Beyond the Plate

Chris Shepherd is the former Chef/Owner of award-winning Underbelly Restaurant (and Underbelly Hospitality), which he opened in 2012. He’s been awarded “10 Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine in 2013, a James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southwest” in 2014, Robb Report's “ Chef of the Year” in 2019, and Underbelly was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by both Bon Appeti...

This week is all about the martini! We caught up with Simon Ford of Fords Gin to discuss Music to Drink Martinis To , a new program that serves as a love letter to the iconic martini cocktail and the brand’s affinity for music. Simon shares all about the program, which includes a seven-track vinyl LP with an accompanying booklet filled with martini tips, tricks and recipes. In this episode, Simon...

Jimmy Wang oversees the culinary operations for more than 2300 Panda Express restaurants around the world. From creating and implementing recipes, to training across the globe, he is responsible for the infamous and innovative ‘American Chinese’ food served daily. In 2021, Wang was honored in Nation’s Restaurant News ‘Chef Power List.” In this episode, Jimmy shares how moments from his childhood i...

Paige Walwyn is a bartender who was born and raised in New Jersey by immigrant parents from the island of Nevis. She has tended bar at award-winning establishments including Clover Club in Brooklyn, NY. These days you can find her at Queen Mary in Chicago, IL. For this episode, Paige walks us through an original, gin-based, martini-like cocktail she recently created. She schools us on everything f...

Sarah Grueneberg is the multi-award winning Chef/Partner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago’s West Loop. You likely watched her as a competitor and finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Texas” and Food Network’s “Iron Chef Gauntlet.” In fall of 2022, she published her first cookbook, Listen To Your Vegetables. In this episode, Sarah shares with our live audience about her chil...

Stacey Swenson is a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry and one of the most sought-after bartenders on aperitivo and Italian drinking culture. After relocating to NYC from Chicago, she held notable positions including head bartender at Dante, which was #1 on the World’s Best Bar list in 2019. She was the Bar Director for Mattos Hospitality group and is currently the Bar Director for Nine O...

Winnie Yee-Lakhani is a chef, mom, entrepreneur and the self-taught “Pit Madam” / founder of Smoke Queen Barbecue. She was a finalist on Food Network's “BBQ Brawl” (Season 3) and was featured on the “Kelly Clarkson Show.” In this episode, we learn how Winnie weaves in the flavors of her Malaysian-born Chinese childhood with traditional American smoking techniques to create a unique style of barbec...

Iain Griffiths is an Aussie entrepreneur, educator & bartender who was awarded the first-ever “Bartender’s Bartender” award at the World's 50 Best Bars in 2017. For this episode, Iain walks us through their Gimlet 75, a mashup of two classic cocktails, the Gimlet and the French 75. Iain has done an overwhelming amount of work in the social impact space, co-founding ‘Trash Tiki’ in 2016, a tour...

John Gargano served 13 years in prison for selling drugs, and in 2016 received clemency from President Obama. He is now the General Manager of Tom Colicchio’s Craft New York and Vallata, two of NYC’s top restaurants. You may be familiar with his story from the Humans of NY instagram page . John is a graduate of NYU's School of Professional Studies with a degree in Leadership and Management Studies...

Christine Wiseman is the Beverage Director of Bar Lab, which includes Broken Shaker, Hoja, Margot Natural Wine Bar, MaryGold's, and Higher Ground. She started as a chef, made the move to behind the bar, and has since received worldwide recognition and accolades leading teams at acclaimed bars and restaurants around the country. For this episode, we requested a fun and delicious NYE-style gin cockt...

Dena Marino is the private chef for LeBron James and his family. She is one of the country's most accomplished and preeminent chefs having spent time cooking in Napa (Tra Vigne), Aspen (Ajax, D19, Ellina) and Miami (MC Kitchen). Over the course of her career, Dena and her restaurants have received numerous accolades ranging from the nation's “Top 20 Best New Restaurants” by Esquire, to Miami New T...

Jose Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez has nearly 20 years of hospitality experience and has become known for not only his drinks, but his enthusiastic spirit behind the bar. He’s worked at some of NYC’s most respected cocktail bars- most recently as the bar manager of Ghost Donkey,  where he celebrated the art of Mexican hospitality. In this episode, we discuss a martini-like classic cocktail called t...

Jose Garces is an Iron Chef, father, husband, cookbook author, James Beard Award-winner, entrepreneur and food innovator. He has a number of restaurants in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. In this episode, he discusses the influence his parents had on his career, the reason he passed up what many would consider to be the “dream job,” and the art of balancing his time in the kitchen vs. time with hi...

Demi Natoli is the Beverage Director at Graduate Hotel Nashville. She spent time in Chicago at Lost Lake, which was voted one of the top 50 bars in the world by World's 50 Best Bars. Demi prides herself on ideating, crafting, and serving cocktails inspired by her Cuban-American heritage. In this episode, we discuss the process behind a gin cocktail she’ll be adding to one of her bar menus this Spr...

This week, we’re taking a short break from our regular schedule to share a special bonus episode. Due to the large amount of incoming Thanksgiving questions, the Beyond the Plate family thought we’d get together to share some recipes and tips that will make your holiday a little easier (and maybe even tastier). This episode is moderated by our Executive Producer, Ian. You’ll hear Kappy’s game plan...

Shota Nakajima is the chef/owner of Taku Seattle and Kōbo Pizza in Seattle. His restaurants have racked up a number of accolades including “Best New Restaurant” by The Seattle Times and “Top 10 Restaurant” in Seattle Magazine . You may also recognize him from Season 18 of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” where he placed as a top three finalist and was awarded the season’s fan favorite. During this episode, Sho...

Vlad Novikov is the General Manager of the Silver Lyan in Washington, DC. Prior to being in DC, he spent several years in Chicago developing cocktail programs for various bars and lounges and also served as the Director of Cocktails and Culture at The Peninsula Chicago. Vlad walks us through a cocktail made famous by the legendary Ada Coleman at the Savoy Hotel in London. We discuss some of the wo...

Will Guidara is the former owner of Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant that once held the #1 spot on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. He is often referred to as a master in hospitality - both in and out of the restaurant industry - which inspired him to write his first book, Unreasonable Hospitality; the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect . In this episode, we discuss behi...

Haley Traub was the 2018 national champion of Speed Rack, an all-female bartending competition designed to highlight up-and-coming talent in the cocktail industry.  She has been bartending in New York City for a decade and is currently the GM of Lower East Side cocktail institution Attaboy, where she oversaw the team that took home the coveted #1 spot on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2022 list...

Yotam Ottolenghi is the author of nine bestselling and multi-award-winning cookbooks that have sold millions of copies around the world. He is the restaurateur and chef-patron of five Ottolenghi delis, as well as the NOPI and ROVI restaurants in London. In this episode, Ottolenghi shares why he believes people around the world are attracted to his food, how and why he has learned to balance home a...

Shawn Lickliter is considered one of LA’s most respected, talented, and innovative wine and spirits professionals. Since 2014, he has been the Beverage Director for Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke’s properties including République, Manzke, Bicyclette Bistro, Petty Cash Taqueria, and Sari Sari Store. Shawn often takes inspiration from the Farmers Market, which is reflected in the cocktail he shar...

Daniel Humm has received numerous global accolades including multiple James Beard Foundation Awards, three Michelin Stars, and the #1 spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. He is the Chef and Owner of Make It Nice, the New York-based hospitality group behind Eleven Madison Park and Eleven Madison Home. In this episode, Humm reflects on the pandemic, and how opening up his fine dining kitche...

Ludo Lefebvre is a chef, restaurateur, author, TV personality and twin dad. He is one of the most influential chefs in Los Angeles who is credited with starting the pop-up restaurant phenomenon. You may have eaten in one of his award-winning restaurants such as Petit Trois or seen him on one of the many TV shows he’s hosted. In this episode we discuss his childhood in Burgundy, France as a young c...

Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are brothers, business partners, chefs, restaurateurs, authors, TV personalities and dads. In this episode we discuss how they went from teenagers working at a Holiday Inn in Maryland to being arguably the best known duo in the food world. We talk about the different paths each of them took to get to where they are today, the moment they realized they had made it as che...

In last week’s episode of Beyond the Plate, we talked with Chef Brooke Williamson. When we asked for her go-to snack, she shared a couple of her current favorites. We were intrigued by the honeyglow pineapple (more on that in the episode). For this week’s Beyond the Drink, ONEHOPE Wine’s Head Winemaker (Mari Wells Coyle) drops some knowledge about pinot grigio and why this dry wine pairs so well w...