The Zest

He’s a little bit foodie, and a little bit rock ‘n roll. This week, we’re catching up with musician-turned- MasterChef contestant Derrick Fox. The Fort Myers native graduated from Estero High School and went on to enjoy a career as a drummer with the Naples-based rock band Later Days . After years of touring, Derrick recently put away his drumsticks in favor of his other passion: cooking. He now w...

Amaris Castillo grew up around bodegas, which are small, owner-operated convenience stores. Her new book " Bodega Stories " is a portrait of the bodega her parents own in St. Pete called Orlando Latin Market. The book is part autobiography and part oral history of her Dominican-American family and the customers who frequent the store. Talking to host Matthew Peddie on "Florida Matters Live & L...

For the past few months, we've been checking in with some past Zest guests.  Giuliano Hazan is a cookbook author and culinary instructor in Sarasota. He is the only child of the late Marcella Hazan, who is credited with popularizing traditional Italian cuisine in the United States. Dalia visited Giuliano at his home in June 2024, and she returned for another conversation at his kitchen table this...

Tampa Bay has more awesome coffee shops than we can count. In honor of National Coffee Day on Sept. 29, The Zest’s brand manager, Alexandria Ebron , recommends a few places to find your next cuppa joe: Wuz Here pop-up at Ash Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters (Hey, Roberto Torres !) Don’t see your fave on this list? Shout out your favorite coffee shop on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We love classic stadium food as much as the next person. But this season at Raymond James Stadium, you might want to skip the chicken tenders and nachos in favor of some one-of-a-kind culinary creations. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chef Series returns, inviting award-winning local chefs to feature signature dishes for purchase at select home games. In this bonus episode, The Zest’s brand manager and...

In honor of Mexican Independence Day, join Alexandria Ebron of The Zest for a tequila tasting at Lona by Chef Richard Sandoval inside the Tampa Marriott Water Street.

We're having a blast checking in with some past Zest guests.  As part of a 2019 series on honey, Dalia visited owner Jennifer Smurr at her wildly popular Born & Bread Bakehouse in Lakeland. The bakery uses local honey in many of its recipes. Dalia recently caught up with Jenn, and boy did she have some big updates to share. Thanks to our friends at Florida Matters Live & Local for sharing...

As if we ever needed an excuse to eat tacos, Sept. 16 is Mexican Independence Day. (Thought that was Cinco de Mayo ? Now you know.) In this bonus episode, The Zest’s brand manager and taco connoisseur, Alexandria Ebron , discusses her favorite local taco spots: René’s Mexican Kitchen (Hey, René Valenzuela! ) Xtreme Tacos Jimmy’s Tacos Tacos Las Californias Don’t see your fave on this list? Shout o...

Labor Day weekend is upon us, and you’re definitely invited to the cookout. In this bonus episode, The Zest’s brand manager and foodie-about-town, Alexandria Ebron , discusses her favorite local barbecue spots: Wicked Oak Barbeque The Brisket Shoppe BBQ Time Don’t see your fave on this list? Shout out your go-to barbecue joint on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

The Zest is nominated for Best Podcast. To vote, please click on this link , select "entertainment" and then select "podcast." You can vote daily until Aug. 30. Thanks in advance!  This summer, The Zest Podcast is checking in with some past guests. In 2022, we met Ellen and Cameron Macleish. They’re a mother-and-son duo working to reduce food waste while tackling food insecurity in Northern Pinell...

The Zest is nominated for Best Podcast. To vote, please click on this link , select "entertainment" and then select "podcast." Thanks in advance! All summer long, WUSF is highlighting interesting food trucks in the Tampa Bay region. And one is a taco truck with a niche: Everything they sell is 100 percent plant-based. It's called The Meatless Mexican . Our colleague Sky Lebron spoke with co-owners...

The Zest is nominated for Best Podcast. To vote, please click on this link , select "entertainment" and then select "podcast." Thanks in advance! This summer, The Zest Podcast is checking in with some past guests. In 2020, St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin released a cookbook called St. Pete Eats . Today she is the president and CEO of Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg . Tomalin, wh...

The Zest has been nominated for Best Podcast. Vote now! Today, let's listen in as our colleague Sky Lebron plays with fire. He sits down with Carlos Sanchez, the owner of Carlos' Consuming Fire hot sauce, to try some of his sauces.  In this conversation from The Bay Blend, Carlos also discusses his passion for spice, what made him want to start his business, how he became partnered with multiple m...

The Zest has been nominated for Best Podcast. Vote here! This summer, we're checking in with some past Zest guests.  Marques Clark grew up in South St. Petersburg, in a neighborhood considered to be a food desert. He went on to study culinary arts and as an adult founded the nonprofit YES CHEF Village .  Dalia first spoke with Chef Marques when he visited the WUSF studio in 2024. She caught up wit...

The Zest has been nominated for best podcast. Vote now ! Our colleague Sky Lebron introduces us to Steve Smith, a.k.a. the Hoodbachi God . Hear how Smith turns the trunk of his car into a hibachi dining experience .  Thanks to our pals at The Bay Blend for sharing this conversation. 

Rate and review The Zest wherever you're listening to this episode! Our colleague Gabriella Paul catches up with environmental activist and friend of the pod Robin Greenfield . Find out why he's once again sworn off grocery stores and what he's eating instead. Thanks to our pals at The Bay Blend for sharing this conversation. The feature is introduced by Susan Giles Wantuck.

This summer, we're checking in with some past Zest guests.  René Valenzuela is the founder and former owner of the popular local chain Taco Bus . He owned several restaurants in his native Monterrey, Mexico, before moving to the United States in 1995. In 2018, Chef René was badly burned and nearly died after a gas explosion in his food truck.  Chef René chatted with The Zest’s original host, Robin...

“Retro food” can mean different things to different people. For today’s kids, it’s the Jell-O Pudding Pops and vintage Pizza Huts of their parents’ childhood. For Bobby Hicks , retro means tuna noodle casserole, chicken Kiev and gelatin rainbow cake—the food of his parents’ and grandparents’ heyday. But retro recipes are more than a list of ingredients. They’re a feeling. During the pandemic, Hick...

When our elders pass away, too often their recipes die with them.  In recent years, this reality really began sinking in for actor and restaurateur Billy Dec . So Dec, the son of a white father and Filipina mother, decided to travel to the Philippines to find his last living maternal elders and learn his ancestral recipes. He brought along a film crew, and the result is the new PBS documentary Foo...

A hotel bar is much more than a place to grab a drink while you’re on vacation or traveling for work. It’s about connection, relaxation and rituals as old as mankind. A really good hotel bar will even attract the locals.  That’s the case at The Tampa Edition , a five-star hotel located on downtown’s bustling Channelside Drive. Throughout the hotel’s bars and restaurants, service is as important as...

It’s not about the coffee. Owning a coffee shop is about connecting with people. So says Roberto Torres, president of Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters . What started as a local coffee concept has grown into a company with eight locations across Tampa, including a presence in Tampa International Airport. We met up with Torres at Blind Tiger’s Ybor City location. In this conversation, Torres shares his j...

How do you eat healthy when it feels like the system is set up for you to fail? For indigenous Floridians, it’s become especially challenging to eat the foods that sustained their ancestors for thousands of years. Having been pushed off of their land, given ultraprocessed government foods and finding their surroundings polluted, many members of Florida’s Seminole Tribe wrestle with lifestyle-relat...

NOTE: Since the time of this recording, Community Harvest SRQ has merged with Sunshine Community Compost to form Sunshine Community Harvest. Andrew Hudson is on a mission. An organic gardener and program director for the nonprofit organization Community Harvest SRQ , Andrew wants to connect the people of Sarasota with its local food. Dalia met Andrew through a mutual friend, Chef Steve Phelps of I...

Michael Twitty isn’t giving up his Klondike Bars. On April 29, the celebrated food historian will appear at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg for a public discussion about how we can apply our ancestors’ culinary traditions to live a healthier life. Click here to register for free tickets .  But even as we strive to eat healthier, Twitty says there’s still room for the occasional treat....

Get you a friend like George Geary . He’s a cookbook author and culinary media personality. So of course he makes the best food and tells the best stories.  Earlier this month, George released his 17th cookbook. It’s called Citrus, Illustrated: A Cookbook of 35 Sweet & Savory Recipes . Based in Southern California, George has lots of helpful tips for us citrus-loving Floridians. In this conver...