The Zest

Kanika Tomalin has a lot on her plate. She works under St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman as deputy mayor and city administrator, serving the city’s 270,000 residents. On top of that, Tomalin recently published a cookbook. St. Pete Eats is a collection of healthy recipes from some of the city’s best-known chefs— including a few from Tomalin’s own kitchen and one that pays tribute to her late husba...

There’s an old Jewish joke with a kernel of truth that’s supposed to sum up the Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us; we won; let’s eat.” It’s an oversimplification of the very real connection between Jewish history, culture and tradition, and food. Genie Milgrom of Miami had a life that was changed and shaped by that connection – even before she was aware of it. Her family escaped from Fidel C...

Sef Gonzalez puts on food events and competitions, and he writes about hamburgers and other comfort food from his base in Miami. Nearly 80,000 burger fans follow his blog on BurgerBeast.com . Sef chats with Robin Sussingham about what makes a good hamburger and where to find the best burgers in Florida.

Talk about a sweet gig. Peter Behringer  and his wife, Allison, are the couple behind Sweet Pete’s Candy in Jacksonville. This three-story shrine to sugar has bragging rights as the largest candy store in the Southeast. But running a candy business isn’t just about lollipops and chocolate bars. Pete recently spoke with The Zest’s Dalia Colón about the company’s rocky road to success. He also share...

Kevin Godbee and Lori Brown are the force behind StPetersburgFoodies.com . They’re the hosts of the St. Petersburg Foodies podcast; they’ve got lots of dedicated fans on social media; and their Facebook group, St. Petersburg Foodies Restaurant Reviews, boasts more than 14 thousand followers. Kevin and Lori are respected in the food scene because they get out into the community, they frequent the r...

Chef Art Smith has cooked for presidents and governors, the Dalai Lama and the royal family. He also spent a decade as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey; frequent appearances on her show made him a household name. Regardless of celebrity status or political party, Smith says nearly everybody has one thing in common: a love of Southern cuisine. He says comfort food helps us let down our guard and find...

Allen Susser is a James Beard award winner, and one of the pioneers of a new kind of cooking that now seems foundational to Florida food. Floribbean cooking takes advantage of fresh, local Florida produce and seafood but adds elements from the Caribbean or Latin America. Susser calls it “the original farm to table.” He’s a well-known restaurateur and his restaurant, Chef Allen’s in Aventura, finis...

For young athletes who are serious about their sport, granola bars and orange slices just won’t do. Bradenton is home to IMG Academy , a boarding school where elite middle and high school athletes live, study, train and of course eat. The campus also welcomes college athletes, pros and amateur adults. Jackie Barcal is IMG’s head of nutrition. She spoke with The Zest’s Dalia Colón about how to fuel...

Maybe you just spent two days perfecting a loaf of sourdough bread—and the picture you took just didn’t convey how delicious and perfect it turned out. Well, we can help you make those photos better. Our contributor Janet Keeler sat down with her husband, Scott Keeler, to talk about the nitty gritty of photographing food! Scott is a longtime photojournalist at the Tampa Bay Times. They worked toge...

In 2010, Stephen DiMare had just graduated from the University of Florida. It was the tail end of the Great Recession, and the job market looked bleak. But a chance encounter with a stranger gave Stephen the idea for what Floridians now know as The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops . Stephen opened the first store in his native St. Augustine. Today, The Hyppo has eight stores across Florida and is also avail...

What does a journalist who specializes in grocery store shopping do when a pandemic hits? Like many people, Kathy Saunders turned to grocery delivery services to protect her family’s health. For 16 years, Kathy wrote a column for the Tampa Bay Times that used a tasting panel to assess grocery store products. All those years of shopping and tasting are still being put to good use. Contributor Janet...

What's the perfect beach house menu? Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. But you'd want it to be good enough to share with friends.  For ideas, Robin talked to Mary Kay Andrews , a prolific novelist who grew up in St. Petersburg and whose more recent books have names like Summer Rental, Beach Town and Sunset Beach. Last year, she came out with The Beach House Cookbook: Easy, Breezy Recipes with a...

If you’re prepping for a cookout or seeking to recreate stadium-quality hot dogs at home, Mel Lohn can help. He’s the larger-than-life personality behind Mel’s Hot Dogs . This month marks 47 years that Mel and his wife, Virginia, have been operating the restaurant, which has become a Tampa institution. The Zest’s Dalia Colón spoke with Mel about the eatery’s early days and how to make a better hot...

There's an official-looking decal on the fridge at work. It says: "Hurricane Evacuation Plan: Grab beer. Run like hell." It's true! Before a hurricane hits, people do tend to stock up on alcohol. (Also strawberry Pop-Tarts, according to Walmart.) So this hurricane season, while we're out picking up batteries and bottled water, let's plan ahead and gather supplies for some festive-feeling, stress-r...

In 2019, Alexandria Jones set out on a mission: to interview owners of a handful of black-owned eateries across Tampa Bay. She turned those interviews into a half-hour documentary called A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay's Black-Owned Food Scene . In February of this year, Alex uploaded the video to YouTube, where you can watch the film in its entirety. Alex often writes about food on her blog,...

Miami has Little Haiti and Little Havana. Orlando has Little Vietnam. And in Northern Pinellas County, you’ll find an ethnic enclave like no other: Tarpon Springs. In the late 1800s, Greek immigrants established the town’s sponge-diving industry. Today, visitors flock to Tarpon Springs not only to buy sponges but also to sample the authentic Greek food. Mykonos restaurant has been a Tarpon Springs...

The Orlando area has been experiencing an explosion of great restaurants. When there are so many choices, the Orlando Sentinel's Foodie Awards can point you toward some interesting local places to try. Amy Drew Thompson  is the Orlando Sentinel's multimedia food reporter, and 2020 was her first year of taking on the gargantuan task of singling out restaurants in 50 different categories. Support fo...

Avera Wynne spent 30 years as an urban planner—a good job that paid for his barbecue habit. This certified barbecue judge now has his own line of seasoning blends called Zest Coast . Avera talks about when to use gas and when to use charcoal, plus he gives us his number one tip for grilling like a pro. Robin also asked him where the name Avera comes from, and it turns out there’s a connection to N...

Michelle Bernstein started cooking fusion food dishes long before “fusion” was a buzzword. The Miami chef, restaurant owner and TV personality made a name for herself combining flavors and techniques from her Latin-Jewish heritage. And it works. In 2008, the James Beard Foundation recognized her as the best chef in the South. In this conversation with The Zest producer Dalia Colón, Bernstein discu...

It’s time for melons and watermelons in Florida, which are in season right now. You’ll find them in the stores, and farmers are selling from roadside stands. Sweet corn is also in season, and is grown all over the state before making its way further north.    Support for The Zest Podcast comes from Seitenbacher Brand Natural Foods, like Muesli cereals, oils, oatmeal, energy bars, gluten free fruit...

What comes to mind when you think about original Florida cracker cooking? If you’re thinking biscuits and gravy, chess pie and dumplings, you’re on the right track. Joy Harris's new cookbook,   The Florida Cracker Cookbook: Recipes & Stories from Cabin to Condo,  celebrates her ancestors' down home cooking -- some of which was done in a Panhandle cabin with no electricity! The Zest contributor...

Have you found yourself wanting to bake bread while you’re quarantining? Christina Cann, owner of Gulf Coast Sourdough, says it’s a real thing. Hundreds of people have asked her for some sourdough starter over the last several weeks. Part of the reason is that so many people are baking bread that there’s been a run on instant yeast at the stores, and it’s hard to find right now. But sourdough uses...

Rene Valenzuela is best known as the founder and former owner of Taco Bus. Rene’s life and career came to a standstill two years ago, when he was burned in a horrific kitchen fire. He says he learned a lot about himself during his recovery, and now he's ready for his next venture. This time he's teaming up with Jamal Wilson, owner of Hall on Franklin in Tampa, and expanding to Orlando. I talked to...

Toni Tipton-Martin is on a crusade. The food journalist and educator won a James Beard Award in 2016 for her book The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks. Her latest work, Jubilee, is a collection of recipes from those antique cookbooks. In February, the Baltimore resident came to St. Petersburg to speak at the third annual Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival, held at the Carter...

Every month, we’re focusing on what's fresh and what's growing in Florida.  Robin will be talking to extension agents from The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, known as IFAS, to tell us what we should be looking for -- and cooking with -- right now! This month: blueberries and squash.  We've also got a delicious Florida squash casserole recipe on our website.