from scratch— bacon, butter, pickles and much more. The former punk rock musician says she wants diners to feel the love in her food, which should feel like something someone’s grandmother would make. After little more than a year, Conejo Negro was feted by Michelin with a bib gourmand and an award for outstanding service.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 41
Katz’s Deli owner Jake Dell with the inside story of the 137 year-old American institution and having Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal back to re-do their famous movie scene – EP 41
Often cited as America’s best deli, Katz’s has been a lower East Side institution in New York for more than 137 years this month. Owner Jake Dell’s father and uncle bought the deli from the original Katz family in 1988. Jake joined in 2009. He refuses to change anything about the customer experience there—from the ancient decor to the scratch made pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, knishes and everything else on the expansive menu. He is, however, working to bring his food to even more people, opening a take-out location in Brooklyn and expanding into nationwide shipping. Katz’s was, of course, the location for the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally, a scene recreated there by stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal for a 2025 Super Bowl commercial for Helmann’s mayonnaise. Dell insisted he would only allow the ad to be shot there if the producers promised not to put mayo on pastrami, which requires mustard.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 40
SMALL TOWN CHEF AND RESTAURANT OWNER CARA TOBIN ON HER NOMINATION AS AMERICA’S BEST RESTAURATEUR IN THE UPCOMING THE 2025 JAMES BEARD AWARDS. Ep 40
Cara Tobin got her first restaurant job at the age of 17, by lying about her cooking experience in the job interview—she had none at all. In the years that followed she went to culinary school, graduating number one in her class, then worked her way up the cooking ladder at several restaurants before falling in love with Eastern Mediterranean cuisine when she worked at Oleana in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now she is cooking that cuisine at two restaurants she co-owns in Burlington, Vermont—Honey Road and The Grey Jay. And she and her business partner have been named finalists for the title of America’s Outstanding Restaurateur in the 2025 James Beard awards, which will be announced in June.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 39
Executive Chef Andre Bienvenu on his quarter century at the legendary Joe’s Stone Crab and his unexpected second chapter as a restaurant owner. EP 39
Chef André Bienvenu spent more than a quarter-century as executive chef at America’s highest grossing independent restaurant, Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach. He considered that the pinnacle of his long career and was looking ahead to retirement, but those plans changed dramatically. Given an unexpected opportunity to partner on a new restaurant, he began a second chapter in his professional life, now as an owner, opening Catch & Cut in Fort Lauderdale, an old school seafood and steak restaurant that became an instant hit. He does things his way—a reservation book instead of an iPad, an obsession with running a civilized kitchen with no shouting, and of course his own take on stone crab.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 38
Food & Wine Best New Chef Karyn Tomlinson on her invention of “Grandma Chic” cuisine - EP 38
Named a Food & Wine Best New Chef for 2024, Karyn Tomlinson has won raves for her restaurant Myriel in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her menu, combining elements of French, Nordic, and Midwestern cuisines has been dubbed “Grandma Chic.” A major advocate of local, seasonal cooking, she sources all her ingredients from local farms, which she visits every week. But she is pragmatic about getting people to eat better, encouraging them to simply do as well as they can (and she herself admits to enjoying a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios after work).
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 37
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – MARY NGUYEN – EP 37
After coming to the United States from Peru in his teens, Diego Sanchez found a sense of belonging in restaurant kitchens. He cooked under some of the world’s greatest chefs before striking out on his own and now owns his own restaurant on the Jersey shore, 39 Degrees North in Manahawkin, NJ—a diner he has reimagined his way, adding items like handmade gnocchi and lomo saltado to the traditional diner menu.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 36
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – MARY NGUYEN – EP 36
Chef Mary Nguyen grew up in a Vietnamese immigrant household in Denver, went on to work as an investment banker, then decided to make a major career change—into the world of food. She began by working three culinary jobs at once, and becoming one of America’s first female sushi chefs, before opening the first of several restaurants in her hometown, including Olive & Finch, which is now a growing restaurant group. It offers chef-driven, scratch-made food without the fine dining prices.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 35
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - JOHN FRASER – EP 35
Michelin star winning chef John Fraser worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Thomas Keller, and in some of the most storied restaurants in France, before opening a restaurant of his own and then continuing to build a culinary empire. He has won Michelin stars at two different restaurants, including the vegetarian Nix in New York city. His restaurants focus on a range of cuisines, including French, Greek and Turkish, and vegetable-focused California style cooking.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 34
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – SHEILA AND DUFFY WITMER– EP 34
Sheila and Duffy Witmer bought the Pioneer Saloon in Ketchum, Idaho nearly half a century ago. And they’ve kept it a jam-packed favorite ever since, with scores of repeat customers including Clint Eastwood, Sandy Koufax, and Ernest Hemingway’s grandchildren. The menu is beef-heavy, featuring steaks and their legendary prime rib. And scraps from preparing the prime rib are the key ingredient in the Jim Spud, a massive twenty-two ounce baked potato stuffed with teriyaki beef, cheese, sour cream, caramelized onions and more.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 33
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED –CARLOS GAYTÁN – EP 33
Carlos Gaytán has earned a Michelin star (the first Mexican-born chef ever to receive one) at two different restaurants. He is noted for combining regional Mexican cooking with classic French techniques. After working his way up from dishwasher in a hotel kitchen, he now owns restaurants in Chicago, Mexico, and recently opened several in the Downtown Disney District adjacent to Disneyland. He has appeared on Top Chef and as a judge on numerous cooking competition shows in the U.S. and Mexico.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 32
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – ADRIAN MILLER - EP 32
Called the Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller is renowned for his knowledge of African American and southern cooking. Author of multiple books, he won James Beard awards for two of them: Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, and Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. Yet culinary history was not his original career path. He was a lawyer, worked for the Clinton White House, and then for the governor of Colorado, before turning to culinary research. His findings are profound and often surprising. Our conversation ranged far and wide – from the white history of chitlins, to vegan soul food, the German origins of chicken and waffles, and how, in his words, mac and cheese became “so black.”
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 31
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - KATIE BUTTON - EP 31.
Chef Katie Button is a James Beard winner for her Asheville, North Carolina Spanish restaurant Cúrate, which is the flagship of her restaurant group. Button discovered her deep love for food when she was living in Paris, studying for a master’s degree in biomedical engineering. The awakening was so profound that she changed careers, worked for two of the world’s greatest chefs, Ferran Adrià and José Andrés, before opening tapas-based Cúrate, then building a culinary empire that includes a Catalonian restaurant, a Spanish market, European tours, a cookbook, and more. She is heavily involved in helping the Asheville community rebuild after massive flooding from Hurricane Helene.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 30
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - CHEFS MELISSA REAGAN AND STEPHEN GONZALEZ - EP 30
Melissa Reagan and Stephen Gonzalez met at Culinary School in Austin, Texas two decades ago, then followed their own culinary journeys through a variety of restaurants. Today she’s cooking at an upscale restaurant in North Carolina (but by contract she can’t name it) and with supermarkets challenging many restaurants by offering meals cooked on site, he is working for the H-E-B grocery chain, a major player in Texas. Both feel deeply about getting average folks cooking at home. Which is the impetus behind their Food for Thoughtcast podcast. We discussed that and much more about the world of food—now and in the future.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 29
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – NOK SUNTARANON – EP 29
Nok Suntaranon remembers eating like royalty growing up in Thailand, even though her family was poor, thanks to her mother’s skills in the kitchen. And it’s the food of her childhood that she is cooking at her Philadelphia restaurant Kalaya, named for her mom, which she did not open until the age of 50. She had been enjoying life as a housewife but says there’s only so much Pilates, yoga, and lunching a person can do. Just a few years later, she won the 2023 James Beard Award as best chef in the mid-Atlantic. She’s been featured on Top Chef. She’s written a cookbook, Kalaya’s Southern Thai Kitchen. And she contends that Philadelphia is now America’s number one food town.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 28
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED – CHEF MATT VAWTER – EP 28
Named the 2024 James Beard Awards best chef in the mountain region, Matt Vawter began his culinary education going to restaurants with his grandparents and being taken into the kitchen to meet the chef. He got his first cooking job at the age of fourteen and worked his way up to big success in his hometown. Born in the Breckenridge, Colorado area, Vawter began culinary school while still in high school, cut his teeth in Denver working for celebrated chef Alex Seidel, then came back to Breckenridge to open Rootstalk, featuring local and impeccably sourced ingredients. It was a big hit and soon thereafter he opened Radicato, his Colorado take on Italian.
- CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 27
CULINARY CHARACTERS UNLOCKED - EP 27
Victoria Shore grew up in an adventurous culinary family (few American kids fall in love with Basque food but she did) and ended up cooking professionally because she could not get the job she wanted, culinary journalist, without kitchen experience. She’s always loved to cook—she was the kid making French fries in her dorm room—and has now worked her way up from positions in catering and restaurants to become the Executive Chef of all the restaurants at the Thompson Savannah Hotel in Savannah, Georgia. She discusses, among other things, the unique challenges of a hotel restaurant competing with celebrated fine dining establishments in a food forward town.