DeRusha Eats

Keep Moving Forward Together: advice from Yia Vang's father's experience fleeing war-torn Laos that he uses to run his restaurant, Vinai in Minneapolis. Yia talks with Jason just days after his TPT show "Relish" won a James Beard Foundation Media Award in the lifestyle visual media category. We talk about awards, about inspiration, about his restaurant - and how the Minnesota is now a center of gl...

A detailed 20-page complaint filed by federal prosecutors reveals chilling details about the actions by Vance Boelter, the suspect in targeted, political shootings that left former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark dead, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife seriously injured. Here's reaction from local hosts on WCCO in Minneapolis, plus commentary on our ov...

How a Chicago man went from making wine in his dad's basement to living the Sonoma County dream: Justin Harmon gives us the lowdown on his Argot Winery, and find out why his most famous wine is named "Bastard Tongue." Justin is in Minnesota for a fundraiser for M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital, and man-about-town and University of Minnesota Foundation Sr. Director of Development - Str...

What is American Wagyu beef? Fellers Ranch, based in southern Minnesota, is trying to elevate American beef and sell premium cuts directly to restaurants and consumers. Troy Kopischke grew up on a farm and partnered with Conger Meats butcher shop owner Jeremy Johnson to help Fellers grow. Minnesota ranchers raise American Wagyu beef, and it's processed in Conger and sent all over the upper midwest...

A conversation with Minnesota-based and nationally known chef Gavin Kaysen. The chef and owner of Spoon and Stable, Demi, Bellecour and Mara is sharing stories about mentoring in his new book “The Synergy Series.” 25 chefs who came to Minneapolis to cook talking about their stories, their philosophies and sharing recipes. Gavin talks about his own journey, as well as looks at the state of dining r...

You know William H. Macy as an actor. But he's also in the whiskey business. He's in Minnesota on behalf of the Woody Creek Distiller and joins Jason for DeRusha Eats!

The Food Dolls are two Minnesota sisters who loved creating cooking videos. Alia and Radwa Elkaffas started on Facebook in 2005 and now have more than 4 million followers. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube versions of Food Dolls make up another 5 million followers. Now the Elkaffas sisters have their own cookbook: Pretty Delicious: Simple, Modern Mediterranean, Served With Style. The Food Dolls talk w...

From young felon to successful owner of Minnesota pizza chain OG ZAZA - Joshua Hedquist's life story is astonishing and inspiring. How he went from in prison and a 9th grade dropout, to fine dining kitchens in Florida and Minnesota, to opening the most buzzed about pizza restaurant in the Twin Cities. He talks about addiction and what made him quit alcohol and get sober. And is his pizza burned? H...

St. Paul chef Karyn Tomlinson has been named one of the Best New Chefs of 2024 by Food and Wine magazine. It's the latest national honor for the Minnesota-native who took a winding path towards owning her own restaurant nestled into a small neighborhood, Myriel. She joins Jason to talk about her intense way of connecting with farms and ranches, even being included in one farmer's will. She calls h...

Alex Roberts and Margo Roberts, Restaurant Alma The most awarded restaurant currently operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota: Restaurant Alma celebrates 25 years in November 2024. Alex recalls the early days with 7 reservations on the books pre-social media; spotting his now-wife in a nearby coffee shop; Margo talks about growing into a co-owner and leadership role in this New American restaurant. We...

On this DeRusha Eats, Jason asks you what food you're afraid of.

DeRusha Eats is on the road in Aspen, Colorado at the 41st annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. Hear from the three finalists in Bravo's Top Chef TV Culinary competition:  Milwaukee’s Dan Jacobs, North Carolina's Savannah Miller and New York City's Danny Garcia. Plus, are restaurants taking themselves too seriously? Maybe we all are. Chef Kwame Onwuachi reminds us: "It's just dinner." Minnesot...

Sameh Wadi was a culinary prodigy in his low 20’s. Competed on Food Network’s Iron Chef at age 24. Had his own fine dining Mediterranean restaurant, Saffron at age 23. But after a decade, he was burned out and closed it. In the interim, his fast-casual World Street Kitchen and ice cream shop Milkjam have taken his energy. But now, post-COVID, he’s returning to his roots and rebooting his first lov...

What is Minnesota barbeque? Is it a thing? We have seen more and more success in the upper midwest as pitmasters try to create their own flavors and businesses. In the North Metro, both Smokey’s BBQ and Jellybean and Julia’s have found large audiences and more than a decade of success. Chris Leibel talks about Smokey’s Pub & Grill in the East Bethel area. Koli and Cory Swap run Jellybean and J...

Two of my favorite restaurants in the 651 of St Paul Minnesota share their stories of Refining St. Paul food in DeRusha Eats. Jason Hansen and Peter Sebastian talk about their Spanish-inspired bar and restaurant Estelle and their sandwich and pizza shop Mario’s. Meanwhile on the East Side, Tongue In Cheek has been getting it done for a decade. Leonard Anderson, his wife, Ashleigh Newman, and Ryan...

Let’s talk coffee. From the biggest coffee company in Minnesota… innovating around the world. To one of the smallest roasters, growing throughout our cities. Sam Kjellberg is a third wave coffee roaster at SK Coffee. How does he go about crafting flavors- and how did he start SK Coffee? We’ll get into it. PLUS Gretchen Hashemi-Rad runs the Caribou Coffee Beverage Category. How does she and her tea...

Chefs Mateo Mackbee and Erin Lucas left Minneapolis for St. Joseph, a small central Minnesota college town, where they’re bringing New Orleans cuisine, racial diversity, and a lot of love to their restaurant Krewe. Josh Petzel spent his career running restaurants in the Twin Cities, and left for a Wisconsin River town to raise his family and open the Great River Roadhouse. What’s it like to leave...

Maple Grove. Minnetonka. Eagan. Suburbs of the Twin Cities with restaurant owners who are there to sponsor the football and basketball and volleyball teams. The owners of Malone’s, Scoreboard Grill, Jimmy’s Food, and Brianno’s share what it takes to make it work and make it last in the suburbs.

Jumping into small business ownership can mean taking a big risk. Karl Benson and Marie Dwyer teamed up with chef Gavin Kaysen to build a bakery into their home goods and kitchen store. Vanessa Drews credits an encounter with Prince for helping her leap into owning her own cheesecake business, Cheesecake Funk.

They are legends! Two family-owned restaurants, one with 50 years in the Twin Cities, the other with 90. It’s hard to imagine our food scene without Keys Cafe - Barbara Hunn is now on 4 generations of family working at these spots, with legendary breakfast. And think of anniversaries, proms, any special occasion in town without being able to go to Northeast Minneapolis and Jax Cafe. The Kozlak fam...

Hop in the car and get out of the Twin Cities Metro with two iconic stops: King’s Bar and Grill in Miesville in known for 100+ burgers on the menu. Located across from a corn-flanked baseball field, people travel from all over to King’s. And on the banks of the St. Croix River in Wisconsin, Pete Foster has built a little empire with three restaurants in Hudson. They explain what’s different about...

Both Ann Kim and Justin Sutherland were high school speech competitors, both at Apple Valley High School, in the Minneapolis suburbs. That foundation of storytelling has served both well as they’ve become celebrity chefs. Ann Kim was featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, she’s just opened her first restaurant focusing on her Korean-American cuisine. Justin Sutherland is the host of “Taste The Cultur...

Two entrepreneurs building their restaurant empires. Randy Stanley has two high-end modern steakhouses in the Twin Cities suburbs. Mark Toth is building a fast-casual chain of restaurants called Urban Wok. How do they find inspiration? What challenges have they overcome?

Two farmers for this episode of DeRusha Eats: One is a cheesemaker, Alise Sjostrom, her cheese company Red Head Creamery wins awards all over the world. What’s life like in the central minnesota town of Brooton? Trisha Zachman’s farm, Feathered Acres, isn’t that far from Brooton- Stearns County, Minnesota. Trisha and her husband practice regenerative hog farming - what’s that about? We can’t enjoy...

She’s a woman who owns a butcher shop! An unusual combination, but Teena Matson joins us to talk about why she thinks women have an advantage in this traditionally male-business. She owns Anoka Meats in the north suburbs of Minneapolis. Plus Jill Holter, talks about how one of the oldest co-ops in the country, the Wedge in Minneapolis, has adjusted with the times and with the increased competition...