To Dine For

Kathryn Minshew – CEO & Founder - TheMuse.com   Location: Izakaya NoMad in New York City At 29 years old, this young tech dynamo has done something thousands of others twice her age have tried and failed. Her website, TheMuse.com, helps people find the perfect job. She started with one person in her living room and she has grown the company to 50 million visitors every month. In this episode of To...

Leila Janah – Social Entrepreneur - Samasource   Location: Samovar Tea House in San Francisco, CA   She has been named to Forbes' “30 under 30”, Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and Fortune Magazine’s “Most Promising Entrepreneurs”. Leila Janah started a non-profit with $14,000 she won in a business plan competition. Her goal was to reduce global poverty by putting people into job...

M. Night Shyamalan – Writer/Director   Location: Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia, PA   As Writer and Director of blockbuster hit movies such as “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable,” Night has been able to hone the craft of "scaring the living daylights” out of moviegoers with his suspenseful and often terrifying flicks. His career has undoubtedly reached soaring highs and dramatic lows. At his favorit...

Farnoosh Torabi – Personal Finance Expert   Location: Bijan's in Brooklyn, NY   Farnoosh Torabi is a financial expert, author and host of the financial podcast So Money. Her books include  You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not and  When She Makes More: 10 Rules for Breadwinning Women , which tackle real-life money issues that people face every day. Over a delicious chopped salad with sal...

Kavita Shukla – Inventor of FreshPaper   Location: Great Sage in Clarksville, MD   Kavita Shukla holds four patents for a world changing invention that does one simple thing: extend the life of produce. After a trip to visit her grandmother in her native India, she developed a recipe for a paper that would stop the spoilage of food.  Her work is revolutionizing the world’s food supply especially i...

Gitanjali Rao – Inventor & TIME's 2020 Kid of the Year   Location: Hacienda Colorado in Lone Tree, CO   At the age of just 11 years old, Gitanjali dreamed up a solution to a problem many had overlooked. Inspired by watching the news coverage of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, Gitanjali invented a water treatment device that Flint residents could use in their homes to see if their water is safe....

Erin Gleeson – Creator, The Forest Feast   Erin Gleeson is an artist, author, photographer and creator of the extremely popular lifestyle brand "The Forest Feast." She has written four New York Times Best Selling cookbooks under the "The Forest Feast" brand. Her story of going from the frenetic pace of New York City to the quiet and tranquil woods of Northern California is a study in re-invention...

Seamus Mullen – Chef & Restaurateur   Location: Gjusta in Venica, CA   Seamus Mullen is a New York City Chef turned health and wellness expert.  He burst on to the NYC culinary scene at Boqueria, and then later Tertulia with his deep passion for Spanish cuisine.  Originally from Vermont, Seamus shares the health scare that forever changed what and how he cooks.  From his favorite restaurant in Ven...

Jason Mayden – Designer, Nike   Location: Giordano's in Chicago, IL   When Jason Mayden grew up on the South Side of Chicago, he dreamed of being like Michael Jordan. Instead, he went on to design shoes for him. His Nike Air Monarch became the highest grossing shoe of all time. Jason takes us to Giordano’s Deep Dish pizza to tell us why this Chicago comfort food staple is also symbolic of why he l...

Jim McIngvale – Philanthropist & Owner of Gallery Furniture   Location: Lopez Mexican Restaurant in Houston, TX   When Jim started his mattress business in Houston, Texas he had just $5,000 and a pickup truck.  Now, he has amassed a furniture empire through his “wacky ads” and gregarious personality.  It was, however, a single act of kindness that thrust him into the international spotlight.  Duri...

Kate reflects on this most difficult year and what makes this Thanksgiving so unique for all of us.   Follow To Dine For: Official Website: ToDineForTV.com Facebook: Facebook.com/ToDineForTV Instagram: @ToDineForTV Twitter: @KateSullivanTV Email: ToDineForTV@gmail.com   Thank You to our Sponsors! American National Insurance Spiritless - Use promo code TODINEFOR for free shipping     Hosted on Acas...

Suzanne Muchin – Co-Founder Bonfire   Location: Milt's Barbecue For The Perplexed in Chicago, IL   Suzanne Muchin is the Co-Founder of Bonfire: a talent accelerator for a new generation of women in the workplace.  A serial entrepreneur, Suzanne co-founded a company to help women excel in corporate America. A marathon runner and mom of 5, Suzanne also teaches the class "Selling Yourself and Your Id...

Sara Blakely – Inventor, CEO, Founder of Spanx   Location: Umi in Atlanta, GA   With 5,000 dollars and a simple idea, Sara Blakely invented a product that would change the fashion industry forever. As the Inventor and CEO of Spanx, Sara became the youngest self-made Billionaire in the world. With no fashion experience and no business degree, her story of grit, persistence, and problem-solving is o...

Katori Hall – Playwright  Location: Miss Lily's in New York City   Columbia, Harvard and Juilliard educated, Katori Hall planned to be an actress until a fateful assignment at Harvard changed her direction. Instead, she became a playwright. Her play, The Mountaintop, about the final night before Martin Luther King’s assassination, won critical acclaim making her the first black woman to win the Ol...

Robert Pasin – Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer  Location: Hemmingway's Bistro in Chicago, IL   Robert Pasin is the Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer.  Pasin's grandfather started the iconic company that created "the little red wagon" more than 100 years ago on the West side of Chicago.  When Pasin started working at Radio Flyer, he inherited a company that had a lot of nostalgia, but little pr...

Lauren Chitwood – Co-Founder & CEO of Spiritless  Location: Proof on Main in Louisville, KY   Lauren Chitwood is the CEO and Founder of Spiritless.  A serial entrepreneur, Lauren and her two female co-founders have created a non-alcoholic version of Bourbon called Spiritless. Her hilarious and inspiring journey to create a new cocktail is delicious “food for thought” for any would-be entrepreneur...

James Altucher – Author, Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Podcast Host   James Altucher is an Author, Entrepreneur, Angel Investor and Podcast Host . He has written more than 17 books including the Best-selling book "Choose Yourself."  He recently created controversy when he wrote an essay entitled "NYC is Dead Forever" .   In this conversation, James talks openly about struggling with depression and...

Bishop T.D. Jakes – Founder of The Potter's House   Bishop T.D. Jakes has been called “America’s Preacher” by the New York Times.  He is the Pastor and Founding member of Dallas-based mega-church “The Potter’s House.” A New York Times Best-selling Author, Speaker, and Visionary, Bishop Jakes has become an expert on the concept of reinvention and following your passion.  In this episode, Bishop Jak...

Alpana Singh – Master Sommelier, Restaurateur Location: Gibsons Steakhouse in Chicago, IL   Alpana Singh is a Chicago Restaurateur, Master Sommelier and Host of Check, Please!  on PBS .  She started in the hospitality industry as a teenager and became one of the youngest women in the world to become a Master Sommelier at the age of 23.  Her sometimes difficult, sometimes hilarious journey in the h...

Jahmal Cole – Founder My Block. My Hood. My City. Location: Josephine’s Southern Cooking in Chicago, IL Jahmal Cole is the Founder of My Block. My Hood. My City.  He is a community activist and organizer who not only dreams of a better Chicago but is actively working towards that dream.  This Summer, he found himself in the center of the #BLM movement when he received 26-thousand emails in two day...

To Dine For: The Podcast is a toast to the American dream and transports you to restaurants around the country to hear firsthand the stories of visionaries, creators and builders at their hands-down favorite restaurant.  In this debut mini-episode, Journalist Kate Sullivan explains why she started “To Dine For: The Podcast” in the first place.  (Hint: It’s not about the food!) And the promise she...